Shantal Week 10 Reading Notes and Note Taking Challenge
Summary:
“A Postition Statement of Principles and Example Effective Practices for Online Writing Instruction (OWI)” is a paper by the Conference on College Composition and Communication Committee for Best Practices in Online Writing instruction. The committee began the process of choosing and explaining best practices in 2007 (6).The committee gathered best practices by researching practices at 2-year and 4-year colleges (6). They turned some of the best practices into core principles which are explained in the document. The principles are meant to be applied to online and hybrid writing courses in post-secondary education institutions. The document explains each principle, discusses the reasoning, and gives examples of effective practices. The document is for teachers of online courses, their supervisors, and even for administrators of online writing labs (OWLs).
The 15 Principles are listed briefly here: OWI Principles @ NCTE Website.
Discussion:
The most important principle is that “Online Writing Instruction should be should be universally inclusive and accessible”(7). Accessibility means that students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, language proficiencies, and with students different disabilities should all be able to access materials and instructions in an online course. Access to technology has been a constant theme throughout the course readings, but the issue of access is addressed in different ways. "From Teaching to Learning a New Paradigm" by Barr and Tagg refer to access as access to education for historically underprivileged students. “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century” by Jenkins et. al. refers to access as access to technology, not just the physical components but access to skills as well. They address the issue of access in what they call the "Participation Gap"- without educational intervention, students do not have access to the same technological and knowledge resources. In "Politics of the Interface," Selfe and Selfe address the issue through themes of power. Different interfaces can reflect a hegemonic ideology that limits access to students from different cultures and subcultures. "Infrastructure and Composing: The When of New-Media Writing." Danielle Nicole DeVoss, Ellen Cushman, and Jeffrey T. Grabill address access through interconnected issues of institutional power, ideological power, and physical and economical access.
It's important to keep access in mind at all times. When I think of access, I am more likely to think of access in terms of literal access to technology and the skills needed to use it. Access issues, however, might come in the form of a student having some kind of disability. The OWI Position statement suggests that teachers and administrators alike work to help make sure that students have access. Students should know that publicly universities have a department dedicated to helping them access the resources they need.
In addition to issues of access, how involved an institution should be is also addressed in other readings. "Infrastructure and Composing: The When of New-Media Writing" by Danielle Nicole DeVoss, Ellen Cushman, and Jeffrey T. Grabill also mentions institutional issues and how they can help resolve problems or constrain teaching. The OWI position statement explicitly divides the responsibilities between the instructors and the institutions. The institutions should allow teachers to have as much control of the class structure as possible, should keep classes capped at about 20 students, and should provide training and technological support for teachers and students. Teachers should teach writing, make sure that they can direct students to technological help resources, choose appropriate technologies, and create a culture of collaboration within the course.
The effective practices section under each principle is very useful and has caused me to think about some things for my writing assignment I wouldn't have thought about before. For example, it is important for me to know what kind of technologies students have access to. Before, I wanted to give students a choice to use different technologies. Would that affect my grading, however? Students who have access to more time and technology may be able to create more elaborate projects, so I will definitely need a defined rubric for my assignment to make sure the students met specific learning goals.
Works Cited
Barr, Robert B. and John Tagg. "From Teaching to Learning . A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education." Change Nov./Dec. 1995: 13-25. Web. 2 Sep. 2014.
The Conference on College Composition and Communication Committee for Best Practices in Online Writing Instruction. A Position Statement of Principles and Example Effective Practices for Online Writing Instruction (OWI).
Devoss, Dànielle N., Ellen Cushman, and Jeffry T. Grabill. "Infrastructure and Composing: The When of New-Media Writing." College Composition and Communication 57.1 (2005): 14-44. JSTOR. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.
Jenkins, Henry, and Foundation John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur. "Confronting The Challenges Of Participatory Culture: Media Education For The 21St Century. An Occasional Paper On Digital Media And Learning." John D. And Catherine T. Macarthur Foundation (2006): Web. 2 Sept. 2014.
Selfe, Cynthia L. "The Politics of the Interface: Power and Its Exercise in Electronic Contact Zones." College Composition and Communication 45.4 (1994): 480-504. JSTOR. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
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I've used Twine software before, but this time I tried their in-browser service. I really liked it as a note-taking software. It is very easy to use, automatically saves your work, and creates a simple template to create hyperlinks. I think this would be a great software for experimenting with in class. The constraints are that it encourages very short chunks of text. It also only really works if you can create hyperlinks between different texts and pages. It is often used as a "choose your own adventure" creator and it would be fun to experiment with with students.
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Discussion of "Shantal Week 10 Reading Notes and Note Taking Challenge"
image & connections
I loved the image. I'm also glad to see you making connections back to earlier readings!Posted on 29 October 2014, 7:52 am by Shelley Rodrigo | Permalink
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