Greetings and Salutations!

[benmiller314]

Welcome to Composing Digital Media! Your first writing assignment is to post an introduction to yourself, here on this "Issue Queue." What is an Issue Queue? Later, we may get into some more advanced features, but for now, you can think of it as a discussion forum: it allows anyone to post and respond.

You can also add images and some other files (though not playable sound files, alas) directly into your posts here.

Before the end of lesson 2, please respond to this Issue with a few words about yourself, and a picture. (Note: this is a public site. If you're not comfortable using your real identity, please choose a username and some avatar image other than a photo of yourself. Just... let me know offline or by email so I can give you full credit for the assignment.)

[benmiller314]

I'll start! My name is Ben Miller, and I'm an assistant professor in the Composition program of the English department, where I've taught Composition Studies, Writing with Style, Composing Digital Media, and a bunch of sections of Seminar in Composition. This is my fifth year at Pitt.

Before coming here, I earned a PhD from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), where I also got a certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy; I was for three years an Instructional Technology Fellow at CUNY's Macaulay Honors College, working with faculty across the curriculum to develop assignment sequences and resources that take advantage of digital environments and software. And I'm a founding editor of the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, where I'm often called upon to edit both CSS stylesheets and articles-in-progress.

There's more, but maybe that's enough for now! I'm very much looking forward to this semester: I've thought a lot about where it might go, but I've taught enough by now to realize that it's all going to change when we get into it together. Can't wait to see where we end up!

[rachelnoah]

[JakeBaumbaugh]

Hi, my name is Jake Baumbaugh, and this is my first year at Pitt. I'm studying computer science with a minor in math, the two of which make up most of my courses this semester. This course is computer science-y, but seems to focus more on ethics and reasoning of computer science than the actual computer science itself.

I went to Richland High School in Johnstown, PA, but took a class at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown during my senior year. It was a great experience, and likened me to Pitt which helped to guide my decision to come to Pitt for college.

My interests include of course computer science and math, but also video games, which helped lead me to computer science. Some of my favorite video games are Rocket League and Minecraft (feel free to talk to me about them), but play many others less regularly.

I can't wait to get to know you all throughout the semester, and I hope we have a great time in this class. Now here's a blurry picture of my cat.

[haileytrampel]

Hi, I'm Hailey Trampel! I am a freshman studying Computer Science and considering a double major with Computational Biology. As of now, I picture myself working in artificial intelligence in the medical field, or possibly cyber security. Obviously, I am still pretty unsure so that is definitely subject to change! I do not have much experience with a lot of the programs we will be using in this class, but I love learning new things and I am really eager to step outside my comfort zone for this. I have a good amount of experience with Photoshop, Java, and numerous photo-editors and love learning about new ones on my own time. I love reading (my favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut and book is Slaughterhouse-Five) as well as writing. Outside of school-related passions, I love dogs—I have a boxer-pug mix named Josie that my mom insists will be Instagram famous one day. I am from West Chester, PA but spend the summer on Long Island, NY! I am really excited to see what this class has to offer and to learn a lot more about types, uses, and production processes for Digital Media!

[emmawooten12]

Howdy folks, my name is Emma Wooten. I am currently a junior studying marketing, and earning a certificate in leadership and ethics as well as digital media. I am pretty excited to start working with digital media in this course, especially when it comes to editing photos. I look forward to learning new things such as web development and audio file editing as well! I'm originally from South Jersey, but here at Pitt, I am super involved on campus. I am on the marketing department for a club called Pitt Tonight (once a month live talk show). I serve as marketing chair for Pitt Dance Marathon. I am involved in the leadership team for the campus ministry Church on Campus. I mentor elementary school girls in the club Strong Women Strong Girls once a week. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoy the outdoors (hiking, biking, bouldering) and really love spending time with friends. I am super passionate about helping people and volunteering. I like going to concerts and different events around Pittsburgh to stay active and get off campus, too! I am excited to get to know you all in this class this semester. I couldn't pick an actual good picture, so here is one of me looking like the moon emoji!

[lumiio]

Hi I'm Linda Zeng, last semester Comp Sci student. Already have a job lined up post graduation and everything so just trying my best to make sure I pass all my classes and get outta here on time, haha. I'm a hobbyist artist and photographer. Also a big fan of video games. My interests change from time to time depending on what I'm feeling and I've been on a dancing kick lately. Not very good at it, but the classes I've taken so far have been a lot of fun.

I'm a huge food junkie and it's been my goal to go to every restaurant within Pittsburgh at least once. Pittsburgh's food scene is pretty lit. Maybe when I'm done/have more money, I'll do the same with bars.

