My Dissertation in a Nutshell

Professional development at most K-12 schools across the country is generic, out-dated, and most-often delivered on a one-size-fits-all-basis. This top-down approach has very little meaning to teachers (Thompson, 2009). According to Minott (2010), “teachers are actively constructing their own work-related knowledge by interpreting events on the basis of existing knowledge, beliefs and dispositions and by learning from experiences” (p.327). That is to say teachers rely on their personal experiences to filter and make meaning of what they see and learn from within their environment. As such, professional development should not only take into account teachers’ prior knowledge, teachers should be given a choice in the kinds of professional development they receive (Thompson, 2009).

The purpose of my action research study is to determine the extent to which Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) will support the individual professional learning needs of teachers. Likewise, my study will establish the viability of using Twitter to build a Personal Learning Network (PLN).

This video is representative of how millions of teachers around the globe are using a PLN via Twitter for professional development.


Twitter in D123 from OLHD123 on Vimeo.

Oh Sh*t!

I have been searching for what I wanted to do post dissertation for the past year. I knew that I wanted to work in a research center at a university. I knew that I wanted what I did to incorporate digital media, but I never knew how everything would come together.  Until now...


In browsing the University of Minnesota's website, I came across the research center that speaks to my very being. I have emailed one of the Co-Director's to set up an informational interview. What they're doing is amazing, and I want in!


"The Learning Technologies Media Lab (LTML) is an innovative design and research center located in the College of Education and Human Development’s (CEHD) Centers for Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Minnesota (UMN). This lab is affiliated with the Learning Technologies academic program area in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction within CEHD at UMN" (http://lt.umn.edu).


The LT Media Lab from LT Media Lab on Vimeo.

Capella University: Make A Difference

I couldn’t be happier with my experiences at Capella. What I learned there has been invaluable to my growth and practice as an educator. And now as I embark on the second phase of my career as a presenter, consultant, and change-agent in higher education, choosing Capella has turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Dissertation Update April 8th 2012

The End of Teaching (as we know it) - Slideshow by Alvaro González-Alorda

OK. I admit it. I have a fierce need to defend and advocate for online learning. On several occasions, I've been told that my doctorate is less than in quality, and will be viewed as less than by hiring committees. I chose an online doctoral program and Capella, specifically, because I didn't want to attend a school that was mired in tradition and afraid of innovation.

At Capella, I was encouraged to focus my doctoral research on the areas I was most passionate about, and for two and a half years, I did just that. In every course, on every project, I focused my research on social media leadership as well as leadership within the digital space. I am now in the dissertation phase of my program, researching the effectiveness of a Personal Learning Network via Twitter at individualizing professional development for teachers.

I thought about those experiences when I came across this presentation on Twitter. Check it out and let me know what you think.

THE END OF TEACHING by @agalorda

View more presentations from Alvaro González-Alorda

The Great Doctoral Degree Hunt: Part VI

By Leah MacVie

Mission 10: Apply to Scholarships

Going into the scholarship process, I didn't realize there were so many specific scholarships out there for individual differences. I found scholarships for left handers, triplets,  little people, tall people, duck calling, and animal care experience.

I wondered if there was a scholarship out there for a Buffalo bred, writing, Star Trek TNG loving, cupcake connoisseur?

Probably not, but I am working to dwindle down application possibilities. I'm finding a bit of time this week and next week to apply. Before I begin the application process, I decided to set up a chart, much like the one's I used to keep track of doctoral applications. This chart will help me to organize the scholarships by due date and awards. Some I have already applied for and I think it's important to keep track of those as well to find out which one's were awarded. Scholarship Search
  Have you ever applied for scholarships before? Do you have any scholarship application tips? 

Leah MacVie is a blogger, instructional designer, photographer, and former graphic and Web designer. She possesses a BFA from the University at Buffalo and a Master’s in Educational Computing from the SUNY College at Buffalo. In her spare time, she is focusing on finding out more about DIY and informal learning. You can read more at www.leahmacvie.com.

Now is the Time

By Annie Saint-Jacques, Ph.D. (ABD)*

A few days ago, my friend Will asked me if I wanted to contribute to his blog as a guest blogger. He was interested in my perspective as a Ph.D. Candidate, my experiences as a doctoral student and my advice to those considering this journey. I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to share my story and perhaps help people “think outside the box”.

