CWOnline 2006 Archives "Writing Ourselves: Voices in the Virtual Stream." Sabrina Gaskill, Mesalands Community College. |
| -- Start log: Saturday, February 18, 2006 11:17:18 am English MOO time -- Lennie says, "It is all yours Sabrina" SabrinaG displays slide #13 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/titleslide.htm>. SabrinaG displays slide #14 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/introslide.htm>. metaspencer says, "thanks for the link; there are some nice images at eepersip" SabrinaG says, "He's an interesting artist" SabrinaG displays slide #15 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/display1.htm>. Lennie notes that much of his communication is wrapped up in his activity as an educator metaspencer says, "Who are we indeed? And yet, I feel my role always stipulates such a saing" SabrinaG says, "Communication is oriented to pedagogy and administration rather than a content area?" metaspencer [to SabrinaG]: could you say more? Robbin says, "that leads to the question of what is our role in helping our students make this transition"" Lennie [to SabrinaG]: Yes. I think so. When I look at my writing it is mostly pedagogy and administration--guides and such. Except now I have grad course papers to write, so that has been a change. metaspencer [to Lennie]: Ahh, grad course papers. You mean, you can't just make a website or image or something? (joking; sort of) Lennie [to Spencer]: Those things too. SabrinaG says, "I've been trying to figure out how much of my time is spent assisting students with transition. I believe it's quite a bit of time." metaspencer says, "And by "transition" do you also mean acculturation? Is that a concern you have?" Lennie [to SabrinaG]: I think an online context for this communication transition is very valuable because they get to see not only your communication but that of their peers. There is a lot learned from this observation of others. Lennie [to Spencer]: Good point on the acculturation. Robin Evan's last presentation dealt pretty well with that issue. SabrinaG says, "Yes, acculturation that higher ed seems to demand. I don't care to be the one making the demand because it's really not my interest." SabrinaG says, "not my interest for students..." metaspencer says, "Gotcha. Is the "content area" you mentioned before your interest?" Lennie says, "This may be minor, but I think there is a transition for my students to do peer response. They learn how to do it by seeing each other do it (and me do it)." Robbin says, "yes, I think modeling is key. No one is born knowing how to do peer review, yet many think that after one 5 minutes discussion, the students should be proficient"" SabrinaG says, "I really have too much to do to read what I'd like." SabrinaG says, "I have them do three or four different kinds of peer review through the semester, usually going from somewhat structured to less structured." Lennie nods Robbin [to SabrinaG]: "That's why taking public transportation to school is great. You can indulge in personal reading because you feel virtuous taking the subway :) " metaspencer nods Lennie says, "but peer response is a sort of entry into collaborative critical communities" Robbin says, "I live in Washington, DC and take the Metro (subway) to school"" SabrinaG says, "Yes, peer response is an entry into collaborative critical communities. I start collaboration at the start of each semester. Teams are a significant part of my classes." Lennie imagines Robbin grading papers on the Metro metaspencer [to SabrinaG]: Somewhere in your blurb for this session I thought I saw an interest in the discourse about ourselves we put up (or enact) online. Is that a direction you'd like to go in? Robbin says, "how do you put your teams together? Are they strategically organized, by topic? gender? where they're sitting the day you put teams together? self selected?"" SabrinaG says, "I put teams together in all different ways. We did gender teams yesterday, which I don't usually do." SabrinaG says, "We'll go to the next slide." SabrinaG displays slide #14 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/introslide.htm>. SabrinaG displays slide #15 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/display1.htm>. SabrinaG displays slide #16 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/display2.htm>. SabrinaG says, "I'm embodied in the computer." Lennie grins at that thought metaspencer says, "Yeah, I like Hawhee's work. What I sometimes wonder in reading her, though, is how different bodies (and less able bodies) produce rhetoric w/in her frame." Robbin says, "I like your question. As a teacher of writing, I think it is important that I think of myself as a writer. But I also acknowledge that technology is a key part of writing today. So I make sure my students have the writing and technical tools they need to be successful communicators"" SabrinaG says, "As a class, we communicate more freely in blogs sitting in the same lab than through verbal dialogue." Lennie says, "I think what becomes "embodied" in our writing has to be some kind of core passion, some deep viewpoint from which we see the world (our Kairotic view). We attempt and can hardly help populting (embodying) our discourse with