I recently learned that I passed my qualifying exams: the day would be September 9, 2011. It was a hot day, and I had been waiting 11 days, on pins and needles, awaiting a call from my chair. As I typed…no, I won’t bore you with the narration of the big …

I’m not sure how one is supposed to feel when she reaches this moment, but I was over-the-moon happy. What moment is this? Finally having my pre-proposal approved and quals date set.
I went through three revisions of the pre-proposal with my diss chair before we submitted it to the entire …

Families are vital components of our lives. Through families, we receive unconditional love, trust, devotion, support, and encouragement.
Are families vital components to our Second lives?
Yes, to many of us. Many continue to see SL as merely a game, a place to live out fantasies that have nothing to do with …

I wanted to make sure I got this blog post in before 2011 because I wanted the post dated in the year the milestone was accomplished.
Some might not see this as much of a milestone, but when I think about how my personal life has changed and been changed since …

Been awhile since I’ve updated, but since summer classes ended, I needed a break to prepare for the fall classes, and now I’m a month into the last semester of course work.
What does this mean for me?
Well, plenty!
Narrowing my dissertation topic (focus, focus, focus), getting my research questions together (tighten, …

A friend of mine asked this question in a post online and because I could never the initial link that talked about this “vook,” I went in search of it myself. Here it is…a new stage of book development.

At first glance, this is very intriguing to me. The idea of …

As a user of visual media online, what aspects of interactivity and visual presentation have you come to expect in online publications and Web sites?
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I have to say that I think I’m pretty old school when it comes to what I expect from online publications and Web sites. What does ...

I have submitted my behemoth of a paper, “Where We Stand: On Being Mommy Bloggers of Color” to my professor. Am I happy with it? Actually, I think I am. There’s some good material there and in revisions, it will get better. Because I love Wordles so much, I of course …

What does your set of commonly used social media tools say about you as a participant of the human + machine culture? Give examples to illustrate.
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I will try anything once…just about.
That’s my short answer.
Here’s the longer answer.
I’m fairly immersed in the h+m culture. I’m a heavy participant. I remember ...

Great interview with online luminary Clay Shirky over at Salon.com in which he explains the new digital literary revolution and how the Web will change reading.
I have to print this as a PDF and take some notes because Shirky has some solid thoughts on technological and cultural change and “which …

As a technical communicator, what tools comprise your toolset? What advantages do they have over other tools? What one dream tool would you add to your list (something you’d like to learn)?
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Interesting set of questions because this time next year, I could be listing yet another set of tools.
The Tools I ...

What topic(s) are you considering for the paper? Discuss one or more alternatives in detail and explain its relation to some of the concepts and theories we’re reading (or are going to be reading).
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Tentative Title: Blogging While Black: Mommy Bloggers
Idea: In this course, we’ve talked about how digital writing ...

This caught my eye because of our talks a few weeks ago in Internet Writing class about journalism and the importance of storytelling in writing the news.
The article is called “Kill Art and Craft, and You Might Share the Coffin” by Ike Pigott, and he discusses the importance of storytelling …

While no one was looking, someone revolutionized the textbook, higher education, and learning itself in one crazy, bold move.
Wanna see what a digital textbook looks like?
Then check out the Kno.

For a person like me who loves the digital world but still is enamored with the print world, the Kno looks …