Upon exploring Computers and Composition Online I was met with a common opinion that technology can certainly aid in effective writing instruction when combined with appropriate and effective pedagogy; however, the use of irrelevant or inappropriate technology sources can be very damaging and teachers must join the digital world cautiously.
Approaches to Digital Rhetoric: Exploring the online journal Computers and Composition Online
About the Journal:
“Computers and Composition Online is the refereed online companion journal to Computers and Composition: An International Journal, now in its 26th year and currently published by Elsevier. Our goal is to be a significant online resource for scholar-teachers interested in the impact of new and emerging media upon the teaching of language and literacy in both virtual and face-to-face forums. As part of this goal, we wish to foster a sense of community and collegial sharing of ideas by providing an online space where select features, announcements, and community resources work together to promote a virtual exchange for the latest and best work in the field”(cconline "editorial staff" link).
The first article I want to share is:
"Teaching Invention Through YouTube" by Ruijie Zhao of Parkland College
You can find the article at http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/youtube/
The Debate: Putting the article in Context
-Scholars have been arguing whether incorporating certain digital media in writing classrooms is beneficial to the goal of such classrooms or not. In reference to YouTube, the opinion varies widely. It is a source that offers a vast spectrum of content, so exposing students to it comes with some risk. However, it would be unlikely that any mainstream student would come into a composition classroom without any previous experience with
YouTube on his own.
The Claim: What the article calls for
-This particular article “attempts to demonstrate ways YouTube encourages collaborative, democratic, and interactive learning in the prewriting stage in college composition classes"(Zhao).
For the purpose of prewriting for this web page, I actually searched for something on YouTube from Computers and Composition Online and found the following video very helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buebzedPSmQ&feature=related:link:link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buebzedPSmQ&feature=related:link:link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buebzedPSmQ&feature=related:link
-In the video, “Jonathan Alexander and Elizabeth Losh discuss media convergent texts and their impact on pedagogy in institutions of higher education.”
Why is this article important?
-Today’s students are comfortable with sources like YouTube and know how to use it. In order to engage current students, educators need to expand the sources used to deliver pedagogy so that students can absorb knowledge and put it to use most efficiently.
-In regards to the importance of spending time on prewriting in a composition classroom:
“without invention, there can be no effective communication, and invention is the process that supplies writers and speakers with their content material” (Conners and Glenn).
What are the implications of this article?
-The article offers a detailed example of one assignment benefitting from YouTube. Before the students were exposed to YouTube they were overwhelmed and frustrated as they dealt with journal articles about the topic. The result of such practice is often a “bombardment of quotes and paraphrases from their sources” rather than a “truly argumentative and fully synthesized” essay (Zhao). The YouTube video shown in class potentially “prepared students for drafting by stimulating students’ minds, fostering conversations, and motivating reading” (Zhao).
My response and Question
-I was very interested in and motivated by this article. The example provided was especially strong. The article may be giving YouTube a bit more credit than it deserves, but I cannot really make that judgment until I try it myself.
Looking Forward
-I would be interested to see a larger case study of YouTube used as an invention tool with a larger sampling of students over time compared with more traditional methods and/or various other new digital mediums.
I found another article worth sharing:
"Educational Blogging: A Forum for Developing Disciplinary and Profesfsional Identity" by Geoffrey C. Middlebrook of University of Southern California.
You can find the article at http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/middlebrook/
The Debate: Putting the article in Context
-Even though studies have shown (Pew Study) that blogging has decreased among college students, Middlebrook asserts that it is not the time to look for a new medium because “educative use of the blog apparatus helps students to find a voice and develop interests in a medium that appears to have life and longevity; motivates student engagement in conversations about their ideas and positions; provides students with an opportunity to consider the tenets of responsible writing, since there is at least in potential a wide and authentic audience; empowers students and stimulates the initiative to write; and engenders information sharing, reputation building, and personal expression”(Middlebrook).
The Claim: What the article calls for
-The article basically calls for a “course built on blogging.” I think he is right to agree with Ruth Reynard when she said the classroom blog “must be integrated early into the course design, and must be clearly connected to the course outcomes, before it can become anything more than just an extra task for students." This is the most important component; the blog must be essential to the class in order to not become obsolete.
Why is this article important?
-This article is important because educators can easily become overwhelmed trying to keep up with the digital classroom Jones’s so to speak. This article steers away from that by validating the reform of what has been attempted, often incorrectly, rather than trying every new thing that becomes available.
What are the implications of this article?
-Calling for a class website in which each student has her own blog tailored to her personal academic interests and career field, this article implies a real need for individualization in the digital classroom.
My response and Question
-I was really inspired by the practical nature of this article. Reforming what has been tried and tested seems much safer for a new teacher like me. It allows me to draw on experience and add my take on it. I do still feel the need to “keep up with the Jones’s” in the digital world though, so I wonder if the fact that college age students are blogging less is something I should take more into consideration.
Looking Forward
-I plan to try this in my classroom and blog about it from a newcomer’s perspective.