My background

As a young adult, I did not get the chance to study due to personal circumstances. Nevertheless, being resourceful, computer-savvy and bilingual, I was offered good positions and was able to make a decent living for myself, but I always regretted not having a degree. To make a long story short, I managed to overcome all these hurdles and with a graduate diploma in Multimedia Instructional Design and a master’s degree in Distance Education. In 2008, I decided to make my old dream come true and to embark on the (at times crazy) journey of doctoral studies.

My studies

I was strongly interested in educational technology and the closest institution offering such a program was a thousand kilometers from home (I live in Canada). As much as I wanted to get accepted, a year-long residency or moving to another city was not on my radar. I contacted the professor with whom I wanted to work, made an appointment and went to meet him. I explained my circumstances, demonstrated my potential and asked for his help: I wanted to enroll in the on-campus program as a regular student, but I would take online courses from home. The key is to know what you want/need and contact the right person. Had I written to my university’s registrar, I doubt that the outcome would have been the same. Thankfully, my future supervisor was very supportive, and in September 2008, I started in the program.

The ups and downs on a Ph.D. life

Working full time and studying full time is not something I would recommend.  I did it for the first term and at Christmas, I quit my position as an instructional designer and academic advisor at a local university. I had no idea how I was going to make it, but I just knew that was the proper thing to do. For the next six months, I struggled to make ends meet, but I felt freer and happier than ever in spite of all the challenges.

Indeed, there were multiple challenges as my institution did not offer my program at a distance and from an administrative perspective, it was a nightmare. Secretaries would contact me to “pop in and sign a form”, I did not have access to the library, I missed out on helpful workshops and training sessions… But I was extremely lucky: my supervisor introduced me to a wonderful woman who was the Dean of Graduate Studies (she is now Vice-President) here at a local university. She literally took my under her wing, introducing me to key people, making sure that I was on their graduate students’ listserv, keeping me informed, allowing me to attend numerous workshops, giving me access to the library. I was even invited as a Researcher-in-Residence at one of their faculty. As a result, I did not miss out on all the exciting opportunities that on-campus studies can offer and would certainly recommend getting involved in an institution’s life, even if it is not yours.

Being the lucky girl that I am, I applied for a bursary, and in the Spring of 2009, I was awarded a substantial bursary from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the next three years. Needless to say that I was thrilled – all my financial worries were over and I could just concentrate full-time on my doctorate. To me, this is probably the most important step to success. It also confirmed what I truly believe: make things happen and the rest will take care of itself!

So this is basically the “what went well” rubric. Are there things that I would do differently? Most definitely. From a personal point of view, I would say very few though: I am always extremely happy to get up in the morning and embark on another day of reflection and discoveries. With time, I have learned that stressing over deadlines, comprehensives, conferences, writing, is totally counterproductive. Your life will be crazy from now on, better get used to it. I make a point of setting aside time every day to go for a walk and/or exercise and I try to take my weekends off as much as I can. One awesome advantage of working from home is that you don’t waste time telecommuting and you are not disturbed. Being very self-disciplined, this is a winning situation for me, although I confess to feeling isolated at times, hence my strong interest in social media and personal learning networks.

From a Ph.D. studies point of view, yes there are many things that I would do differently. I designed my research so that I would work with various North American universities, both in English and in French. This basically means that I doubled up my workload, having to translate everything all the time. And this lovely idea of “hey, let’s study what’s happening out there” translated in ten Institutional Review Board applications. If you are not familiar with those, they are mandatory if you are to do research in a university and follow a very rigorous and time-consuming process (45 pages is not uncommon – but then nobody has the same requirements, which only adds to the confusion). In retrospect, one application in one language should have been enough for a doctoral study, and I strongly recommend keeping things simple. A dissertation is “only” a dissertation!

Another thing that I would certainly do differently is involving students in a doctoral research. This was probably the most difficult thing for me. My data collection relied on student interviews, a mid-term online survey and a post-term online survey, among other things. They strictly participated on a voluntary basis. In one class, after having gone through the IRB process, met the faculty requirements, met the students in their virtual classroom, carried out observations, taken field notes (and dozens of friendly reminders), I could not get any data from the students. In another class, only one kindly participated in the study. I was shocked. Altogether, full participation in the study would require an hour of their time, I was very flexible in terms of schedule and communication channels and yet they totally ignored me. If you are asked to participate in such a research, please volunteer to help a peer, so much is at stake.

