It Takes A Village To Raise A PhD student

I should really be reflecting on field-dependent rationality for one final so I can move on to the second final, but just had to note what makes it possible or impossible to attempt two classes in a semester. Julie can share her reflections as well.

Look at your professional life. Mine changed dramatically this semester and as it was due to a new position I couldn't anticipate in what ways and I didn't know how to control things. Oh it was bad at times.

Look at your personal life. Do you have family and friends willing to support you or will they undermine you? I couldn't have taken on everything I did this fall if my husband and son -- as well as a lot of friends -- didn't pitch in at home. Still bad but once your house has achieved a certain level of disarray it just doesn't matter how much longer you ignore it. Everyone was fed and clean clothes were available and homework (for mother and child) was completed on a mostly timely basis. Of course the big question is whether or not your family can take you becoming a wild, crazy person due to pressure combined with lack of sleep. Can you take being this person?

Look at your academic life. How many thoughts can you hold in your head at once? No, seriously, if you are a multi-tasker then this is easier for you -- even if you are already multi-tasking just to attend school (which all of us in this program are). Some people find multi-tasking at this level extremely difficult so taking two classes is simply not for you. Of course, the advice I received (and didn't take) was to take classes that complement each other. I suppose if I knew more about argumentation at the beginning of the semester I might have had better luck with this but I floundered a long time before coming up with a seminar topic that worked for me and by then I was committed to other projects for research methods. However, throughout most of the semester the two classes seemed to be at different ebbs and peaks so it was easier to balance than it might seem. Of course, completing two take-home finals plus a final project all at once is a challenge.

Double Trouble

Well Julie and I are attempting two classes this semester. If we survive with our minds, health, and marriages intact then we may attempt it again in the spring but it is too soon to make the call just now.

So far I am holding my own with Argumentation and Research Methods but then I haven't started work on my Argumentation projects yet having only recently settled on a topic. It is crazy busy and challenging but I am learning a lot. I was warned that this combination would either expand or explode my brain. Stay tuned.

Julie is taking Discourse and Social Issues and Research Methods and finds herself equally stretched.

Let's see, what else are folks taking this semester? Lora and Christine are in Research Methods, Cheri in Argumentation, and Chris in Foundations of Technical Communication. I'm not sure what Rob is taking so we will stay tuned.

We are all busy with our noses to the grindstone!

Conflicted and Confused

I was trying to come up with a third "C" word to make it more rhythmic but my brain is too full.

I've just added two blogs to our sidebar so interested folks can follow the musings, mumbling, and mutterings regarding our progress, research, and learning.

I'm also trying to contact some of the new crop of newbies (at least the ones I have access to and urging my fellow Quadrophonics to do the same) to let them in on our blog. Also, urging those newbies to get in contact now and begin establishing a support system. Trust me, you will need it!

Several of us in the program are Twittering (see my recent Twitters in the sidebar of my blog). Lora already gave it up but I'm still hanging in there. While not all Twitters are useful/helpful/interesting I'm actually thinking that it might assist my thoughts (as in help focus/organization) which is an area that I can use all the help I can get.

And if you want to know more about why I'm conflicted and confused you can check out my blog. Any advice welcome!

I can't wait until next year

This is my first blog, so this blog is also a test blog to see if it works. Sorry for being blogged down in life and not blogging in a timely manner.

When I arrived at TTU, and met my fellow cohorters, I immediately recognized the importance of our group, and what we mean to each other. We have an association, whether we like it or not, that will last a lifetime. For that, believe it or not, I am thankful. I hope we remain supportive friends forever. Thank you Deanna, Julie, Christine, Lora, Chris, and Cheri for your help and support. We are the Quadraphonics! We will overcome!

Hyper Rob, drinking too many diet cokes.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

This is it. Our first May Seminar is over (if you couldn't guess from the other posts) and today we go our separate ways.

I am so glad to be done and to be able to sleep in my own bed and assume some sort of normal schedule. I am so eager to see my family -- especially my 7-year-old son -- as being away from them is one of the hardest parts of this.

