don’t forget: SOMEONE TELL JOHNNY!#umw #dupontgallery 5-7 PM wednesday.then 7-9 PM is Beauty in Five Senses umwbcm.org — melinda (@melindakumi) March 18, 2013   I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE

My final paper is proceeding apace. And by “apace” I mean WHY DID I SIGN UP FOR THIS LAST SEMESTER? What made me think this was a good plan? DEAR GOD I GRADUATE IN TWO MONTHS! Panicking aside, I’ve made some decent progress on sorting out how I want to conclude my paper, and how […] more

3 Gifts Round 215. My fiber casserole, or at least that’s what I’ll call it from now on.  So many beans! 216. Pillows.  Oh my dear, gracious Lord, pillows are a delight when you use them as they were designed. 217. Tying hair knots.  Knot… 3 Gifts Found In Silence 218. I haven’t really been ...

3 Gifts Carved 203. I carved a little butt print into the carpet from working in that spot for so long. 204. My name in His wounds. 205. I LOVE WOOD CARVINGS.  Especially if they are sheep. 3 Gifts In Christ 206. I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m not perfect, and that ...

While I have failed miserably with trying to paint daily there are other parts of my the creative juices that are being scraped up and tossed into a blender.  I have been working on multiple projects that may or may not be related to an individual study.  I have continued my hair project (tying knots ...

It’s finally here – the big 200!  200 gifts to be grateful for and not to ignore. 3 Gifts Loud 200. Shrill barking at 0730.  She’s alive and kicking, y’all. 201. The parkway. 202. The thub-thumping of my heart. When it’s loud I want to go away from the noise and retreat into silence.  With ...

I’m shaking in my seat – literally.  The electrician is downstairs (probably right under where I’m sitting) drilling into his ceiling so that new recessed lighting can be put in.  I’m excited and terrified at the same time.  He’s working on putting lights into a part of the house that I rarely go to, the ...

3 Gifts Found 191. A gift found in a friend – the work of the Holy Spirit. 192. Babydog sleeping next to my drawing project. 193. Starbucks, haha.  They’re deceptively difficult to locate! A Gift Bent, Broken, Beautiful 194. Yoga Wednesdays.  PG and I miss each other so much that we found videos on YouTube ...

Yesterday was Girls’ Day! 3 Gifts Wore 185. I did not wear the silly little bobby pin with beautiful pink ribbons in it, but I wore the little turquoise ring I stole from my mom. 186. I did not wear a kimono, or even a yukata, but I did wear leggings. 187. I did not ...

Here we are, just about at the halfway mark, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout so far in my edtech extravaganza it’s that there is so much I still have to learn. Hopefully the conference next week can help me fill in a few more blanks, but man, I have a long way […] more

3 Ugly-Beautiful Gifts 173. Feet. 174. Hands. 175. Words. 3 Gifts From the Past That Helps You Trust the Future 176. I think the fact that I have a yesterday is gift enough. 177. Grandparents.  Do I say this enough? 178. World War II.  How often have I thought of this war as something positive? ...

You guys, the next couple of weeks are going to be crazy exciting.         Next Thursday I’ll be attending OpenVA, “Virginia’s First Annual Open and Digital Learning Resources Conference,” as the tagline proclaims. Looking over the proposed schedule is overwhelming, especially since the final schedule will have my name on it—I’m giving […] more

In my opinion, Mo Yan earned the Nobel prize, and deserved it. I believe it is unfair to place the label on him that he supports the state too much, or does not criticize it enough. It is imperative to … Continue reading →

3 Gifts Seen As Reflections 169. Sometimes the best gifts that are given are the ones that are received fully.  You never give a gift with the expectation for anything in return, no matter how subtle things are. 170. I guess I’m in a reflective mood, and have been recently, but I think that the ...

3 Gifts That Changed Today 157. I’ve had a new change where I’m noticing how sensitive I am to chatter. 158. I need sleep, desperately.  Fridays have become my Sabbath. 159. I learned that I love reading. A Gift of Tin, Glass, Wood 160. Coke.  I rarely have coke. 161. OHMYGOSH I WISH I HAD ...

