Educational Researcher / PhD Student (Lancaster University, UK) in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning / Adjunct Instructor (NYU & Pace U) / Project Manager (Clinical Education) in New York City.
Interests in educational research influenced by interdisciplinarity, focused on digital identity, doctorateness and the postgraduate experience, threshold concepts and transformative learning in higher education, Internet research, networked learning, technology enhanced learning, distance education, adult and organizational learning, narrative inquiry, and actor-network theory.
I have taught as an adjunct faculty member at New York University and Pace University since 2005 and 2009 respectively, and while I do it for the love of teaching and academic discourse, I also realize that my commitment to the universities is only for that semester in which I am hired to teach. There is little ongoing support or communication outside of my ongoing teaching appointments. While I do not expect anything more from the institutions–after all, adjunct faculty are effectively (highly educated) contract workers–I do have some needs for support and communication and sharing and discussing these experiences with others who may also be in the same or similar situations.
After so much personal success and academic fulfillment while completing my PhD through the wonderfully supportive community that is #phdchat, I felt my needs begin to shift, leading to my thoughts about a similar chat for adjuncts, or those who generally teach less than full-time and are not on the tenure track. That is the initial idea behind #adjunctchat.
While I know others seem to find this idea useful, I am not sure what it may mean in practice, so with that I am looking forward to a first synchronous #AdjunctChat on Twitter on Tues, May 14, 4:00pm EDT.
All that remains now is to brainstorm what to chat about!
As I mentioned in my Tweet on March 25, 2013, I successfully passed my Viva Voce exam at Lancaster University and was awarded my PhD in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning (Educational Research) forthwith. In the British system, passing a viva forthwith means I passed without corrections and was thus awarded the degree.
As a result, my doctoral thesis, entitled Navigating Liminality: The Experience of Troublesome Periods and Distance During Doctoral Study, is being printed and bound at the university.
I especially want to thank my supervisor, Professor Malcolm Tight, (standing next to me in the image below), and my examiners Professor Paul Trowler (in the left on the picture) and Dr. Margaret Kiley (who attended remotely from Australia). Alice Jesmont (also in the picture below) has been invaluable in her assistance while I attended Lancaster University, along with Dr. Gale Parchoma, who started off as part of my supervisory team before moving on to the University of Calgary.
I am now working at publishing some of the results of my work, so hope to have lots more to share. Thanks goes to all who have supported, guided, and helped me along the way, about which I will also speak more in the near future.
This is how I use Twitter and find it to be a rewarding experience for developing my personal learning network. It is like Karma — give so you can get. The best way I have found to get suggestions, answers, resources, help, and support is to offer the same first. Why should somebody spend any time replying to my Tweets if I have not shown myself willing to share and give the same? Give encouragement and answers and offers of whatever is needed, and that initial discussion and trust and acknowledgement that I exist online and want to be a member of a community of sharing will then build online credibility and a sense of presence. Share first and it is more likely somebody will then want to share back, at least in the world where I find most of my support, namely via Twitter.
While I am especially considering this use of Karma on Twitter as a guide for a personal learning network, i comes from my experiences “offline” as well–the time to ask for help or a job or resources is not when nobody knows who I am, being an unknown quantity, but only after I have developed a reason for people to want to help. Think of when you are moving; that is not the time to make friends who will help–that all has to come first before you need anything. Give so you can get.
This means, in effect, that conversations do not simply happen–they require effort. If I create a profile and follow a few people and then nothing more, it is unlikely that anything will come of it. I have to first give people a reason to want to talk. That is why a personal learning network is not magic, and indeed does not come without a price–I have to work on it and constantly develop it, otherwise I will not be able to rely on it when needed. This may be easier for some people than others, but for those of us who love process issues, few things beat the experience of sharing and helping others as its own reward while engaging in social media. Let the discussions and ultimate learning then follow.
