Month: February 2010

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2010-02-07

  • Tonight's posting will be blog posting 1500. Wow. #
  • I have my Tweets go to my blog each evening, via Twitter Tools. I like to track my thinking (perhaps for a future project). #
  • There is again a large mob at #Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker St. The recession must be over. Hurray!! #
  • Taking a walk to the pharmacy; my first time out all day. #
  • The Twit Cleaner is an amazing little Twitter cleaning program http://thetwitcleaner.com #
  • I'm using The Twit Cleaner to chase the twits from my twitter! http://is.gd/7QkmN #
  • Just grabbed some bagels for breakfast. Bitterly cold outside, with a spectacular blue sky. The cold wind dried the streets and sidewalks. #
  • RT @be_b: it seems cognitive dissonance patterns are informing people's habit to not check facts first but process information in biased way #
  • Malawi man arrested for posting gay rights posters – http://bit.ly/a132Mu #cnn #

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Public Transformations . . . almost done . . .

I am nearly finished with the DRAFT of my Public Transformations paper, which is due tomorrow. I do feel confident that my Introduction (with the research problem, significance, and purpose statement) is clear and concise.This is among the more important parts of the paper, and I think I was finally able to articulate it in an interesting and inviting way.

rough-draftI have been increasingly anxious about the due date, how long the paper is taking, and how a lot of loose ends will simply not get resolved by tomorrow. Nevertheless, I started telling myself over and over that this is a draft, and I will get feedback from two of my peers, after which I will revise for the faculty review and assessment (as well as for a conference abstract I am thinking about). So, while I must submit this by tomorrow, I will still be working on it over the next few weeks (with the FINAL version due on March 8).

So, exhausted and with achy (from typing) arms, I am about to submit the result of all my efforts. Wonder if this is what the thesis (UK) / dissertation (US) is like? Will see THAT one soon enough.

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2010-02-06

  • I have been working on my research paper all day. Due Monday 5:00 pm GMT. #
  • New comment on "Using Twitter for teaching and learning" http://bt.io/ES26 #
  • 3 new comments on "Helen's reflections" and more http://bt.io/ES1T #
  • DOing 4 loads of laundry while trying to focus on my paper. #
  • I am amazed how wrong the weather forecasters were about the snow. Manhattan got nothing. NOTHING! #

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An Elevator Speech for Research

glass-elevatorI have worked in educational practice for as long as I can remember (or, more precisely, ever since the second year after college), and have often heard about (and even taught the importance of) the elevator speech. This is the short (30 seconds or so) answer to the question, “So, what do you do?” It is a mechanism for networking and searching for work, activities I know are important though have not been especially skilled at (at least not in the F2F modality, that is).

I have never really considered this before for research projects, especially for the dissertation / thesis. This idea originated from Cristina Costa’s recent blog post, where she discussed her PhD in minutes. What a healthy idea to help focus the idea, to try on the idea and feel how it fits, to help to make the process real by speaking it and bringing it into a dimension of reality.

I am sharing this as I want to try this when I work on articulating my doctoral thesis (dissertation back here in the US) later this year. I believe my current research project, Public Transformations: Adult Learners Who Use Social Media to Express and Understand Their Identities as Developing Researchers, will help me in the direction for my work. As I will want people to know about, offer suggestions for, and agree to participate in my research, I will need to be able to clearly articulate the ideas for my work, what I want to find, why I want to find it, and why you should care. Just can’t get away from the WIIFM!

She was in a hospital in serious condition. Imagine my relatives’ surprise when they saw viagragener.com on the list of the prescribed drugs.

Come to think of it, this process may be useful for every research project . . . . If a research project cannot be simply and clearly stated, then how well can we really engage in it?