But I am so sad to say good-bye too all my new friends. I know we will see each other in the MOO and at conferences but it is too hard not to be able to be all together until next year. Of course as Joyce says now we only have to wait 50 more weeks. And fortunately the New Media class has a great DVD of interviews that we can use for our fix when things get really bad.

I cannot explain the bond that it developed here through this experience. I am so glad to be in this program and a part of this amazing group of people.

Ready to go home

Don't get me wrong I have just had the best two weeks of my entire life and I can't wait to return next year but I am really ready to go home. My mind and body are tired. I have put in a lot of late nights and early mornings, partly to keep up with work but also having fun and chatting with my roomies. I have really enjoyed getting to know them and feel that we will be friends for life to call on whenever we need it.

Tomorrow at 5:55 a.m. I begin the long journey home to Potsdam, N.Y. where my three sweet children and wonderful husband will be waiting to pick me up and take me the long five hour car ride home. Did I tell you I live in the middle of no where!

Keep checking back because we all plan to continue to blog and share our experiences as we continue through the program and please feel free to ask any questions. We all are more than happy to impart any of our hard earned wisdom on you (the newbies) as you make it through your first year of classes and prepare to head to May Seminar!

Hasta la bye bye

Time to go home from our first May Workshop...we, the Newbies, morphed into the Quadrophonics in order to make room for the next newbies.

We'll keep posting this year to give you all the information our brains now contain...of course, after cramming two weeks of usability into our heads at lightening speed, I can't say that it accounts for much, but they tell us that we'll retain more later.

All the other cohorts and faculty liken this experience to a boot camp, but I have to say that my former life as a field archaeologist prepared me for this like no other experience - academic or professional.

Well, hasta la bye bye baby...getting on the road to go home to Cincinnati!!!

Same time next year?!!!

Packing List

While I am thinking of it here is a partial list of things that you should plan to bring with you when you come for the May Workshop. Hopefully everyone else will chime in with their favorite items to bring.

• Laptop w/LAN cable and mouse
• Good case to carry anything you need during the day - when you leave the dorm in the am it is unlikely you will be back
• Thumb drive to transfer files back and forth from computer to computer
• Comfortable clothes and shoes for various temps this year the dorms have been cold at night. The first week was cool the second hot but the english building was having so work done on the A/C so we needed to layer
• Notebook
• Pens/Pencils/Markers - Your favorite tools for brainstorming
• Post-its
• Towel or two depending on your preference
• Laundry duffel bag/basket - for carrying back and forth from the washer and dryers
• Sheets and blanket - Nice to have your own
• Pillow - Theirs are flat
• Iron/Ironing board - Work this out with your roomates to have one for the dorm to share
• Lots and Lots of quarters for the washer, dryer and soda machine - If you are like me and many others here you will find you live on the caffeine in the soda to keep you awake.

If you don't see it here feel free to ask but pretty much you will want to bring anything that is going to make you comfortable and at ease. Even though you are only here for two weeks it will feel like you have been here for sixteen. We have even begun to call it home.

Too Busy!

Well it's been a while since any of us have had time to post. We got really busy. The first week seems like cake compared to the second one. Once we got through the book material and moved into the application of what we learned in usability we had a lot of work to do so that we could make our usability test count. In such a short time period for work there is no going back and doing it all over again. Our pilot test seemed like an absolute disaster but we made it through, learned a lot and applied it the next day when we did the test for real. That was gruelling!

Just to give you an idea of what we were up against and how quickly we are moving we ran five test subjects through the lab from 2 - 6 one right after another. We took the evening off and prepared for our presentations. Oh by the way, you have to do an individual presentation while you are here to your peers. On Wednesday we began to crunch the numbers and analyze the data so that we could draw correlations on which we could write our paper that we plan to submit for publication in Computers and Composition. It's a lofty goal but we'll have to see if we can pull it off. Only two more days to do it. I'm sure we will do but we are definately going to be tired when we are done.

