writing my thesis

I'm a graphic designer by day, a graduate student writing her thesis by night, and a devoted, albeit somewhat distracted, wife every moment in between. My research interests include the generational differences between Digital Natives (Millennials) and Digital Immigrants (Gen X'ers & Boomers), and the future of higher education in light of these differences.

[jasmined]

Everyone lies about writing. They lie about how easy it is or how hard it was. They perpetuate a romantic idea that writing is some beautiful experience that takes place in an architectural room filled with leather novels and chai tea. They talk about their ‘morning ritual’ and how they ‘dress for writing’ and the cabin in Big Sur where they go to ‘be alone’ - blah blah blah. No one tells the truth about writing a book. Authors pretend their stories were always shiny and perfect and just waiting to be written. The truth is, writing is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Even I have lied about writing. I have told people that writing this book has been like brushing away dirt from a fossil. What a load of shit. It has been like hacking away at a freezer with a screwdriver.

Amy Poehler, Yes, Please (via austinkleon)

[writingmythesis-blog]

My brother's a computer programmer. A really good one, you know, the kind who actually makes a decent living doing what he loves.

In his "free time," he teaches elementary and middle school kids how to build and program robots. He also has four children of his own—all under 7—and he's not yet 30-years-old.

His oldest, a 6-year-old clone (not kidding, he's a walking, talking duplicate of my brother at the same age), signed 'Thank you' before he could walk, plays (and wins) board games like Phase-10™ and Rack-O™, and has demonstrated an understanding of programming logic that goes beyond anything that rote memorization or parental coaching could explain (i.e. he can predict outcomes based on changes to code).

Child prodigy, you think? Nope. Just an ordinary first grader with parents who understand the power of learning, the incredible elasticity of a child's brain, and the importance of equipping their children for a future (and a career) that hasn't been envisioned yet.

So, parents—please...

Start early. Start now.

[writingmythesis-blog]

surveys don’t “really explain why our “buying and brand preferences…diverge sharply” from our parents.”

In case you're wondering...this isn't a "paint with a broad brush" kind of generation...we are diverse in demographics, beliefs, and interests. What makes us different than previous generations, IMO, is our collective celebration of that diversity. We want to be different. We love that we're different. We loathe that you want to lump us together, sprinkle us with your simplistic assumptions about our motivations & value systems, and cook us until we're as easily-defined and narrow-minded as you are.

[scoutiepug-blog]

Writer’s block.

[writingmythesis-blog]

…zaps my energy.

[writingmythesis-blog]

The Digital Classroom [Infographic]

Via: Accredited Online Universities Guide

[lesstalkmoreillustration]

Chris Piascik

[writingmythesis-blog]

Tell me about it...

[writingmythesis-blog]

As subconscious neural patterns, excuses can direct the course of events. As perceptions, they best predict actions you will take.

Dr. Athena Staik, in her August 2011 blog post for PsychCentral.com, titled Making Requests – 5 Reasons We Avoid Them (and 15 Excuses), explains why some people choose to complain or suffer in silence rather than coming right out and saying what it is that they want (from a relationship, from a work situation, from life in general).

The majority of the blog post holds no relevance to my thesis, but Dr. Staik's quote about excuses goes right to the heart of my personal journey writing a thesis.

I'm declaring a personal War Against Excuses in my life. At the moment, I'm none-too-confident that I'll prevail, but perhaps by "outing" every excuse my traitorous brain concocts, I can limit the amount of power these excuses may wield over my success or failure.

[writingmythesis-blog]

War Against Excuses

I'm declaring a personal War Against Excuses in my life! I can't take the inaction, the guilt, and the overwhelming feeling of falling further and further behind where "I ought to be" for one more second!

So, even though I can't guarantee that I'll be any more successful in writing my thesis by exposing these [lame] excuses, I hope to be able, at the very least, to invalidate the excuses that have, up until now, prevented me from achieving the level of productivity and creativity I know I am capable of.

I'm waging this War Against Excuses right here on writingmythesis.com by setting up a new page, The Excuse List, where I'll list every new excuse, and whenever possible, I'll list every reason an excuse is not valid. You can help by adding your own excuses to the list (or reasons mine don't hold water!) in the comments section.

