Post #1: Hi Class

Hello everyone,

This is me! My name is Glen Southergill (I'm the one in white to the right!). It's a pleasure to "meet" you. I look forward to learning with you in the weeks ahead.

I learned an important lesson early in life. Those who do not speak have as much voice as the speechless. Before you say "wow, that's really deep...did you hit your head today, Glen?" allow me to explain...

Growing up "tall" isn't easy. Hand/eye coordination isn't a strong suit. I had a very tough time learning to write. I could read...speak...comprehend...I just couldn't do much of anything by hand. That included arts, most musical instruments, and writing.

Most of my mystified teachers hadn't the foggiest idea what to do with me. I was, not to toot my own horn, bright enough. It just didn't seem that the curricula's focus on pen-personship and artistic outlets to cultivate creativity meshed well. It was, well, mutual dislike I suspect. And I found exotic ways to escape school yard responsibilities as my creative outlet, perhaps!

One teacher changed that. His name is Mr. Jeicha. He sent me home one day with an assignment to draw circles on three sheets of paper...front and back. I struggled and grew frustrated that night. With a combination of subtle coaxing, threats and bribery, my parents were able to persuade me to do it. So I arrived the next day, assignment in hand, ready for yet another dismal grade shared in bright red ink.

Mr Jeicha did the strangest thing...

He took a quick look at the assignment, crumpled it, and threw it away. He then sat me in front of a computer and began to show me how to type. It didn't matter whether I could draw or write neatly, he told me, as my ability to communicate was the same as my ability to leverage computers.

Hence, I learned a few things from Mr. Jeicha. First, that it really didn't matter how I couldn't control the tremors in my hands. Second, that in learning to use computers I would find a voice. Finally, I was given a path early (even if I didn't choose to follow it).

Some twenty years later or so, I join you now for this section of Digital Publishing. It is, in fact, this course which led me to select Clemson University's MAPC program. I personally define digital publishing as any use of computing to generate print or electronic text/documents.

My interests are in the rhetorics and criticism of serious game design, historiographical and ethnographic research methods, and new media. With this in mind, it's fairly easy to see why I'm so looking forward to this class experience...

I'd encourage you to look at one other blog - the "Pennyroyal Project." This class is a chance for me to study digital publishing and hopefully launch one of my own as a side project. I'm interested in combining the grassroots nature of social media in conjunction with digital documentary. My subject: Berkshire MA history, people and heritage. This class can hopefully give me a good "kick off the docks" so to speak.

Cheers!
Glen