“Will I always be not social?”: Re-Conceptualizing Sociality in the Context of a Minecraft Community for Autism from Kate Ringland – Click the link for slide notes!
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Cover to the Summer Research Symposium program.
Today was the end of the summer research programs on the UCI campus. This summer I was a mentor to both an incoming PhD student in the Competitive Edge program and an undergraduate student in the SURF program. The summer ended with a wonderful research symposium where half the students presented their work via oral presentations and the other half presented posters. We then had an awards ceremony lunch where everyone was recognized for the great work they did this summer.
SURF Undergraduate, Aminah Tamimi, giving her presentation on 3d printing from Minecraft.
Competitive Edge PhD Student, Amanda Cullen, giving her presentation on Overwatch.
These programs are a really nice way to help students prepare for graduate school. As someone who participated in a similar program (DREU) as an undergrad and in the Competitive Edge program, I can attest to their usefulness.
As a mentor for students in these programs I am also extremely grateful to the programs for the opportunity to give back and be a mentor. As someone who is passionate about increasing diversity in academia and in STEM programs, I am always excited about chances to “do my bit.” In this instance, working with both Aminah and Amanda was a wonderful experience. Not only are they both hardworking students who are going to go great places, but they are generous with me as I felt my way through my role as a peer mentor. I plan on staying in touch with them (especially Amanda since we sit next to each other in lab) as they progress along their careers and continue to be helpful when I can.
A big thanks to everyone who made this summer fun and full of learning!
I’ve been wandering the net looking for useful information for grad students (particularly those who are working on their dissertation and looking forward to the job market.) So here I will start compiling the useful information and links I have found and update as needed.
If you have your own materials or have links to ones you like, feel free to share in the comments!
- Destination Dissertation by Sonja K. Foss and William Waters, excellent book–read it early and often!!
- Even a Geek Can Speak by Joey Asher, this is a great resource for learning how to communicate complicated ideas to all sorts of audiences, also it’s got great humor
- How to write a professional bio
- Lots of really good advice for grad school and beyond (Matt Might, CS-oriented)
- Job market materials (Benjamin Mako Hill)
- More job market materials (Philip Guo)
- Scholarly Pursuits by Cynthia Verba
My Dear Son,
Nine months ago today, you joined our family rosy cheeked and ready to go. I remember seeing you and crying because I knew you were perfect in every way, before your daddy took you out of the operating room to meet your BeBe. Hours later, when I got to hold you for the first time, I knew we were meant to be.
Thinking back on the last nine months, I am amazed with how much you have accomplished and learned. I have laughed with joy at your triumphs and admired you as you have touched the lives of so many people. You’ve gone from a squirmy little newborn, to a crawling, cruising, babbling ball of energy. I love your voracious appetite for books and your sweet, wet kisses. You are amazingly stubborn and independent, but also deeply caring and loving.
In the first couple of days, while we were still in the hospital, I learned how very close I came to never getting to hold you that first time. The thought that, in one moment, I could have not woken up from the operating table and missed all of this, stabs deep in my heart every time I think about it. But in these nine months, with you by my side, I have learned to be fiercer for it.
I am more protective of my time with you. While you’ve been learning to be more independent, I’ve been learning to be more mindful of every moment that I have. I cherish every second, all the laughs and through the tears. And while I’ve been learning to let my guilt go when I have to go to work, I know that you are stronger for that, too. When I feel busy, like there is no end to the work, I take a breath and remember that I get to come home to you and that I am building a home for you. I know that, for these last 9 months, and for the rest of my life, I will be pushing forward for you, setting an example for you, and living in the moment for you.
I love you, my sweet pea. I look forward to every moment I get to spend with and I look forward to all that you grow to be.
Love Always,
Your Mom
I was recently interviewed by a reporter from the New Scientist who wrote a piece on our paper, “Will I always be not social?”: Re-Conceptualizing Sociality in the Context of a Minecraft Community for Autism, that I will be presenting on May 9 for CHI 2016.
