There was a time when the teaching of writing resembled something similar to the video below:
In some instances, surely, instructors still explain writing in this manner: a teacher in front of a blackboard diagramming the intricate minutia of a sentence. But, for the most part, our contemporary context for writing has altered dramatically. Merely understanding the relative positions of particular grammatical-formations has shifted to a focus on global and procedural issues, as well as pragmatic usage. Or stated in other words, nowadays the teaching of writing primarily concerns itself with the writing process' recursive nature (a non-linear cycle of invention, drafting, and revision) and its ability to communicate so as to positively affect our futures. While this alteration of focus does not preclude grammar, it certainly does not situate it as a primary concern.
But the swerve from sentence level constructs to global-level issues does not encompass the totality of changes brought on by today's contexts. Writers of all types (whether they be students, teachers, journalists, business persons, copy-editors, travel writers, etc.) must now consider, adapt, operate proficiently in, and experiment with the possibilities of digital and online environments. Take for instance the below video:
As you saw, the video begins with a disembodied hand writing a seemingly simple statement about texts on a piece of white paper, then erasing and revising. Afterward, we are taken on a whirl-wind of visual stimuli that begins with hyperlinking, flows into HTML coding, XML coding, blogs, search engines, etc. No doubt, it can all be a bit overwhelming, especially given the rapid pace at which we are supposed to ingest the information.
While you are by no means required to comprehend everything we just watched, I do hope you come away with an understanding that writing in the digital age is both different, powerful, and necessary. With the creation of your blogs in class today, it is my hope that we can take that first step into producing texts that harness the capabilities of these new contexts, yet simultaneously grounds such advancement in the tried-and-true concepts of both rhetoric and argument. Certainly, as with any new material, there will be some technical and conceptual difficulties that we will need to overcome as a class, but these should be nothing we cannot deal with as a group and individually. Good luck and have fun.
WRITING: As such, for your second blog post of the semester you will write a 300-500 response to the above clip, employing the terms and concepts from the textbook (e.g. purpose, audience, context, medium, strategies, arrangements, ethos, pathos, logos, etc.). Obviously, you cannot cover everything we have read, so select one or two concepts that you most connected with and address them appropriately. In addition to the word count, you must include 2 hyperlinks, and embed the Web 2.0 video. DUE: January 26, 2010 @ 11:00AM.
Your third blog post will, in fact, not be a post at all, but a "Link List" of your fellow classmates. To accomplish this task, enter the "Layout" menu and click on "Add a Gadget." Once you enter the sub-menu, click on "Link List." You can add individual student blogs by opening the main ENGL 151 blog in a separate window, then clicking on student names in the sidebar. This action should take you to each others' specific blogs. Simply, cut-and-paste the URL into the "Link List" dialogue box and your finished. Note: To receive the full point, make sure the list is both a) fully functional and b) in alphabetical order. DUE: January 26, 2010 @ 11:00AM.
READING: In Compose Design Advocate, please read chapter 7, pages 181-212.
In some instances, surely, instructors still explain writing in this manner: a teacher in front of a blackboard diagramming the intricate minutia of a sentence. But, for the most part, our contemporary context for writing has altered dramatically. Merely understanding the relative positions of particular grammatical-formations has shifted to a focus on global and procedural issues, as well as pragmatic usage. Or stated in other words, nowadays the teaching of writing primarily concerns itself with the writing process' recursive nature (a non-linear cycle of invention, drafting, and revision) and its ability to communicate so as to positively affect our futures. While this alteration of focus does not preclude grammar, it certainly does not situate it as a primary concern.
But the swerve from sentence level constructs to global-level issues does not encompass the totality of changes brought on by today's contexts. Writers of all types (whether they be students, teachers, journalists, business persons, copy-editors, travel writers, etc.) must now consider, adapt, operate proficiently in, and experiment with the possibilities of digital and online environments. Take for instance the below video:
As you saw, the video begins with a disembodied hand writing a seemingly simple statement about texts on a piece of white paper, then erasing and revising. Afterward, we are taken on a whirl-wind of visual stimuli that begins with hyperlinking, flows into HTML coding, XML coding, blogs, search engines, etc. No doubt, it can all be a bit overwhelming, especially given the rapid pace at which we are supposed to ingest the information.
While you are by no means required to comprehend everything we just watched, I do hope you come away with an understanding that writing in the digital age is both different, powerful, and necessary. With the creation of your blogs in class today, it is my hope that we can take that first step into producing texts that harness the capabilities of these new contexts, yet simultaneously grounds such advancement in the tried-and-true concepts of both rhetoric and argument. Certainly, as with any new material, there will be some technical and conceptual difficulties that we will need to overcome as a class, but these should be nothing we cannot deal with as a group and individually. Good luck and have fun.
WRITING: As such, for your second blog post of the semester you will write a 300-500 response to the above clip, employing the terms and concepts from the textbook (e.g. purpose, audience, context, medium, strategies, arrangements, ethos, pathos, logos, etc.). Obviously, you cannot cover everything we have read, so select one or two concepts that you most connected with and address them appropriately. In addition to the word count, you must include 2 hyperlinks, and embed the Web 2.0 video. DUE: January 26, 2010 @ 11:00AM.
Your third blog post will, in fact, not be a post at all, but a "Link List" of your fellow classmates. To accomplish this task, enter the "Layout" menu and click on "Add a Gadget." Once you enter the sub-menu, click on "Link List." You can add individual student blogs by opening the main ENGL 151 blog in a separate window, then clicking on student names in the sidebar. This action should take you to each others' specific blogs. Simply, cut-and-paste the URL into the "Link List" dialogue box and your finished. Note: To receive the full point, make sure the list is both a) fully functional and b) in alphabetical order. DUE: January 26, 2010 @ 11:00AM.
READING: In Compose Design Advocate, please read chapter 7, pages 181-212.
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