This week’s post is going to be a bit short, but I’m hoping to lay the groundwork for a return to where all this madness began: ds106! My initial proposal revolved around framing a discussion of open education and edtech with my experiences in that class, and while I’ve spent these first few weeks getting… more

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2012olympics/2012-08/11/content_15665157.htm Above is a link to an article on China Daily. The article has very little to report, but what it says is huge for what I intend my research project to show. One thing I like in particular about … Continue reading →

It’s been about a week since my day away and I need a reminder of what I learned or need to learn more about. Corhaven is a place of shelter and sanctuary for the heart. And this implies somehow the presence of God, for as St. Augustine said, “Our heart is restless ‘til it rests ...

Things have been frightening and full of learning.  The Center is where I have found my new home.  We are called to explore our faiths, our relationship with Christ and advancing the Kingdom.  We are called to be a part of a community where no question is too big or too little, where questions are okay with ...

3 Ways You Feel The Love of God (133 – 135) So recently, because my heart has been all over the place, I am going to not listen to the dare and dare myself for more than three. God loves me because He puts me into safe situations, and when the situation isn’t optimal He ...

All right, I know I said I was going to discuss ds106 exclusively this week and go back to the NITLE paper I started with, but in finishing up this chapter of Alexander’s The New Digital Storytelling I came across one idea that I do want to explore in more depth. Plus, there’s still that… more

Today, well, yesterday now that I’m typing at three in the morning, is Ash Wednesday.  At four o’clock I went over with my friends from the BCM to my friends over at the CCM and partook in their service.  This is the second time I went to a service like this, and while I don’t ...

I’m so painfully behind… A Gift at 1130, 1430, 1830 112. Waking up. 113. Not having to go to anthropology. 114. Laughter and dreams. A Gift Broken, Fixed, Thrifted 115. A heart. 116. A spirit. 117. Ugly sweaters. 3 Surprise Gifts – Unexpected Grace 118. M&M games.  Oh gosh, more reason to love the candy. ...

New text this week! There’s still a lot I have to digest (and re-read) in Spiro and Alexander’s NITLE paper, but for the moment I’m moving on to Bryan Alexander’s book The New Digital Storytelling: Creating Narratives with New Media. I’m delighted to have such a specific resource at my disposal; it’s especially pertinent to… more

I am so very behind again, apologies. 3 Gifts Found In Writing 100. So I noticed that it’s really peaceful to be typing everything that comes into my brain.  It is pure bliss when you have a pen and you can write on paper and just let the thoughts bleed. 101. Encouragement. 102.  Women writing ...

It has been difficult finding time to devote to doing anything physical (running, painting, writing, etc.) daily – even my eating habits are all over the place.  This is a dangerous place for an introvert to be, especially when my graduation hangs on the line.  After organizing a Souper Bowl party for Sunday, Christian Unity ...

This picture is too powerful not to be mentioned. One of the first things I noticed about this picture was the iconic outline of Mao in the background. In my mind, I wondered how much citizens were exposed to his … Continue reading →

Last Spring while walking on campus one day I was drawn into a table set up by a couple of my fellow classmates…. the table attempted to promote the term “Don’t stereotype me” in order to open a few eyes to the students of not only our university but also other universities and people around the world. I thought for a moment of the various things that I could write on the paper … things that I feel people don’t know about me, but I’m almost 100% they’d stereotype me for. Interestingly enough one of my really good friends, someone I consider to be like an older brother was walking … Continue reading →

Before I carry on any further with digesting Spiro and Alexander’s paper on open education in the liberal arts, I wanted to do two things: first, try to clarify a little of what I was discussing last week, and jump to the end of the paper to check out the section on obstacles facing open… more

3 Old Things Seen New 88. Bricks on old buildings. 89. Eighty-three year old eyes. 90. The moon.  Its quiet presence. A Gift On Paper, In Person, In A Picture 91. Paper transfer from my roommie to my waterbottle. 92. Three-hour long conversations. 93. The past captured in too many unflattering memories.  But, oh!  The ...