Rest and Reflection

A much needed day of rest and relaxation. No programs, no classes, no deadlines. We get the chance to recuperate from the stressful, eventful week and to prepare for another one likely to be even more action packed than the last.

Part of me can't believe we already halfway through our first May Seminar and in some ways I'm even a little sad about that but I am also eager to get home and back to real life.

Trouble with a Capital "T" and that Stands for Technology

We submitted the plan for our usability test last evening. It didn’t come without challenges. We divided the tasks and worked late on Friday night to attack the different pieces of the plan. While some of our team attended reviews on Saturday morning, a few others looked over the materials we collected and began synthesizing. We continued our synthesizing process as class began and then ran into technical problems.

We were storing the main document on my laptop and feeding completed pieces via a stick. An encryption software popped up on my computer. Later we tried to log onto the web to send the main document to my Texas Tech e-mail in order to print. However, I could not get access. We tried to burn the document onto a CD. That, too, failed. Thankfully, one of my teammates, Christine, came to the rescue. She assumed (correctly as we would soon learn) that the problem was the encryption software. She shut it down and was able to move the data back onto a stick and into a computer on a workstation in the room. We were then able to view the document for team editing. Ultimately, at around 7:00 p.m. Christine sent the plan to Dr. Still.

Now on to the next challenge.

No Concept of Time

It is so busy and intense here that it is very easy to forget what day it even is. I was speaking to my husband on the phone this morning at 9:30 EST and asked why he was at home with the kids and not at work, he politely reminded me it was Saturday. It didn't feel much different to me as all the days are running together, we still had classes today and we have completed so much work that after six days we are now at spring break.

We completed our first major deliverable, the research plan today. I think we did a pretty good job pulling it together and dividing the work up with seven people involved. We have had one or two skirmishes here and there but I think that lends itself to the nature of us all being tired. I think we drove Brian (Dr. Still) nuts as all seven of us painstakingly worked through our corrections. I could here him on the side dying to chime in and bring us into focus. He finally gave up and went home leaving us to sort it out on our own. Thank you so much Brian for all the great knowledge and insight even if we did get off track several times in the process. Don't worry I think we will move the ball forward!

Quoth the raven: Duck you sucker!

I find that a nice run in the morning helps me reflect on the many learning points of the workshop and process what I need to do for the day ahead. I must give warning, though, to any future newbies that if you wish to do the same, you need to keep an eye out for the large, black birds that dive bomb those who jog in the vicinity of their nests. I’ve felt the air and heard the “whoosh” of the birds passing within an inch of my head twice, so far. Another animal that has made my runs interesting is the jackrabbit. I’ve seen several on the western edge of campus, and nearly tripped over one this morning. I must have spooked the hare, and it in return made the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight when it jumped out from behind a small cluster of weeds at my feet.

Advice to Next Year's Newbies: Beware the Fireants

Beware the Fire ants, my son
The jaws that bite, the pinchers that snap


If you find yourself laying in the grass against a concrete wall with someone taking your picture, make sure to check for fire ants first!

We aren't in Kansas anymore Toto

If I only had a brain....I'm not even sure the Wizard could help me now. Unless that wizard is Starbucks.

I thought I'd post this in the morning when my brain was clear, but I find that clear is a relative term. Clear for here is different from clear outside of Oz. These days my brain is stuffed full of usability, ideas people present that I want to explore, and thoughts about things to try in class.

We're barreling down that yellow brick road at break-neck speed.

Light bulbs are popping all over the place

Wow! I just got up and after a quick call home to my kids decided to do some of my reading for my group project, during my reading "something amazing" (a phrase my children love to use that I think definately fits this situation) happened. I generally write in the column reflective thoughts that I can go back to later for writing papers but today I found myself writing ideas that could become research articles, dissertations or collaborations between myself and others. I never thought that way before and it feels really good. I'm not sure but I think that has to be a facet of being here and being with other people who are thinking about research and sharing their ideas. I couldn't fathom an idea of what kind of research a TCR person would do that could be valuable to others until the workshop. This is just another reason to add to the list of why this program and the workshop are such a valuable experience as you move through this degree.