This was an art piece I did two years ago. I'm not nearly as good anymore, since I haven't drawn for almost a year and a half, but still pretty proud of what I used to be able to draw.

[angelinepeng]

Hi everyone!

My name is Angeline Peng, and I am a senior studying Marketing, International Business, Chinese, Asian Studies, and Digital Media.

Digital media has always been a passion of mine, and I have experience with much of Adobe Creative Cloud, HTML, Java, and UX Design. I'm excited to learn even more through this course.

As someone who loves to travel, here is a photo of me in Indonesia over the summer.

[gmerva]

Hey everyone! My name is Grace Merva. I am a junior English Literature and History double major with certificates in Children's Literature and Public and Professional Writing. Based on my majors you can tell that I love reading and writing... especially the reading. I am hoping that my creative passion and writing skills can be translated into digital media throughout this class. I want this course to be an interesting and new experience for me. I'm not the most tech savvy person (though I am well versed in Microsoft Word), but I am excited to expand and learn more about various computer applications. I am most excited for the Unit on Visual Rhetorics and the "collage" assignment. This picture is of me this past summer when I studied abroad in Paris.

[katmiller10]

Hi! My name is Kat Miler and this is my third year at Pitt. I'm double majoring in communications and public and professional writing, with a certificate in children's literature. I have lived in Pittsburgh my whole life and I grew up in the South Hills. I'm really quite horrible at technology so I'm hoping this class will teach me some basic web design and computer skills.

I'm still not totally sure what I want to do with my life, but I took a public relations class last year that I really liked, so right now I'm looking for an internship within that field.

Outside of school, I'm on the Pitt club soccer team and I really like watching movies. I recently saw Knives Out which was great, and I highly recommend. Here is a picture of me and a unicorn which is my favorite animal.

[MDLudwig]

Hi everyone! My name is Matt Ludwig and I am a junior. I'm double majoring in Computer Science and Computational Biology. I've always lived in Pittsburgh and I grew up in the North Hills. I live fairly close to Ross Park Mall, which some of you may know of. Outside of school, I've worked as a counselor and lifeguard at a nearby summer camp called Camp Kon-O-Kwee. I'm also a video game enthusiast and have been all my life.

I'm very excited to learn more about digital media because it is something that I consume so much of everyday, but rarely ever produce myself.

Attached is a picture that I took from the highest natural point in Pennsylvania.

[mjb-123]

Hi guys,

My name is Michaela Burton. I am a senior Media and Professional Communications major on the digital media track. I am from the Chicago area and love the city. Some of my hobbies include sleeping, reading and going to the movies.

Interested in all things digital, I am really looking forward to this class and learning a lot of new things. I can already tell that there are things that I am unfamiliar with, but I am excited to gain more knowledge and experience with them. My hope is that by the end of this class I have some more skills that I can apply to a future job after I graduate.

Also little fun fact, I am on the gymnastics team here at Pitt and we have our very first competition on Saturday (1/11) so come out and support @pittgym in the Fitzgerald Field House !!

[hannahlangmead]

Hellooo I'm Hannah Langmead and I am a sophomore here at Pitt. I transferred in this Fall from a school in Connecticut but I'm from York, PA! I am a Professional Communications Digital Media major with a theater minor. I would love to go into the theater business in some way whether it be casting, producing, or marketing. I have almost no experience with creating digital media besides making music videos with my sisters when I was 12, so I'm excited to start this class! I assume it will be important for my field and I have a feeling I'll actually enjoy it.

Outside of class I love to try new foods/restaurants, play guitar, go to concerts, and spend time with friends. I'm very involved in Pitt theater--catch me in the department's production of Head Over Heels in April! I'm also in an acappella group and hope to mix my love of music with our media assignments :)

here is me with a castle when I went to Ireland to see my family this summer!

[sydneymasterson]

Hi y'all! I'm Sydney Masterson, a sophomore majoring in Computer Engineering. I'm from Beaver, PA about 45 minutes from campus. I've been coding for years but have next to no experience with digital design so I'm very excited to learn!

I was in robotics clubs all growing up and when I graduate, I'd love to find a job in robotics!

Outside of class, I work in the human resources office for Sodexo on campus. I also like to play piano, see musicals, and go out with my friends.

I took this picture while on a school trip to Peru at Machu Picchu.