So that is basically it. If you are considering doing a Ph.D., I would definitely encourage you to start “making things happen”. Now is the time. You cannot get anywhere if you don’t take the first step. There will be challenges, there will be stressful moments, there will be awful days. It will also be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life and you will push your limits in ways that you cannot even imagine. You will be proud of yourself. I am. 

Annie's research interests include increased and open access in higher education, learning communities, synchronous (real time) online learning, efficient online teaching practices, and higher education policies (see her blog: sjannie.wordpress.com). Completing her graduate studies at a distance, she is currently writing the conclusion of her dissertation, which is titled: “Effective Teaching Strategies for a Virtual Graduate Seminar: Developing a Community of Inquiry in Synchronous Mode within a Blended Online Learning Design Approach”. Annie is hoping to defend in June-July. Addicted to Twitter, you can find Annie @A_Saint_Jacques. 

*ABD means “all but dissertation” and may be used by Ph.D. candidates who are at the stage of writing their dissertation.

The Great Doctoral Degree Hunt: Part V

By Leah MacVie

Next up, scholarships. I actually didn't apply for any scholarships for my past few degrees, but this time it's something I must do. First things first:

Mission 9: Develop a Scholarship Strategy

After reading up a on a few different strategies, I choose to stick closely to the easy steps outlined on scholarships.com.

1. Make a list.
2. Assess each individual opportunity.
3. Prioritize your opportunities.
4. Begin applying.

Most of the students who succeeded in earning scholarships did so for two reasons:

1. They met the criteria outlined by the scholarship sponsor.
2. They approached the application process strategically and were selective in their pursuit of scholarship opportunities. It’s that simple.

I'll be utilizing two sites:

• Fastweb.com
• Scholarships.com

Have you or anyone else you know applied for a scholarship for your doctorate? What tips do you have for me? Leave a comment below.

Leah MacVie is a blogger, instructional designer, photographer, and former graphic and Web designer. She possesses a BFA from the University at Buffalo and a Master’s in Educational Computing from the SUNY College at Buffalo. In her spare time, she is focusing on finding out more about DIY and informal learning. You can read more at www.leahmacvie.com.

Jenna McCarthy: What you don't know about marriage

I saw this on TEDTalks and thought you would find this as interesting as I do.

Jenna McCarthy is the author of If It Was Easy They'd Callthe Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon: Living With and Loving the TV-Addicted,Sex-Obsessed, Not-So-Handy Man You Married. Her past books include The ParentTrip: From High Heels and Parties to Highchairs and Potties and Cheers to theNew Mom/Cheers to the New Dad, as well as the upcoming companion books Big Rigs for Moms and Tea Parties for Dads.

The Great Doctoral Degree Hunt: Part IV

By Leah MacVie

It's official- the applications have arrived at the schools of choice! Mission 8 is complete! Please read on to learn more about my applications. Also, I found another series of interest. Although a few years old, Eric Schwitzgebel wrote a great application series on his blog, The Splintered Mind. It is filled with some great tips and I love his candidness. You can find it here.

Mission 8: Apply!

Getting my application materials together was harder than I thought it would be! I only applied to 2 schools, Michigan State University and Union Institute & University, but each school had a different set of requirements. As I mentioned the last time, I kept the information organized in my handy 'application press kit' chart: Application Press Kit

 MSU and Union wanted two completely different statements of intent. Here's what I came up with: MSU: Statement of Research Goals Union: Statement of Purpose I  included a very fun get-to-know-me "press release bio" with a photo and fun facts they might not find in the paperwork. Press Release Bio Then, each press kit had a resume in it, as well. Resume Lastly, each location was sent a writing sample.  I never got an original copy of the hard bound version and just handed in the two prints to my college.

Master's Project by Leah MacVie | Make Your Own Book

I am still searching for more individuals who have documented their hybrid Ph.D. searches and hybrid programs, but this info is not easy to come by. If you know of anyone or programs not currently listed, please send me the info. I will be very grateful!

Leah MacVie is a blogger, instructional designer, photographer, and former graphic and Web designer. She possesses a BFA from the University at Buffalo and a Master’s in Educational Computing from the SUNY College at Buffalo. In her spare time, she is focusing on finding out more about DIY and informal learning. You can read more at www.leahmacvie.com.