#WalkMyWorld 2016 Edition - [LE0]

This time last year, I took my first steps on a journey called #WalkMyWorld, one that intersected the real with the digital… the very first step looked like this:

A year has passed…

… and it seems that not so much has changed at a first glance.

But what has happened since my first #WalkMyWorld post?

I engaged in multimodal discourse analysis on this gorgeous work of art (which came out during #WalkMyWorld 2015 and definitely colored my interactions):

Hand. Cannot. Erase. by Steven Wilson

… then I shared that analysis with the songwriter himself, Steven Wilson after his show in Albany, NY.

My buddy Mike, STEVEN WILSON, and me, right after I handed him my paper on his album like a super-nerd.

Dan and I - we did this, too:

We soon after traveled to a couple places…

Colosseum (Rome, Italy)

The Arch of Titus (Foro Romano, Rome, Italy)

Atop il Duomo (Florence, Italy)

Boboli Gardens (Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy)

Balcony of the Galeria del Uffizi (Florence, Italy)

Sunset at Ponte Vecchio (Florence, Italy)

When we got back stateside, it was time to get to work… and to prep for conferences!

Presenting for folks at the New York State Reading Association Conference (“Conversations between Literacy Instruction, Technology, and Authoritative Voices: A Case Study”)

Presenting at LRA about #WalkMyWorld alongside fellow #Walk folks, Ian O’Byrne and Sue Ringler Pet! (MOOCs and their MOOClike Relatives: Future Possibilities of Literacy Instruction in Open, Online Spaces)

Having the opportunity to present with #Walk colleagues at LRA is just one example of what a fantastic opportunity it is to participate in open projects like #WalkMyWorld… as a researcher, student, and teacher, it’s an incredible way to meet like-minded folks who are excited to push boundaries, take chances, make mistakes, and keep working out that creative muscle.

I also was fortunate enough to present at the International ICG Poster Session:

And I co-authored the paper presented for our Center for Literacy and Reading Instruction’s (CLaRI) groundbreaking work with engineering and literacy… which is one of the main projects that I work on as a research project manager for CLaRI!

After finishing the semester, it was really something to just sit back and reflect on everything that we made happen this year. It was unbelievably busy… and yet filled with incredible opportunities for adventure and growth in so many ways. This has been the story of my recent past… I’m looking forward to learning about others’ stories — their pasts, presents, and futures.

Briefly - my present: I am a second year/fourth semester doctoral student at the University at Buffalo. I am project manager of CLaRI at UB, currently managing our project involving an engineering/literacy afterschool club for elementary students at a local school. I am trying to narrow my research interests in the effort to figure out what I might do for my research component leading to my dissertation (it’s tough!). I’m a progressive minded person in a lot of ways. I like solving problems and writing about it. I’m also a musician and music-lover.

Some of my #WalkMyWorld goals are:

1. Continue to craft my digital identity and gain experience with different apps that help me do so
2. Delve into the affordances of different modes in conveying different kinds of information (basically, exploring multimodal composition in earnest)
3. Make connections with others on their various #WalkMyWorld journeys!

See you on the journey :)