No Concept of Time

I have to remind myself that it's Thursday evening. I arrived at Texas Tech on Sunday. The calendar would indicate that four days have gone by, but I could easily be convinced that it's four hours, or just as easily that it has been four weeks. The time has passed so quickly, that I can't believe we're more than halfway through week one, and yet when I stop to think of all that has been packed into the week, and reflect back on given moments, some seem long ago. I interpet this time warp to be a good thing, because the only other periods in my life when time has seemed so fleeting and yet so full, have been when I have had good experiences.

Prior to this workshop, the online courses have been great for acquiring academic knowledge. The May Workshop has introduced me to many more aspects of the doctoral experience and has done much to help me understand what is ahead of me. It's a lot to absorb, but I'm feeling very enriched by it.

Sooo Tired!

My brain hurts!

There is so much knowledge floating around the room at any giving time that it really can make your brain hurt. When you get to this spot be prepared to be overloaded, overworked, overtired and over-lonely. I left behind a four, almost three year-old and a six month old baby. I miss them incredibly. Granted I don't have too much time to think about it but when I do it is hard. Tension and patience is running high both here and at home which sometimes only make this harder. After a quick cry in my room I pick myself back up and get back on track as I am here to complete a job and afterall have a good time.

I think this is a good spot to interject a heartfelt thank you to my husband and all who are supporting him at home so that I can be here. I know you are putting in longer days than you usually do and playing cheif cook and bottle washer on your own can be incredibly hard. For what it matters I appreciate you and love you more than any words can say.

There are trade offs to all this hard work and all the grueling hours we are putting in.

1. We are making friends that I am sure I will have for the rest of my life.


2. We are learning immense amounts of information that could span the average human being ten lifetimes but if you are in this program you are not average.

As we keep saying we are all type-A personalities, the over achievers whom always have to do well and do better than your neighbor but in this case we do it all within a spirit of camaraderie.

The Care and Feeding of a PhD Student

Wow! The conclusion of the formal portion of yet another outstanding day. I have already learned so much and received so much outstanding advice about everything from research and scholarship to practical details of completing a PhD and negotiating the academic profession that I am amazed my head doesn't just explode. Wow! (It bears repeating)

Today we had an inspiring and educational talk from Mary Sue MacNealy as well as some great presentations (continuing the trend) from our peers. I find myself taking tons of notes during these presentations as they inspire ideas for my own research.

As my peers have already mentioned, this program is populated with just tremendous people doing outstanding work in the field of technical communication and rhetoric. This goes for both the faculty as well as the students. What makes this program truly outstanding and amazing is that every one of those people is so open and free about sharing the information, both useful little tidbits and large meaty chunks, that you find yourself learning while selecting candy at the vending machine, over lunch, or at a late-night (pa)jam(a) session.

When I compare my program with that of those of my friends they are also amazed at the level of support and networking that this program offers. This program truly is a community with strong connections that I believe will sustain and nurture us throughout our careers -- not just through the PhD process. This program is not about competition but support and fellowship. We are excited when our ideas can feed and support the ideas of others. I cannot imagine there is a more supportive program out there than this one and I feel truly blessed to be a part of it.

Welcome and a Tribute!

Welcome to the clan, Zygotes!

We are the seven students that make up the fourth cohort of the online PhD program at Texas Tech University. In the fine tradition carried out by those who came before we have assumed our newly minted name, "Quadraphonics."

As soon as we stepped onto campus we immediately became part of a great big wonderful family. The journey to campus though can often be lonely and daunting but believe us everything you are doing is worth it. Instead of just joining a graduate program you have joined a community of legends. Not only are the professors wonderful and very open to chatting with you and sharing knowledge but the students are as well. You can almost feel the greatness around the room as you brush shoulders with others who may be in the process of creating the next big article that stirs up and rocks the TC community to its core.

We have decided to assist you and act as your mentors or big sisters and brothers if you will. Hopefully through this blog we can impart our knowledge or assist you in some way on your journey.