Minecraft is helping children with autism make new friends: https://t.co/jCRTOSdY6L pic.twitter.com/tYyutgd38T
— New Scientist (@newscientist) April 28, 2016
We were also covered by “Don’t Hate the Geek” in their article Minecraft Server for Autistic Gamers on May 2, 2016!
Want to find out more? Please see our full paper that has been accepted to CHI 2016. Full citation and link to the pdf below:
POST LAST UPDATED: May 2, 2016.
Related Posts:
I’m happy to report I successfully passed my advancement to become a PhD Candidate!
My talk was titled “Technology Mediated Socialization for Children with Autism.”
Committee: Gillian Hayes (Chair), Rebecca Black, Mimi Ito, Josh Tanenbaum, and Tom Boellstorff
Technology Mediated Socialization for Children with Autism, Advancement to PhD Candidacy Talk from Kate Ringland
Abstract: Traditional face-to-face social interactions can be challenging for individuals with autism, leading some to perceive and categorize these individuals as less social than their peers. For example, autism can be accompanied by difficulty making eye contact, interpreting some nonverbal cues, and performing coherent verbal utterances. While these challenges can be interpreted as an inability or lack of desire for social interactions, researchers have begun to explore how to expand the definition of sociality for those with autism. My research explores how technology can support alternative means of sociality, particularly for children with autism engaged in social play. In this advancement talk, I will present two research studies: SensoryPaint and Autcraft. SensoryPaint is a multimodal sensory environment built to enable whole-body interaction with the Kinect. Evaluation of SensoryPaint was conducted in two stages: a lab-based study and a deployment study. Results from this study show how these systems can promote socialization. My second research project explores Autcraft, a Minecraft community for children with autism and their allies. I will present results from on-going ethnographic work exploring the community’s Minecraft server and other community affiliated social media. Results from this study highlight ways in which community members use technology to create a safe environment for children with autism to explore alternative forms of social expression. Findings suggest an expansion of how sociality has traditionally been conceptualized for individuals with autism and how technology plays a key role in facilitating this new sociality.
Categorizing my Time
So I logged all my hours during the last week to see where I was spending my time. I am not surprised at all by the results, but it’s still fun to see it visualized.
For anyone wondering – yes, I am basically doing two full-time jobs at the moment – being a mom and being a grad student. Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Hopefully, as I have time (haha), I will write more posts about how I manage my time and get everything done!
I’ve been compiling a list of useful links on how to make a presentation accessible. The top tips are:
- Use Sans Serif font larger than 28 pts.
- Use colors that are high contrast (e.g., black font on white background).
- Limit moving and crazy transitions (good for those prone to motion sickness in the room).
- Use alt text for all images, graphics, and videos within the presentation in order for the screen reader to be able to access the information. (And don’t put key information only in a graphic with no alt text!!)
I will update the list as I find more resources. Feel free to share your favorite accessibility resources in the comments below!
- Design PowerPoint Presentations with Accessibility in Mind (PDF)
- From Microsoft support – Creating Accessible PowerPoint Presentations
- From University of Washington – How do I make my online PowerPoint presentation accessible?
- From University of Minnesota – Accessibility and Apple Keynote
- Accessible KeyNote and PowerPoint Presentations (PDF)
every morning a new light who am i today feeling okay evening stars meditate new day again tomorrow just fine
This spring has been rough in terms of my time management. Deadlines have crept up and the big ones seem to be converging. The past two weekends I have found myself trying to cram in finishing everything on my to do list that somehow didn’t get done during the week (including reading a couple of books, writing drafts of papers, and coding a prototype of our DanceCraft software).
After reading Time Tracking – Getting it Right, I was inspired to start keeping track of my time. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be keeping a log of activities, estimated time to complete, and time spent for the next week. Hopefully by next weekend I’ll have a little better idea where all the time goes.
Do you know where your time goes?
