Author: James

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Interviewed on WPIX!

In an earlier post I mentioned that I was recently interviewed at the Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere by Mario Diaz of WPIX channel 11. The story that didn’t make the final segment edit is that this wasn’t the first time I had played hooky to see a Star Wars film. You see near the end of my senior year of high school my best friend Jeff and I hatched a plan to be the first people to see Return of the Jedi without having to brave the insane lines that were forming in Manhattan prior to the opening day. During that time the world had gone Star Wars crazy. People had been lining up nearly a week in advance of the premiere of Jedi to guarantee that they would be among the first to see the final episode of the original trilogy. However while Jeff and I were both hardcore Star Wars fans, we knew that neither one of our moms would let us miss that much school for a movie.

So Jeff and I came up with the brilliant plan to ditch only one day of school and Continue reading “Interviewed on WPIX!”

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Episode 7: Time to play hooky

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The pictures above are of me standing on line for the 8am early morning showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There has not been a more eagerly awaited and anticipated film in years, and keep in mind that includes all of the recent Marvel/DC/Superhero films that have dominated the box office as of late. Nerds and geeks love Star Wars probably as much, if not more so than they love Star Trek and Doctor Who.

I was going to wait until next week so see the new Star Wars film because I expected it to be a mad house, but while I was heading into the office I walked past the theater. There was no line outside for the earlier showing. I then decided I couldn’t wait and took a chance that tickets were available. Luckily there were spots still unsold and I was able to purchase a ticket. So I texted a colleague and rescheduled my 10am meeting until later in the day and went in to enjoy the show.

While waiting on the line I was approached by Mario Diaz of WPIX Channel 11 news. Mario Diaz is best known his reporting on the NYPD “Stop and Frisk” policy, as well as being the reporter that Continue reading “Episode 7: Time to play hooky”

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Life after ITP

NYU ITP Panel

As part of an alumni panel discussing life and career possibilities after graduation, I was invited once again to speak to students in the NYU Interactive Telecommunication Program. It was a great event, but I must admit to having a good laugh at the fact that I was the oldest person on the panel by far.

The funniest thing was when I mentioned the year I graduated a student in the front row mouthed the word “wow”. Dat’s right son, I’m a straight up ODG (Original Digital Gangsta)! Protect ya neck!

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Speaking at the Grad Center

A colleague of mine, Michael Mandiberg, invited me to be a guest lecturer for a class he was teaching at the CUNY Graduate Center. The students in his class were PhD candidates within the CUNY Interactive Technology and Pedagogy certificate program. Over the course of the semester his class examined how people and technologies have shaped academic classroom and research interactions in the past, and how they are reshaping the university in the present.

I spoke on the topic of “The Digital Humanities & the Future of Academic Inquiry and Publishing”. Michael thought that my previous papers, interviews, and conference presentations on the topic of digital scholarship would help spark a lively debate among his students.

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College choices

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We have just been having a great run of good fortune lately. My daughter received her first college acceptance letter this weekend. I am just overjoyed that her first acceptance letter is from a school that my daughter really likes and that we can send her to and still afford to retire one day! This is sure to be the first of many positive letters because she has worked really hard over the past few years. It is nice to know that she will have options.

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CUNY IT Conference 2015: Online Learning

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We had a great session yesterday at the 14th annual CUNY IT conference held at John Jay College. The subject of the session I participated in was “Online Learning: What’s in it for CUNY”. The panel featured some of the most knowledgeable people within the City University system on the topic of how online education can best be implemented to the benefit of our students, faculty, and individual institutions.

The session was well attended and the discussion section of the panel spark a number of interesting debates on how CUNY needs to proceed with online education. In November of 2014 CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken, speaking at a meeting of the Association for a Better New York, proclaimed Continue reading “CUNY IT Conference 2015: Online Learning”

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Flying Free

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This photo of my son pretty much encompasses my thoughts on parenting. The desire to have your children fly free, but also the fear that they are going to fall down and hurt themselves.

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CUNY Career Opportunities for NYU-ITP Students

I was approached a few months back by the folks at NYU to be a part of an academic career opportunities event for students of the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). I was asked to to introduce ITP students to the teaching opportunities available within the City University of New York (CUNY) system. My presentation highlighted the two schools I represent, the CUNY School of Professional Studies and LaGuardia, and how current students and alumni can work as adjuncts, teaching assistants, tutors, workshop organizers, application writers, interns, etc..

This felt very much like a homecoming for me. It was the first time I had formally presented at my old Alma Mater. I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed my time at ITP.