Treading Uncharted Waters




Week Three... 

Whew! Lots of deep breaths have been taken and coffee consumed. 

I am stuck somewhere between having too much fun in this course and feeling like I am not doing enough work. I find myself checking and rechecking the #netnarr homepage and the (orange) Course Announcements link to make sure that I am doing everything that I am supposed to be doing in class. The activities are so exciting and they are a welcomed use of the other side of my brain especially after spending 6 hours trying to teach 7th and 8th graders how to analyze the how greed and poor working conditions led to Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that took the lives of 145 girls and women. 

I'm getting off track, let me come back. I said all of that to say that this has been a nice way to break up the monotony in my life. So glad I signed up for this course. 

Now, the only way my scattered or preoccupied depending upon which way you look at it brain will be able to make sure that this blog hits all of the points it is supposed to I am going to have to label my sections. 

Okay, so Bots. Yea I think I need to look into this further. I am still not 100% certain or sure what this is or really means. Like I couldn't put it in my own words and explain it if you asked me to. And if could be just because I'm deliriously tired. Anyway, I started following @kairoshotbot and @badideabots a couple of hours ago. I think I need to follow the tweets some more to really feel like I'm in the know. I did tweet Hot Bots Interview earlier today, but I haven't received a tweet back yet. I'm thinking its because I asked a lame question. I'm too ashamed to even share my question.

Moving right along to our Daily Digital Digital Alchemies I think I am addicted. In fact, I know I might be addicted because my mind drifts off thinking about what I can do while I "aggressively monitoring" students (an educational buzz word for making sure kids are working)  #dda36 was a nice chance. I enjoyed letting my creative juices flow and create the start of a story. I am now following @magicrealismbot. They have become my new favorite twitter handle. Maybe I know more than I think. Go figure. 

I am super competitive. I hate losing. I must admit that I am little disappointed that I am no where near the top of the leaderboard. Annabella is kicking our butt. I feel like I am doing so many but I am still like number 10 Ugh!  My goal is to do them all. But in reality it's not going to happen because there are some that I am just not technologically savvy enough to do. I just have to be okay with it. 

If you ask me, my blog is so basic. Thank God for Moms. My Mom thinks its the greatest thing since sliced bread. She has been reading it everyday and bragging to her friends about it. That's not saying much because she is less tech savvy than me. She has troubles sending emails. Anyway, I can take solace in the fact that everything I have done with my blog I taught myself to do. Along with the help of some very good YouTube videos. When I see some of my classmates blogs they look absolutely amazing. You would think that they're blog wizards and I'm just a "muggle"-- with no magical blog powers. 

I'm learning though and that's what counts-- I guess. I appreciate the fact that we're encouraged to read each other's work and comment. It really makes you feel connected to a community and it pushes me to write something worth reading. I already have some of my classmate's blogs that I am looking forward to reading next week. We have some really gifted writers in this class. 


Five Card Flickr Stories was pretty cool. And it was such a creative way to tell a story. I hope by the end of the course I will truly learn how to say more with less. Clearly from the length of this blog I haven't learned that yet. 

I chose to do two Flickr stories. One is titled, Trip To Grandma's and the other is Baby's Day Out. 






It's week three.

I'm keeping my head above water. 
I think I can breathe now-- oh no,  I have to watch the Studio Visit. 





Comments

  1. LOL I love your blog. It's not basic at all and your writing style is humorously honest. I love that I can hear your personal voice w=through your writing! I too have found that I'm having fun with this course and I don't know if I'm doing enough work! I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't really understand bots and how they work and stuff... I forgot to add that in my blog tho...that's not good. There goes my A I guess =( You have everything you need tho and you reminded me of my own! Thank you! Your flikr stories also made me laugh! I know who's blog to go to if I'm ever feeling down at all. Please keep writing the way you do. It's inspirational and I'd love to find my voice in my writing as you have.

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    1. Awww you're two kind. Your kind words are so very appreciative. I was too tired to be anything other than honest. It is good to know that I am not the only one feeling this way. Hopefully, I will be able to live up to your expectations over the duration of this class.

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  2. ...I should have re-read that before I posted. Sorry for the spelling errors and random "w="!

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    1. No worries! Look what time you were responding! :)

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  3. You crack me up. This is a funny, honest, energetic account of what it is like to drift an float in this #NetNarr whirlwind. I agree completely that we have some very talented writers in the mix, and the constant influx of ideas & expression is a wonderful infusion. You state "I'm learning though and that's what counts...", and you and I both know that is really so true (from both the professional and personal lens on this whole enterprise).
    Isn't it funny how a blog can sort take on the characteristics of the writer? In a way, following a blog is kind of like making a little "office visit" with the writer.

    ...I like you space here :).

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    1. Thanks! Yes I figure if this journey is allowing me to learn and grow then I am ready. I will continue to float along until I am ready to swim and not simply tread water. I never thought about this blog taking on my personality but it kind of is. This has my name written all over it. Literally and figuratively!

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  4. Stephanie,
    The more honest you are in a blog post, the more it crackles with life and draws people in, so you're way beyond Muggles with this truthful, rueful post!

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    1. Ha! Why thank you Sandy. It is good to hear that I am past Muggle-dom! I appreciate your feedback.

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  5. You are doing plenty of work, especially if you are motivated to do work after dealing with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

    I agree with Sandy that hearing your natural voice in writing is exactly what I like to read.

    If you want any coaching with blog set up or techniques, contact me and we can set up a virtual office hours. The most important part is your writing, reflecting, in your voice. If I would suggest one thing is to add some hyperlink when you mention a DDA or for example your flickr stories, so a reader can go see your work.

    I wish you could see a big smile mentioning your Mom enjoying your blog. When my mom was alive, she'd tell me about reading my blog "and not understanding most of it" (especially when I write about tech stuff) but just knowing she would check it was kind of like a remote hug.

    One time when she visited, Mom blurted out "can you explain this twitter thing to me?" Oh I had fun. I tweeted out that she needed some help, and when we sat down 2 hours later to do that, she had responses to read. I have a recording of that conversation (in my blog somewhere) but I remember so well how in her simple way she grasped an insight into the conversational value of twitter.

    Finding your way in blogging evolves as you do it, so just keep in keeping on.

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    1. Oh wow! I am so glad that I could make you smile. That is awesome. Moms are cool like that. And you have a recording of it-- the benefits of the internet. You can have an artifact that you can keep forever.

      Thanks so much for your kinds words of wisdom. I was able to figure out how to do the hyperlinks. I am super excited about this because I did before I even read your comment. For some real on I am not getting notifications when people comment. Hence forth why this response is so late. I think I may take you up on your virtual office hours. But usually I don't discover that I can't do these things until the last minute when I try to do them. So this week, I promise I will be more prepared.

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    3. sorry about the white guys. This is just babble.
      https://youtu.be/uHGe09wXwX0

      Alan, can I get something like a # similar to open, kaen to track referrals for the Lab? Possible to segregate off if that firehose gets a bit much. t-13 sigh.

      I'd like to try to get more people involved, but if you have a head start, maybe you won't get as busy this month...

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