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You make me feel like dancing…


I’m feeling very excited right now.  So much so, I feel like dancing! (Don’t worry– I’ll restrain myself.) For those of you old enough to remember Leo Sayer, every time I hear the phrase, “You make me feel like dancing,” I think of him. Although the dance in my head these days is more like a Nikki Minaj/David Guetta soundtrack, but that’s neither here nor there.

Lots of things going on with TechCommGeekMom, both personally and professionally (since I consider this blog my “professional” blog).

First, I’m excited about my own academics. I just turned in my last assignment for the semester, which means that I am done doing the coursework for my Masters degree in Professional and Technical Communications! It’s been a long two and a half years, but just shy of getting the final grades and graduation, I’m done!  I’m very glad that I took the time and expense to get this degree. I’ve put a lot of hard work into this while at time juggling a stressful full-time job, being a Cub Scout den mother, and being the mother of a special needs kid. So if you don’t think you can do it, think again! It IS possible! I always wanted to get a graduate degree, but never knew what major. It’s been almost exactly 22 years since my undergraduate graduation, so there was plenty of reason to doubt that I could do it. But I’ve done it. I also know that it was worth the wait, because I not only validated many years of technical communications experience in the process, but gained a lot of new skills as well.  And who knew that I would do so well that I’d be accepted into the graduate honor society at my university? If you told me all about where I am now back when I first started this program, I would’ve told you that you were full of beans.  I’m excited to be moving forward from this experience!

Part of moving forward is also reliving some of the past, though! I’ve already made one post, but I will be posting some of my “greatest hits” from my academic blog here. While they are centered more on technical communications and editing at large rather than m-learning, I do think they provide some insight on things that all technical communicators need to keep in mind when looking at “the big picture”, no matter what specialty you work.

I’ve also added content to the ID/TC Links page now. I’ve listed links to commonly used ID and TC software as well as some of my favorite blogs and websites. If you’d like to contribute to the list, please drop me a line at techcommgeekmom@me.com.

Even though I won’t be in grad school anymore (at least for the time being…anyone know of a flexible PhD/EdD program? LOL), it’s not like I won’t be busy. I have lots of projects ahead, and lots of opportunities and chances for more opportunities. I’m looking forward to my webinar in June (register here if you haven’t already!), as well as several other projects I have on tap. If nothing else, being done with school means I can spend more time here on the blog and on Twitter! I genuinely would love any input and participation on this blog. Feel like guest blogging? Let me know! I want to create an m-learning community here where we can “talk shop” in a way that we can kick off our shoes and lounge on the couches while eating snacks-kind of way. I love a good discussion, and I love talking technology, m-learning and technical communications!

More to come, but please enjoy all the new stuff here on the site, and hopefully more great content is coming ahead!

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Thoughts on the state of mobile learning

See on Scoop.itM-learning, E-Learning, and Technical Communications

So much about the way we teach, learn and communicate is up for grabs. Educators are using new tools and technologies to reach their students … but what do…

See this video on www.youtube.com

This is a REALLY great video to watch– this is why I’m so passionate about m-learning!

Two things I wanted to note:
1) Thanks to @snewco on Twitter for bringing this to my attention, and,
2)This was put out by Abilene Christian University. When I’ve done research on m-learning, they often seem to really have cutting edge stuff going on over there, especially with iPad and mobile learning research on the graduate level. Worth exploring their website.

–techcommgeekmom

 

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Why we need group work in Online Learning

Via Scoop.itM-learning, E-Learning, and Technical Communications

This post is 1st in a 3 part series on the topic of group work in online learning communities. Post 2 will be about strategies for effective group work, and post 3, successful evaluation and outcom…

Via onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com