Last week I did a workshop for my organization’s Learning and Development Forum, where I discussed Using Twitter for Personal & Professional Development. I posited Twitter usage as a Personal Learning Network (PLN) , where it works best for you to “get” something from it only after you “give” something to it. While many of my slide presentations are not fully intelligible without attending the presentation itself, I hope these may be useful.
This past weekend I had the pleasure to attend the Theorizing the Web 2013 Conference that was held here in New York City at the CUNY Graduate Center. I attended the 2012 conference from a distance last year, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet some of the presenters, participants, and organizers in person this time.
The program was filled both with speakers of note and those not yet widely known, and being around such positive energy of people doing, discussing, and debating theory on the phenomenon known as the Web provided for an engaging experience. In fact, I realize that I have not been challenged to follow along with and discuss some of these issues in a very long time, if at all. While I love discussing theory and how it applies to practice, it is not very often that I can spend some time discussing this in such an intensive way. I had a conference high that is still swirling around in my mind, and only wish I had enough time to read all the articles and books that were mentioned and about which I know little.
The main theme for this conference seemed to be surveillance, related to law enforcement / government as well as to corporate interest and influence in what, how, and when I see things online. Closely linked with this is the persistent topic of free speech and what this freedom means in theory as well as in practice online.
All of the presenters, organizers, participants, and hash tag moderators (me!) are on the Participants page. From David Lyon to Alice Marwick to Stéphane Vial to danah boyd and beyond, I have a lot of people’s’ works on my next-to-read list.
The CUNY Graduate Center space was a great conference venue, with powerful and fast wifi throughout. Furthermore, its new JustPublics@365 project has many promising communication initiatives to come! As I work so close to the Grad Center, I am hoping they continue to have events open and welcoming to the public.
Now, to be fair, I don’t want to make it seem this conference was perfect or the single best thing since pizza and red wine. There are always a few minor wrinkles or distractors (there was not any coffee or food of any sort on Saturday, we had to vacate the building just before its closing at 6:00 on Saturday that resulted in our not having an opportunity to thank the organizers or otherwise establish a sense of closure, there was an issue with the gender neutral bathrooms (that did not have a bath in them, BTW!) and privacy within them, and there was not sufficient time in the presenter sessions to ask and discuss anywhere near as many questions as were conveyed in the room and via the specific Twitter room hash tags). While these various things can be a bit distracting at the time, in the larger scheme of things they are all minor (except the questions and discussions after the speaker presentations!) and are listed here more as a memory of what happens when a few dedicated volunteers put on a free conference; there are bound to be a few minors issues. However, all things being equal, there is really nothing to complain about — kudos to Nathan, PJ, Jessie, and the entire planning committee!
Given all this, what are my own next steps?
Read. I gathered a number of articles and books that I already ordered and downloaded in the specific areas of surveillance, Twitter (an ongoing area of personal /professional / academic interest), and the notion of our cyborg identity (with a bit more of a journey into actor-network theory).
Engage. I met a number of really interesting, very smart, and highly creative academics and theorists at this conference, and I have to make a conscious effort to maintain some of those connections (even if that means I need to move past my near-infatuation with Twitter).
Contribute. What good is all this reading and engaging with others and their ideas if I do not integrate them into my own thinking, perspectives, research, and theorizing. There is no reason why I cannot pursue some of this on my own, especially as I am nearing completion of my PhD studies. Furthermore, I am glad I was able to act in the role of a hashtag moderator, though I think I want to become a little more involved in some way. We’ll see what that may mean (perhaps even based on my 2 previous next steps!); surely in some interesting way!
I look forward to seeing some of the archived sessions once they are online and available, as well as some of the online photos. Until then, onward and upward as we continue to theorize the web and what that means in our lives.
My viva voce (by live voice), otherwise known as the doctoral defense, is scheduled for March 25. Time to start my preparation (as if the previous 4 years were not enough!!).
I want to share that Thursday morning, January 10, 2013, was the day that I submitted my doctoral thesis. More years in the making than it may seem by my four years at Lancaster University, I am happy that this step is now complete.