[Tomasco16]

Hi Everyone my name is Blake Tomasco. I am a junior communications major with a minor in economics. I am from Philadelphia and am a huge Eagles fan so Go Birds. some of the things I do for fun are play video games, chill with friends, and play sports such as basketball, golf, or football. I play on Pitt's club baseball team and love supporting other Pitt athletics I am taking this class to better myself in digital design. I have never taken a class close to like this or even really been exposed to these programs, so wish me luck cause I'm gonna need it. With my knowledge from this class I hope to excel in the business world. I plan to start in market but hopefully go off on my own one day and start my own business.

This picture was taken at one of my Internships. It was a surprise I sent to my parents when I told them they would never believe the huge celebrity standing on the QVC studio floor. They were not as impressed as I was but nonetheless I got to take a picture with my hero, Spongebob Squarepants.

[dilan-dio4]

Hi everyone! My name is Dilan Ozkaynak and I'm a Junior Comp Sci major. I'm from Rochester, New York so I'm very upset about the fact that the Bills lost their wild card game. I'm very excited to learn about digital media because I believe it has an extremely profound effect on all of our everyday lives.

Coming into this class, I expected that we would be composing and analyzing a lot of image based digital media. Such as marketing graphics and images. I thought we would be using some online tools to do some graphic design, or something of this nature.

I'm surprised by the amount of programming related material we will be doing in this course, which excites me. I was not expecting to be using tools like Git or writing some HTML/CSS. I am a computer science major and am extremely familiar with these principles and am excited to apply my skills in this class.

[onewport23]

Hello! My name is Olivia Newport and I am a Senior studying Marketing, Digital Media, International Business, and Spanish. I am from Erie, Pennsylvania. My past experience with creating Digital Media started in the Integrating Writing & Design course, in which we mostly focused on InDesign and Photoshop. Although I often find learning new technology pretty challenging, I'm excited to learn some new programs.

In terms of internship experience, I have worked with the Pitt Office of Student Affairs as a Writing Intern for the past few semesters. In this position I have done a lot in regards to digital media, specifically with creating email newsletters and using social media management services.

As I finish my last year at Pitt, I have understood the importance of acquiring technical skills in order to distinguish yourself in the job market. With that being said, I think that gaining an understanding for these different programs will definitely benefit me as I start to apply for full-time positions in the marketing field!

[jerols4]

Hello everyone,

My name is Jeremy Olin. I'm a junior Computer Science major. I am from Chalfont, Pennsylvania, or to put it in Pitt words "Bucks County just outside of Philadelphia." I am returning from my semester abroad in Prague, Czech Republic, which I could not recommend enough for anyone who has the time/credit availability to go abroad. I have a twin brother who is also a computer science major here at Pitt. I like to play hockey, basketball, and soccer, and I also love skiing and photography. I'm hoping with this course I will be able to round out my technological skills with my rhetorical skills. Here is a picture of my Golden Retriever Oliver.

[ktdemay]

Hi,

My name is Kevin DeMaioribus. I'm currently a junior studying computer science. I'm from Philly so I am a diehard fan of all the sports teams (especially Flyers and Eagles). My favorite things to do in my free time are play hockey and basketball.

I wasn't sure what to expect coming into this class, but I am very excited to learn that the class focuses on more ways of creative expression other than writing essays. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that we have a section on HTML because I've been looking for an excuse to improve in that language.

[anngx]

Hi! My name is An Nguyen. I was born in Vietnam but grew up about 3 hours from here, right outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Currently, I am a third-year student pursuing a double major in DNID and Studio Arts with hopes of pursuing UI/UX design and freelance visual art after graduation. I’m looking forward to this class because it seems to merge technological elements with creative ones, which is an interesting intersection; and I hope to be able to get something from this course that I can add to my resume and/or portfolio.

In my free time, I enjoy painting, photography, and playing with my dog. This is him below. He just turned 3!

[Bmb154]

Ello! My name is Brandon Brahler, I am currently majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. With what little free time I do have I write, I play games, and I pick up heavy objects. Despite that last hobby, I'm not a fan of sports... at all.

This class will hopefully be an expansion of all the things I'm slightly familiar with, like Audacity and Photoshop, while also introducing me to new things like Git and MAC OS (I'm more of a windows/Linux guy) I AM joining this class a bit late, but I am not too worried about catching up, as the class seems to be stuff I am very much interested in!

Finally, the attached pic is My dog, Gizmo, which was not my intention. I actually did want to put up a photo of me, but apparently I dont have any of those. Apparently my dog is less camera shy than I am. If I was really dedicated I would google my name and just pull up the image that pops up, but gizmo looks better, so that saves everyone's eyes the trouble.