Christine Hult, Utah State University
The advice I would give to established WAC/CAC program directors and teachers is to join in the various networks that are discussing computers in higher education, to enter into the dialogue. The Alliance for Computers and Writing email list is one such network, as is the Computers & Writing Conference with its attendant discussion forums and online conference. Attend the computer strand sessions at 4Cs and other conferences and just generally involve yourself in the issues surrounding computers and writing. Subscribe to the Computers & Composition journal and also read the online version at http://corax.cwrl.utexas.edu/cac/. Subscribe to the Chronicle of Higher Education's online journal and read the section on Distance Education. Subscribe to Syllabus magazine (it's free) to learn what's new in educational technologies. I'm sure there are other avenues that I've forgotten, but these are some that have been helpful to me. You will no doubt discover a host of others once you begin looking.
I realize that it is sometimes difficult for us to get outside our own comfort zone; we become accustomed to talking to the same set of colleagues, both locally and nationally, who think like us and help to reaffirm our own convictions. However, to see things with a fresh eye, sometimes we have to break out of that comfort zone and try some new associations, read some new publications, attend a few different conferences, stretch our horizons a bit. Our voices can play a major role in shaping how computer technologies are used in higher education. We can help to ensure that the issue of "quality" in educational settings is constantly reinforced, regardless of the technologies that are being used. We in the WAC/CAC community face both an enormous challenge and a tremendous opportunity. Let's not allow it to pass us by.
– Christine Hult
chult@english.usu.edu