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: it's as simple as drag and drop. You can also format text with bold, hyperlinks, headings, and so on. Click the buttons on your edit screen and the appropriate Markdown syntax will appear – which can be a good way to learn Markdown syntax.

Before the end of lesson 2 (or your second class, if you're joining after lesson 1), 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 which post is yours, so I can give you full credit for participating.)

[benmiller314]

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

I recently co-edited an academic collection on Composition and Big Data, 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. My book Distant Readings of Disciplinarity: Knowing and Doing in Composition-Rhetoric Dissertations just came out last month from Utah State University Press. I'm still pretty psyched!

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. I can't wait to see where we end up!

[juradodiego]

Greetings! My name is Diego, and I’m a third-year computer science major here at Pitt. Some of my hobbies include running and reading. I’m currently training for the Pittsburgh Marathon, recently I ran in the Pittsburgh Penguins 6.6k. In my free time, I like to read books, particularly philosophical science fiction (I like to call it Sci-Phi-Fi). One of my favorite books is The Stranger by Albert Camus.  

[Asher-Goods]

Hi, I'm Asher. I am a sophomore studying computer engineering. I'm not entirely sure what to write here. I have a bird. His name is Cedric. I guess that's cool. I also bike to school if the weather is warmer. I'm looking forward to this semester this class looks like its going to be fun!

[jannawohl]

Hi, my name is Janna and I am a junior studying Media and Professional Communications on the digital media track. I am from New Jersey and in my free time, I like to play tennis. I'm excited to learn about new design applications and other computer programs I am not familiar with throughout this semester!

[josieharris1]

Hi! My name is Josie and I'm a Media and Professional Communications major on the Digital Media Track. I'm from Long Island, New York, so I spend a lot of my free time in New York City and on the beach. Here's a picture of me at my favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh (Mercurio's in Shadyside... It's almost as good as New York pizza).

[altrnate]

Hey all! My name is Jackson and I'm a 3rd year Bio/Nursing Major who will be graduating in the fall. I'm from Bucks Country, PA (northeast of Philly). I do a lot of outdoors activities like Hunting, Fishing, Foraging, Snowboarding, and more, so I'm definitely excited for Pittsburgh to get some snow and get back on the mountain! In addition to this, my main side hobby is Photography, so I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to incorporate some of my work into our projects! The picture is of my friend Josh left (who goes to RMU) and me right!

[jordanmarch]

Hi, I'm Jordan! I am a junior studying communication rhetoric and media & professional communications on the corporate/community relations track. In my free time, I like to paint, take photos, hike, travel, write, and shop. I also have a pet cat named Cathy Ruth who lives with me and my roommate. I am super excited about this class and can't wait to learn about new design programs and such.

[arianakeith]

Hi, I am Ariana! I'm a Media and Professional Communications major on the Digital Media Track with two working certificates in Corporate/Community Relations and Writing for the Professions. I am from Malvern, PA which is about 45 minutes outside of Philly. I love the city whether it is Philly, Pittsburgh or New York. Here is a picture from over winter break of me at a restaurant in downtown Manhattan called Nobu, celebrating my birthday weekend in New York.

[anayoungblut]

Hi everyone, my name is Ana! I'm a junior graduating this Spring and I'm majoring in Political Science with a minor in History and certificate in Public and Professional Writing. I am from a small town about 20 minutes outside of Rochester, New York. I'm also president of club lacrosse here at Pitt, so I'm usually planning and organizing tournaments and other things for that when I'm not doing schoolwork!

self portrait.pdf

[MikeBailey412]

Hi I'm Mike and I'm a senior computer engineering student. I'm from the North Hills which is just about 20 minutes north of Pittsburgh. My hobbies are lifting, golf and I'm just now getting into playing guitar. I've never really taken a class like this so I'm definitely excited to see what's in store!

[alcalaaha]

Hi! I'm Alex, and I'm a junior studying Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology (This picture is of me at the Caracol site with BVAR this past summer). I'm from the bay area, so I like to spend my time reading on or exploring the beach, or seeing some local concerts. When I'm not doing that I'll usually be teaching swim lessons or lifeguarding! I don't have any experience with digital design, so I'm excited to explore something so new to me!

[BenA03]

Hi everyone! My name is Ben, and I am a sophomore pursuing a degree in computer science. I'm from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, which is just a few minutes away from Villanova University. Outside of the classroom, I like to play music with the Pitt Handbell Ensemble. (Come hear us ring later this spring!) I'm especially looking forward to our unit on image editing, since this is something I've never really touched before.

[bst20]

Hi!! I'm Betul and I'm a junior double majoring in media and professional communications and legal studies with a certificate in digital media. I'm from the greater Pittsburgh area (like 20 minutes North). When I'm not in class I'm most likely working on something for The Pitt News, where I work as an editor. Some of my hobbies include reading books (currently reading 'Klara and the Sun' which is about an AI trying to experience and understand human emotions), visiting museums and 35mm film photography. I'm excited for this course and hope that I can learn some new skills and get creative with my projects during the semester!

[eliotann99]

Hello! My name is Elio. I'm a senior student and I'm studying Digital Narrative and Interactive Design. I come thirty minutes north of Pittsburgh. I tend to keep picking up more hobbies than I can keep up with. However, some of the few that stuck with me over time are pickleball, jump rope, hammocking, and watching movies. I'm looking forward to this class!

P.S. The most recent photo that I could find was a polaroid taken by my friend.

[lks50]

Hi everyone! My name is Lauren Stokes, and I am a Media and Professional Communications major on the Corporate/Community Relations track. Additionally, I am pursuing a certificate in Digital Media and Writing for the Professions. I grew up in Center City Philadelphia, but I moved to the suburb of West Chester a few years ago. When I am not in the classroom I am either hanging out with friends, traveling, exercising, shopping, or working at Kendra Scott. I’m looking forward to learning a lot of new skills in this class!

[taylorjenkins]

Hi! I'm Taylor Jenkins and I am a senior studying marketing and French with certificates in international business and digital media! I'm from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I love to write, draw, shop, travel, hang with friends and exercise. I recently just worked abroad at a leather goods company in Florence, which is where my picture is taken, shooting and producing their social media and website content. I'm super excited to learn more about digital design!

[michaelpacifico]

Hello, my name is Michael and I'm a senior here at PITT studying DNID "Digital Narrative and Interactive Design". I'm from Pittsburgh and have lived here my entire life so I'm local. What I like to do for fun is play video games and create YouTube videos pretty much anything video content creation related. I hope to go into the Game Development industry when I graduate so hope that goes well.

[skygel]

Hi Everyone, I'm Skylar Gelnett! I am a Junior Media and Professional Communications major on the Digital Media track. I'm from Harrisburg, Pa, about a 3 hour drive from Pittsburgh. In my free time I like to hang out with friends, go thrifting, go shopping, watch football, travel, and try new foods. I'm looking forward to learning more about digital design in this class!

[kellenapp]

Hello, my name is Kellen and I'm a sophomore double major in DNID & Political Science. I live in Western NY (just outside Rochester) and like to play video games, produce music, read, and make video edits. I am excited to learn how to use more software in the class. My favorite holiday is Halloween so here's me painting a pumpkin.

[suchiattota]

Hello everyone! I am Suchi, a junior, majoring in computer science with a certificate in information systems design. A fun fact about me is that I hate chocolates and candies. I am excited to learn and work with HTML and CSS in this class. This is a picture of me taken over the winter break when I went to visit my family in India. My dad and sister live there and since I moved here alone, I travel often between both the countries.