Mapping Arrival at a Digital Intersection

Applying the Visitor-Resident framework, this mapping activity explores my place of arrival at a new intersection in my digital life, marking a deliberate transition from a significant period of digital dormancy and personal recovery. This transition is reflected in the deliberate spatial arrangement of my digital tools, where the contrast between my personal history and my new institutional requirements becomes visible. Central to this rationale is the distinction between my “Visitor” tasks—often focused on health and logistics—and my “Resident” identity, which is now expanding into new professional and academic territories (White, 2015).

Beyond logistics, my entertainment cluster served as a vital sanity saver during recovery. I am now rebuilding my social presence; platforms once dormant are back in active use as I reconnect with the community supporting my book, The Princess and the Pants, and beadwork. This creative work exists alongside my current requirements in Moodle, Meta, Slack, and LinkedIn. This “blur” of roles—author, artist, student, and professional—is anchored by an email (and related platforms) cluster with an invisible backbone of Todoist, while vertical tethers like CCCU bridge the gap between my private history and public service. This map documents the transition into a multi-modal digital life where personal creative interests and professional responsibilities overlap.

While the resident-visitor model helped me position my tools by use, Cormier’s alternative tension pair made me think more about the quality of connection within those spaces (Cormier, 2018). This lens highlights a distinction between digital spaces I occupy because of institutional demands and those I return to because they support community, creativity, and cultural connection. From an Indigenous perspective, this adds another layer because digital spaces are not neutral; they are shaped by relationships, responsibilities, and how connection is maintained across community. Viewed this way, my map reflects not only patterns of digital participation, but the relationships and responsibilities that shape why certain spaces remain meaningful.

References

White, D. (2015). Just the mapping [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/MSK1Iw1XtwQ

Cormier, D. (2018, March 31). Digital practices mapping – Intro activity for digital literacies
course. https://davecormier.com/edblog/2018/03/31/digital-practices-mapping-intro-activity-for-digital-literacies-course/