References
1. Conners, R., & Glenn, C. (1999). The new St. Martin’s guide to teaching writing. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
2. Middlebrook, Geoffrey C. (2010). Computers and Composition Online. Elsvier.http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/middlebrook/
3. Zhao, Ruijie. (2011). Computers and Composition Online. Elsvier.http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/youtube/
Approaches to Digital Rhetoric: Exploring the online journal Computers and Composition Online
About the Journal:
“Computers and Composition Online is the refereed online companion journal to Computers and Composition: An International Journal, now in its 26th year and currently published by Elsevier. Our goal is to be a significant online resource for scholar-teachers interested in the impact of new and emerging media upon the teaching of language and literacy in both virtual and face-to-face forums. As part of this goal, we wish to foster a sense of community and collegial sharing of ideas by providing an online space where select features, announcements, and community resources work together to promote a virtual exchange for the latest and best work in the field”(cconline "editorial staff" link).
The first article I want to share is:
"Teaching Invention Through YouTube" by Ruijie Zhao of Parkland College
You can find the article at http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/youtube/
The Debate: Putting the article in Context
-Scholars have been arguing whether incorporating certain digital media in writing classrooms is beneficial to the goal of such classrooms or not. In reference to YouTube, the opinion varies widely. It is a source that offers a vast spectrum of content, so exposing students to it comes with some risk. However, it would be unlikely that any mainstream student would come into a composition classroom without any previous experience with
YouTube on his own.
The Claim: What the article calls for
-This particular article “attempts to demonstrate ways YouTube encourages collaborative, democratic, and interactive learning in the prewriting stage in college composition classes"(Zhao).
For the purpose of prewriting for this web page, I actually searched for something on YouTube from Computers and Composition Online and found the following video very helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buebzedPSmQ&feature=related:link:link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buebzedPSmQ&feature=related:link:link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buebzedPSmQ&feature=related:link
-In the video, “Jonathan Alexander and Elizabeth Losh discuss media convergent texts and their impact on pedagogy in institutions of higher education.”
Why is this article important?
-Today’s students are comfortable with sources like YouTube and know how to use it. In order to engage current students, educators need to expand the sources used to deliver pedagogy so that students can absorb knowledge and put it to use most efficiently.
-In regards to the importance of spending time on prewriting in a composition classroom:
“without invention, there can be no effective communication, and invention is the process that supplies writers and speakers with their content material” (Conners and Glenn).
What are the implications of this article?
-The article offers a detailed example of one assignment benefitting from YouTube. Before the students were exposed to YouTube they were overwhelmed and frustrated as they dealt with journal articles about the topic. The result of such practice is often a “bombardment of quotes and paraphrases from their sources” rather than a “truly argumentative and fully synthesized” essay (Zhao). The YouTube video shown in class potentially “prepared students for drafting by stimulating students’ minds, fostering conversations, and motivating reading” (Zhao).
My response and Question
-I was very interested in and motivated by this article. The example provided was especially strong. The article may be giving YouTube a bit more credit than it deserves, but I cannot really make that judgment until I try it myself.
Looking Forward
-I would be interested to see a larger case study of YouTube used as an invention tool with a larger sampling of students over time compared with more traditional methods and/or various other new digital mediums.
I found another article worth sharing:
"Educational Blogging: A Forum for Developing Disciplinary and Profesfsional Identity" by Geoffrey C. Middlebrook of University of Southern California.
You can find the article at http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/middlebrook/
The Debate: Putting the article in Context
-Even though studies have shown (Pew Study) that blogging has decreased among college students, Middlebrook asserts that it is not the time to look for a new medium because “educative use of the blog apparatus helps students to find a voice and develop interests in a medium that appears to have life and longevity; motivates student engagement in conversations about their ideas and positions; provides students with an opportunity to consider the tenets of responsible writing, since there is at least in potential a wide and authentic audience; empowers students and stimulates the initiative to write; and engenders information sharing, reputation building, and personal expression”(Middlebrook).
The Claim: What the article calls for
-The article basically calls for a “course built on blogging.” I think he is right to agree with Ruth Reynard when she said the classroom blog “must be integrated early into the course design, and must be clearly connected to the course outcomes, before it can become anything more than just an extra task for students." This is the most important component; the blog must be essential to the class in order to not become obsolete.
Why is this article important?
-This article is important because educators can easily become overwhelmed trying to keep up with the digital classroom Jones’s so to speak. This article steers away from that by validating the reform of what has been attempted, often incorrectly, rather than trying every new thing that becomes available.
What are the implications of this article?
-Calling for a class website in which each student has her own blog tailored to her personal academic interests and career field, this article implies a real need for individualization in the digital classroom.
My response and Question
-I was really inspired by the practical nature of this article. Reforming what has been tried and tested seems much safer for a new teacher like me. It allows me to draw on experience and add my take on it. I do still feel the need to “keep up with the Jones’s” in the digital world though, so I wonder if the fact that college age students are blogging less is something I should take more into consideration.
Looking Forward
-I plan to try this in my classroom and blog about it from a newcomer’s perspective.
References
1. Conners, R., & Glenn, C. (1999). The new St. Martin’s guide to teaching writing. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
2. Middlebrook, Geoffrey C. (2010). Computers and Composition Online. Elsvier.http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/middlebrook/
3. Zhao, Ruijie. (2011). Computers and Composition Online. Elsvier.http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/youtube/