It is now being printed and bound to send to the university examiners who will review it. We began scheduling dates for the viva voca (dissertation defense), where I will travel to the UK to discuss my research.
I am sharing this in part because this blog and my online presence has been a vital aspect of my research, as well as to let people know why I may have seemed somewhat distracted recently while this has been going on.
I will appreciate some positive energy while preparing for the upcoming process that will hopefully bring this academic experience to a satisfying resolution.
I have been Tweeting about this recently, though decided a quick check-in here is well overdue. This is the news I have been working for — I completed the final draft of my doctoral thesis today!
No, not submitted yet. Tomorrow I need to format and proof it one last time, then to my supervisor for the nod (or pointer to more corrections), after which I will submit.
The goal is to get done what needs to get done and submit this week.
Then comes its binding, sending to the examiners, and scheduling of the viva.
While I have not written a lot here at Silence and Voice recently, I have otherwise been writing extensively on Twitter recently as well as writing my doctoral thesis. With this said, I am taking a quick break from my other writing to sort my goals for 2013, something I will instead set as intentions (a bit more positive and without the guilt commonly associated with settings goals seeing how tough these are to follow through on).
I am including things that are realistic and will help me to be a better, more balanced person. I am framing these as things to reach for (positive) as opposed to behaviors to stop (negative). I intend to do these things this year, 2013:
I will Finish my Doctoral Thesis
Before anything else, I will finish my PhD in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning (Educational Research) at Lancaster University in 2013. All of my being and attention is oriented toward this first intention.
I will Publish an Article
Once I complete my thesis, I will publish at least one article based on my research. This does not mean it needs to come out in print in 2013 (not possible given the lead time), but something will be accepted or in-process (even with revisions requested). Too often I do research and do not publish the findings after presenting them at conferences or collaborate on articles with others, though I want to develop my own research stream. I will change this pattern of behavior with my doctoral thesis work.
I will Build a Consistent Online Presence
I am quite active on Twitter, though want to have a more consistent presence on LinkedIn, Academia.edu, and ResearchGate. This also includes my own professional website. Moreover, it does not simply mean current information, but a consistent sense of presence, voice, and intention regarding my professional interests, research, and identity.
I will drink 2 liters of Water Each Day
I believe water is valuable for good health, and while I have been gradually increasing my daily intake, I do not think it has been sufficient and balanced. This amount comes from a combination of the Institute of Medicine‘s recommendation, minus the amount of other things (coffee, juice, food) I consume for the remainder of what I need. I believe this will help my body to begin to better self-regulate and find balance, something that will hopefully permeate other part of my life.
Let the new year proceed, and may we live in interesting times.
I am happy to say I have just completed the analysis of my data for my doctoral thesis!
Let me clarify what I mean. By analysis, I mean making sense of the 23 interviews I completed by coding them, grouping similar concepts together, and then putting these concepts in a coherent order to present for my readers. That may not sound like a lot, but with hundreds of pages of interview transcripts and over 1000 codes to navigate and organize, it is a significant accomplishment.
While I have written up my analysis along the way (cf. Richardson’s work on writing as a method of inquiry), I hope to have my full draft analysis completed in another week or so. As I am engaging in narrative inquiry, this will be, in all likelihood, my longest thesis chapter.
I just sketched a tentative timeline of thesis work for the next week, so will keep my fingers crossed to maintain its trajectory (which I will do via Twitter).
Now that my thesis is submitted, it is time to prepare for my viva voca exam (doctoral dissertation defense). While I am not sure when this will be, somewhere around Easter seems realistic, so in my mind this will be in approximately 0 days.
While I know others seem to find this idea useful, I am not sure what it may mean in practice, so with that I am looking forward to a first synchronous #AdjunctChat on Twitter on Tues, May 14, 4:00pm EDT.
I want to share that Thursday morning, January 10, 2013, was the day that I submitted my doctoral thesis. More years in the making than it may seem by 
I have been 
While I have not written a lot here at Silence and Voice recently, I have otherwise been writing extensively on 
