Why #walkmyworld?
I suppose my choice to extend my learning and professional social media presence originates from a sequence of decisions made as a graduate student, both at the Master and Doctoral levels. I elected to participate in a study that my former professor and current colleague was conducting while I was in his Cultural and Linguistic Diversity class at Buffalo State, where I was studying to earn my Master’s in becoming a literacy specialist (B-12). In short, this study aimed to “offer high school students genuine opportunities to write authentically and frequently for real audiences beyond those found within the high school’s walls” (Hunter & Caraway, 2014, p. 77). The real audiences were us — literacy specialist candidates having conversations to push the high school students’ comprehension using a platform that was new to many of us — Twitter. We tweeted conversations about our text, Lois’ Lowry’s The Giver, and it was quite an experience. It was the first time that I lived what so many lit/tech professors had told me about in my undergrad experiences, and with actual students in an actual high school, with other teachers that were interested in stepping outside the box and exploring the potential of free, seemingly ubiquitous social media applications in a literacy/ELA educational context. This was the first step, but certainly not the last, on the path that led towards #walkmyworld.
Participating in the Twitter study allowed me to attend and present at multiple local and state practitioner-based conferences, speaking from the literacy specialist’s perspective — how did participating in the study shape us? What did we notice? How did Twitter benefit the students from a literacy standpoint? These conferences happened largely after I had graduated from Buffalo State and started teaching reading and writing at a local community college as an adjunct professor. I realized that I loved teaching adults — as much as I enjoyed teaching young children. Additionally, going to these conferences filled me with ideas of not only what I could do in my classroom, but with questions… possible studies… research potential. That was what really lit a fire somewhere in me. I knew if I wanted to become a professor, to make my living teaching adults, doing research, writing, and connecting with others who are as passionate and excited about reading and writing as I am, I needed to pursue my doctorate.
I applied to the University at Buffalo (UB), which was highly recommended by my Buffalo State mentors. I took the GRE (the most grueling experience of my life that did not entail physical exertion), and I applied for an assistantship. I interviewed with my current professors and colleagues. I cried the day I received my appointment as a GA. I felt like a lifelong dream was finally starting to happen in reality.
Fall semester 2014 began, and it happened at such a speed that I can’t even believe how packed my head felt, like I needed to duct-tape my mind (or find a better filing system for it) in order to keep everything in there from falling out. During that time, I became a member of the Literacy Research Association (LRA), which coincides with my area of focus at UB. I joined the listserv and was so excited to read about what other scholars were doing in the field… it was like a virtual sounding board for all things literacy — a regular meeting of the minds… a place to promote one’s research… and a hub for those interested in similar topics to meet. That’s when I got an LRA listserv email from Ian O’Byrne discussing #walkmyworld earlier this month.
My first thought was of my previous work with Twitter. I already knew most of Twitter’s functionalities, but I was curious to see how other educators and scholars used it for their unique purposes. Also, considering that so many of us “live” on the Internet and use its tools to connect with others, I wanted to use this as an opportunity to continue carving out a professional social media identity for myself. Truth be told, I use Twitter for (mostly) professional purposes. I get a lot of my news from educational professionals whose beliefs align with my own (and some that do not, just to mix it up and get a more complete picture). I also like to exchange Twitter handles to people I meet at conferences. As one of my research interests include how reading and writing have changed as technology has afforded new opportunities for interactions with different modalities of text, I feel that it is important to actually experience and live in these spaces to better understand it.
So, I have been tweeting with the #walkmyworld tag and interacting with others’ posts. In fact, I’ve connected with two teachers (one in Georgia and one in Australia!) over our common love of the TV show Doctor Who. When week two rolls around, we are going to collaborate on something that will tie our fondness for that show into our responses.
As the semester begins, I want to try to keep a log of my journey through my doctoral studies. I wanted to do this last semester, but I felt like most of my “free time” was spent just learning how to keep all the balls in the air while still managing to attend to the relationships in my life and (attempt to) stay healthy. This time around, I feel that I can take a bit of time here and there to throw out any learning experiences, successes, frustrations, and anything else as I work through my program. Maybe make a few new friends in the process. Maybe find a few others who are in the thick of their doctoral studies. Maybe find inspiration and take solace in the experiences of those who have been there before. I’m open to just about anything.
Fair warning: there will be a lot about cats, food, music, travel, and my upcoming wedding, especially in this first year. Also, a certain Doctor will make appearances here and there. I am putting in a weekly reminder to update this thing every Saturday. For awhile, #walkmyworld will be a focus. After that, who knows…
So, let’s keep walking then, shall we? ☺
Reference:
Hunter, J. D., & Caraway, H. J. (2014). Urban Youth Use Twitter to Transform Learning and Engagement. (http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/1034-mar2014/EJ1034Urban.pdf)
