Michael Day, Northern Illinois University
The question Mike asks is one that I have been thinking about over the last year, since we are building/rebuilding a WAC program here at Northern Illinois University under the direction of Brad Peters. Brad had the foresight to ask similar questions about technology before putting together his proposal for a new writing center to the university and to potential donors, so the plan for our writing center includes many computers with good connections to the Internet.
So far so good, but we have barely scratched the surface because, as my colleagues in this forum have already pointed out, equipment and connectivity alone do not guarantee effective use of technology in the WAC program. So let me lump together just a few of the suggestions I have already made for our WAC program with some that I have yet to make.
Of course, WAC directors need to survey the literature in computers and composition to get a sense of the best practices to incorporate. But somewhat hidden resources may also exist right on your campus. Make a survey of all instructors on campus who use computer labs and Internet technology for writing in their classes, and try to identify and incorporate the most effective strategies in the WAC program's operational plan. At minimum, this might mean inviting those instructors to give guest presentations about encouraging writing with technology in the writing center. But local experts could also become part of a more serious combined effort with faculty development to provide workshops, class visitations, and interclass discussions on the Internet.
Whenever possible, steer away from simplistic "drill and kill" software applications that don't actually require students to write. This does not mean that the writing center should not have a few copies of grammar and usage tutorial programs around to help students reinforce and practice skills, but the primary use of technology should focus on the marvelous interactivity afforded by networked computers, the Internet, and the Web. The WAC program should foster activities that allow students to write for a variety of audiences in a variety of registers, including intraclass e-mail and synchronous discussions, e-mail and synchronous discussions with other classes here and around the world, and even interaction with professional communities in the various disciplines students intend to enter. The Internet is becoming a primary channel for communication; let us make sure that students know how to use it effectively by including, as part of a WAC program, Web page creation, evaluation, and, navigation skills. Of course, Donna, Dickie, and Art's book, Electronic Communication Across the Curriculum, provides a much better rationale and set of examples than I can provide here.
We're all feeling the pressure from government and administrators toward more numerous and more quantitative measures to account for what we do in all of our teaching efforts, not just in WAC. Multiple-choice tests are cropping up everywhere to "make sure that we are doing our jobs." Some of the tests may seem like overkill, yet we do know that responsible educators need to be able to assess the impact and effectiveness of the curricula and approaches they use in their classes and programs. Results of assessment may be used as evidence to recommend changing curricula or practices, or as evidence of the need for more support, investigation, etc.
Thus I recommend that beyond incorporating networked technologies for interaction in WAC/CAC programs, we need to adopt, adapt, or develop assessment procedures for the technologies we use. The Flashlight Project, an outgrowth of the Teaching and Learning with Technology Group, offers some free and some fee-based consulting and resources for programs and institutions that want to assess their use of technology in education. Alternatively, I recommend looking at Judi Kirkpatrick's Webbed Assessment Techniques for the Wired Classrooms for some innovative approaches and example question sets for evaluating computer and distance technologies in classes. Hopefully, using assessment instruments such as these, we can demonstrate to others what we accomplish by using technology in our WAC/CAC programs, and provide directions for change and new growth.
Let me close by thanking Mike, Tharon, Christine, Charlie, and Donna for the excellent questions, advice, and discussion they have offered. I've learned more by participating in this forum than I would have in hundreds of pages and several months of research. This is a testimony to the synergistic power of scholarly interaction on the net, and I'm grateful to have been invited to be part of the process.
– Michael Day
mday@niu.edu