[writingmythesis-blog]

What is important about a connectivist course, after all, is not the course content. Oh, sure, there is some content -- you can't have a conversation without it -- but the content isn't the important thing. It serves merely as a catalyst, a mechanism for getting our projects, discussions and interactions off the ground. It may be useful to some people, but it isn't the end product, and goodness knows we don't want people memorizing it. ...the process of taking the course is itself much more important than the content participants may happen to learn in the course. The idea of a connectivist course is that a learner is immersed within a community of practitioners and introduced to ways of doing the sorts of things practitioners do, and through that practice, becomes more similar in act, thought and values to members of that community. To learn physics, in other words, you join a community of physicists, practice physics, and thereby become like a physicist.

Dimension Referenced: Thinking Inward

Although there have been a few new technologies introduced to me in my Emerging Educational Technology class this semester, the most significant lesson I have learned thus far is not as much about the technology as it is about people's acceptance of technology. In particular, my perception of how eager educators are to adopt new technologies has changed.

The conversations with elementary, intermediate, and high school educators I have participated in this semester have shown that these educators have a real desire to integrate technology into their classrooms.

Why then, is there still such a gap between the availability of educational technologies and the implementation of these technologies in our schools?!

My [revised] impression, based on these same conversations, is that it is not the educators themselves, but the education system as a whole, that stands in the way of progress.

On an unrelated note, if I could add a title to this post, it would be what one professor I know loves to tell her students: "Process is Paramount!"

Stephen Downes, in his article 'Connectivism' and Connected Knowledge on huffingtonpost.com in January 2011. 

;

[austinkleon]

There’s an awful temptation to just keep on researching. There comes a point where you just have to stop, and start writing. When I began, I thought that the way one should work was to do all the research and then write the book. In time I began to understand that it’s when you start writing that you really find out what you don’t know and need to know.

David McCullough (via austinkleon)

[writingmythesis-blog]

Dimension Referenced: Thinking Inward

I've been really struggling to keep up with my responsibilities lately.  Late assignments, missed deadlines at work, and a frustrating case of writer's block have taken a toll on my confidence over the past few weeks.

When Steve Jobs died I spent some time reflecting on what made him (and his company) such a force in the world.  It gave me a pretty good kick in the pants.  Steve Jobs worked hard.  He asked a great deal of his employees and of himself.  He refused to settle for anything less than extraordinary, and he pushed himself and those around him further than anyone could have ever predicted. 

Steve Jobs achieved impossible feats. 

He was an ordinary man.  He didn't have any super powers.  My goals aren't nearly as lofty as being a billionaire or becoming an iconic figure! 

So, what's keeping me from achieving my own goals?!  I don't know the answer yet, but I'm hell-bent on figuring it out...

[writingmythesis-blog]

A Call to Action...if only!

Reflection Journal Post #3

Dimension Referenced: Thinking Forward

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently spoke to attendees of the U.S.-India Higher Education Summit about the need for educational collaboration between the two nations:

"Educational collaboration is a driving force in this strategic dialogue," Mrs. Clinton told the attendees, noting that both countries believe an educated citizenry is crucial to the health of their democracies. She encouraged attendees to "consider no idea off-limits, no outcome impossible."

It's that last line that really struck me.  

What if we applied Mrs. Clinton's charge to other areas of higher education? What if we took for granted that we in academia should "consider no idea off-limits, no outcome impossible"?

Color me an idealist (you wouldn't be the first), but I like to imagine that if those of us in academia (or aspiring to be) ran with this idea, 21st century education would look much, much different.

[writingmythesis-blog]

We lament when things are taken from us, and I’d say that Jobs’ death (like Henson’s, like Disney’s) took a valuable lens onto the world from all of us still here. His way of seeing gave us a desirable path forward, and offered a way to live better with all of this technology. It was a way built on empathy and laced with magic. Technology and design have the potential to be life-enhancing, and I have never felt that more acutely than when using the things Steve helped make. Jobs liked to say computers were a bicycle for the mind, and with that understanding came something that was always left unsaid: a bicycle can be used for a commute, but it should also be used to joyride.

I'll probably post my own Steve Job's tribute/how-he-changed-my-life story a little later in the week, but I came across this beautiful reflection by Frank Chimero just now and I really wanted to share it with you. 

Please check out the original post for the rest of Frank's response to Steve Jobs' death.

