Hello, YouShow15 Colleagues!
I’m Sheila and I’m in the process of trying to get my YouShow15 blog up and running. This is my second attempt.
I’m also in the process of trying to learn all things techie, and am so grateful to Alan Levine and Brian Lamb for providing this fabulous YouShow15 online platform through TRU, and for all the work they do behind the scenes to provide us with such an awesome and inspiring and invaluable learning experience.
I want to say I’m fairly new in dealing with digital platforms, but I have had some recent exposure/engagement through a Digital Literacy grad course last semester via Dr. Kim Jaxon. Our class had the amazing opportunity to transform/make our former grad class website in to what is now a digital bildungsroman for faculty in higher ed. I also credit @drjaxon, Twitter Extraordinaire, for introducing me to Twitter. I’ve found the Twittersphere to be a rich source for connecting, sharing, and collaborating on an array of educational topics. Truth be told, I couldn’t imagine being without it in my field of study and research. At the same time, I still grapple with the idea of having an online presence. I’ve always been somewhat of a private person; hence, the slight reluctance/resistance. Moreover, the issue of privacy and the internet concerns me, on all levels; particularly when I think of younger generations. Yet, as a future educator (or who knows what at this point), I am determined to establish and realize my digital identity, and to be a part of and a contributor of Twenty-First century learning/education. I believe exists a happy medium, an Yin and Yang, if you would.
Since I am sharing educational aspects of myself to a public audience, I feel compelled to confess that I’ve experienced a strange dose of “writer’s block” since completing my Master’s project, Spring 2014. I don’t know if it’s because the process of completing my thesis/creative project was one of the most exhausting and challenging things I’ve ever done in my life (though rewarding), or if it’s because I’m now in a different field of study, that is, Composition/Literacy/Digital Literacy. All I know is that lately (the past 6 months, to be exact) I’ve felt completely out of my element. And like I can’t string a coherent paragraph together. Hopefully, this too shall pass.
All that being said, my purpose for participating in YouShow15 is to learn and experiment with digital platforms and with the idea of having an e-portfolio. Equally important, I look forward to learning, connecting, sharing, and collaborating with all you fine YouShow15 folks. One can usually find me at on Twitter @smstagner, as I make sure to check-in once a day, if not more.
But before I go, here are some of the tech things I’ve learned/experimented with today:
And, how cool to see my Tweet pictured in the YouShow15 guidebook under Tech Skills!
A huge accomplishment for me today was getting my Twitter feed to show up on this blog. Thanks to Alan Levine/@cogdog, Guru of all things Web, and the YouShow15 guidebook, I was able to navigate my way through the (would like to say underworld, cause that’s how it felt at times) world of embedding in WordPress. Still have a lot to learn.
Ciao and good day!
N.B. I credit #ysdaily4 and the Godfather of Soul for inspiring my writing today!
