I'm pleased to be presenting my research at Boston University today. This session provides a more detailed look at some of my research related to college student development in digital/social spaces. Videos from the presentation: More about my research VIDEO: Can We Auto-Correct Humanity by Prince EA VIDEO: Social Media and Ambient Intimacy on Shots of Awe VIDEO: What’s... Continue Reading →
I am happy to finally make my entire final dissertation available for all to download and read. This document represents some of the first qualitative research into how traditionally aged college students use social media and its impact on their development and how they construct identities online. If you want a more detailed description, I've included the... Continue Reading →
It's over! It's hard to believe the one of the final steps on my journey is complete. I want to thank everyone for all of their support throughout this process. There are far too many of you to mention individually, but I trust you know who you are and how much I appreciate you. If you'd... Continue Reading →
I am immensely grateful to be hosted by the staff and students in residence life at the University of Dayton today. I will be giving two talks: one to the professional staff that outlines some of my research as well as tips for engaging students online, and a second one to the student staff members... Continue Reading →
Don't want to spend the time reading through 300 pages of my dissertation work on college students, social media, identity, and selfhood? No problem. I pulled out 96 "quotable quotes" from the text. Consider it the "Reader's Digest of Dissertations." Wondering why 96 and not... 100...? I just went through the whole thing until I... Continue Reading →
On his way to class, Greg accomplishes many things. Buried in his smartphone, he dodges fellow students, almost trips up a set of stairs, and ducks a low tree lying tree branch (remember that next time). During his ten minute walk, Greg is listening to a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson discussing how contemporary schools... Continue Reading →
David Armano put together this great graphic that sums up one of the main messages I give to college departments trying to ramp up their social media presences. Social media don't have to be just a replacement for the flier. It can be such more. (And should be.) Rather than thinking of social media as another broadcast... Continue Reading →
What do our college student development theories look like when we give them a digital update? How might social media be changing the ways students develop and understand themselves? What are the implications for college student educator practice? The following was originally presented at the 2015 NASPA Convention as a part of the SAspeaks series.... Continue Reading →
This Thursday, I will (finally) have my dissertation proposal hearing. This means I will present my proposed dissertation research to my committee and seek approval to move forward into the data collection and analysis phases. Proposals generally include the "first three chapters" of a dissertation. These chapters are typically an introduction, a review of literature, and a research... Continue Reading →
I have the immense privilege of serving alongside some incredibly talented individuals on the ACPA Digital Task Force. I wanted to share a recent post by a member of my subgroup, Jason Meriwether, of the "Informed and Responsible Engagement" team. Our goal is to develop resources for both students and educators on how to promote positive,... Continue Reading →
Back in July, I was honored to be asked to serve on ACPA-College Student Educators International's Presidential Task Force on Digital Technology. After meeting in person with many members of the team, I can say with confidence we're on to something new, exciting and different. In my role with this group, I co-chair the Informed... Continue Reading →
The viral rise of the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Ice Bucket Challenge on social media has started a lot of discussion about what social media activism campaigns mean and what they truly achieve (or don't). The ALS Challenge isn't the first of these types of campaigns to go viral and prompt discussion around these topics... and... Continue Reading →
As you probably know at this point, my research involves college students and how they construct a sense of self in digital and social media spaces. In conducting this research, I've encountered the term "digital identity" frequently. I've used it, and some of my doctoral student colleague friends have written about it (including Paul Eaton, Josie Ahlquist, and Ed... Continue Reading →
Tweet http://youtu.be/fBLuzUk5NII (One of my colleagues and friends, Paul Eaton, wrote a great blog post about Bronfenbrenner's applicability to online/social media spaces. I also wanted to have a go at the topic, so I purposely didn't re-read his post until after publishing this one... and there's agreement... but with a twist... read on...) Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory of... Continue Reading →
YikYak is a new social app released earlier this year that is quickly becoming popular amongst high school and college students across the United States. Its goal is to serve as "a local bulletin board for your area." It uses geolocation on one's smartphone to allow one to post short statements that are broadcast and searchable... Continue Reading →
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