[writingmythesis-blog]

I've spent the last three or four weeks feeling guilty about not making [much] progress on Chapter 3 (Methodology).

My thesis advisor seems to think I'm making acceptable progress, so why don't I?

Probably because I know I've been putting it off the entire time and filling up my days with other [less] important tasks.

But, Mr. Perry knows what's up! He explains the procrastinator's mindset to a tee...and even has some advice for becoming a better procrastinator!

I came across John Perry's ancient [mid-90's] article about procrastination through shear luck, but it hasn't lost any shine with age, it's still:

relevant,

spot on, and

hilarious.

I highly recommend this article to my fellow procrastinators!

(and don't pretend you're going to bookmark it and read it later because we both know that's BS...read it now!)  =]

[writingmythesis-blog]

Reflection Journal Entry #2

Dimension Referenced: Thinking Inward 

This week I've spent a lot of time looking for literature related to my thesis topic, and it has really surprised me how often the information I come across applies to not only my thesis, but also my Emerging Educational Technologies class.  Yes, both deal with innovation and 21st Century education, but I suspect that one of the underlying reasons I am running across so much bleed-through between the topics is that both have a thread of the disruptive, an undercurrent of the revolutionary.

In particular, this week I came across an April 2010 article in Educational Leadership, called "Where Are Our Greenfields?" The following excerpt is in response to the question "What specific roles could the federal government play in encouraging innovation in the education system?" and I think it is a perfect example of this "bleed through" I'm noticing:

We have these large, institutionalized systems that have been doing business premised on the way they did business 50 years ago—in many cases, 100 or more years ago. The district infrastructures look the same. What we've done is add layer upon layer of new rules, regulations, and information technology systems, without ever reinventing the old. It's much like somebody who's trying to build a new, shiny, eco-friendly skyscraper before clearing away the rubble of the tenement building that has long stood in the same location.

Innovation is an opportunity for people to come in without any of these accumulated routines—to start fresh, taking advantage of the labor force that exists today and new patterns of behavior and new tools of communication and technology to solve problems. But the reality is, up and down school districts and states and the education system, it is very difficult for educators or providers from outside the schools who are trying to solve particular problems to get the resources they need.

So what the federal government could do is address the things that get in the way of these problem solvers. That involves striking away barriers to entry that are both formal, as in law, and informal, as in the way business is done. 

I'm not sure yet if/how I'll be able to address this topic in my thesis, but perhaps a more important thing to consider is if/how I'll be able to address this issue [in the future] as an educator.

[writingmythesis-blog]

Full Disclosure

It's been years since I've kept a journal, and even then it was for a class assignment rather than for personal reflection and enjoyment. I'm sure that most people would react to that statement with a shrug and think "So what. Who keeps a journal these days?!" but I feel a certain measure of guilt at this admission.

Perhaps it's because I know that so many days and weeks and years of my life are passing by without even the briefest moment spent in contemplation. Or maybe it's because I know (better than anyone) how much time I've wasted in the frivolous pursuit of "me time," which more often than not, turns into "playing-games-on-my-iPad-time" or "sucked-into-the-time-warp-that-is-the-internet-time." I must admit, however, that I suspect my guilt really stems from the deepest and furthest reaches of my soul; you know, that place where the "real you" lives. 

I guess this would probably be a good time to fill you in on my secret: I am a writer.

Saying so (out loud) makes me nervous and fidgety. I want to take it back, hit delete, and pretend nobody heard. I'm terrified that someone will suddenly stand up, pointing and laughing, saying something to the effect of "Where do you get off calling yourself a writer! You're nothing more than a two-bit amateur with a fancy computer and a few cliches!"

Despite my inner demons, I repeat: I am a writer. I was born a writer. I will die, you guessed it, a writer. And hopefully, with this anxiety-filled admission out of the way, I will actually get some writing done!

Related articles

A Writing Life (susanbauld.com)

4 Things Every Writer Needs (sociallyacceptedmadness.wordpress.com)

Why you must write. (connection-revolution.com)

[austinkleon]

Read books you’d like to write. If you want to write literature, read literature. Write books you’d like to read. Follow your own weirdness.

Annie Dillard, “Notes For Young Writers” (via austinkleon)

A noble endeavor that sometimes makes me feel as though I've bitten off more than I can chew...