this soul. " SabrinaG says, "Perhaps different bodies produce rhetoric through a more tacit method, and since explication tends to be sacred, it is not as valued." metaspencer [to SabrinaG]: So when you say "more freely" do you mean the communicative interaction is "better"? I wonder that quite often when I move my classes to a chat discussion. Lennie [to Spencer]: Perhaps the blog or chat provides a freer space for them to communicate within than a regular class discussion. Often that freer is better. SabrinaG displays slide #17 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/display3.htm>. metaspencer says, "Yep, I can see that. Certainly a lot more text/chat gets produced." Robbin says, "And yet, our students on'e consider chatting and IMing writing"" Robbin says, "don't consider chatting and IMing writing. They consider it talking online"" SabrinaG says, "Yes, and so do we?" SabrinaG says, "The chatting and IM seems to get tranlated to other documents in comp" Lennie says, "i know what u mean" Lennie says, "But then this becomes a good teaching moment to talk about appropriateness in discourse in various contexts (there's kairos again)." metaspencer says, "I suppose the predictable answer to the question "Why teach writing in the Physics department" is because writing can be a powerful learning tool. Sometimes I think the better question to ask is "Why teach writing in the English department?"" Lennie laughs at Spencers question. Robbin says, "Touche Spencer"" metaspencer says, "Seriously! (Well, not totally seriously.) But I teach less and less writing every year; more and more "composition."" Lennie says, "A lot of places have pulled their comp program out of the english department." Lennie [to Spencer]: What do you mean by "composition?" SabrinaG says, "We have no segregated "departments." I like it that way." metaspencer says, "Image texts, sound text, performance texts -- things like that. Collage, juxtaposition, spoken discourse." SabrinaG says, "There's a different student attitude than other schools where they arrive at the "English" department for classes." Lennie nods. OK. Now I see. SabrinaG says, "Do you think imaged texts are dominating comp/rhet/writing?" Lennie says, "At least at my school, we are pretty much still locked into the old current traditional views towards "academic writing" as what we should teach. Ugg..." metaspencer says, "I wouldn't say "dominating." What seems to me to dominate comp/rhet/writing are the goals of (imagined) clarity and standardization. You?" Lennie [to Spencer]: What kind of standardization? Clarity I see, but standardization? metaspencer says, "Oh, sorry: I was gesturing to the standardization of language (standard language ideology) and then I guess also argumentation (thesis-based, e.g.)" SabrinaG says, "I graded the SAT for Pearson and worked for Smarthinking in the essay assessment area. The expectations of College Board and higher ed across the nation looked similar in certain respects." Lennie nods. OK. Certainly a lot of push towards the thesis-support model for what constitutes "writing" metaspencer shakes his head, thinking: that sounds like tough work. Lennie shakes his head too SabrinaG says, "It's given me much more perspective on how schools, industry, and government guide writing." SabrinaG says, "It is tough work." metaspencer says, "I bet it has!" SabrinaG says, "I'll move to the next slide." SabrinaG displays slide #18 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/display4.htm>. metaspencer says, "Thanks for this session. I have to jump on my bike and zip home to make it in time for the keynote. Good stuff!" Lennie waves adios to spencer metaspencer waves back metaspencer (asleep) has disconnected. Lennie thinks it will be a cold bike ride home.... Burr. SabrinaG Sabrina agrees. Lennie [to SabrinaG]: What are you looking for in this question? Lennie says, "I'm sorry Sabrina. I may need a bit more explanation about Schriver's dualism." SabrinaG says, "What response do you have to the sign?" Lennie says, "Looks like jaws." The housekeeper arrives to cart metaspencer off to bed. SabrinaG says, "We want protection in writing and discourse for everyone?" Lennie says, "and that actually makes us less safe?" SabrinaG says, "Writing seems sanitized these days." Robbin (asleep) has disconnected. Robbin has connected. SarahS has arrived. Robbin leaves for Conference Center Lobby Martine arrives from Conference Center Lobby SabrinaG says, "There is censorship. I don't know if the sign of a shark eating a child would ever be created today." Lennie [to SabrinaG]: Interesting. How else sanitized? Martine leaves for Conference Center Lobby Lennie displays slide #18 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/display4.htm>. Lennie waves to martine and sarah SabrinaG displays slide #19 on web: <http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/TTech/Gaskill/conclusion.htm>. SabrinaG Sabrina waves to martine and sarah, also. SarahS smiles and nods hello to all SarahS (asleep) has disconnected. Lennie says, "I guess I'm left with the notion of "embodied" writing and then how that embodiment gets represented in online contexts." SabrinaG says, "I feel more connected in cyberspace out here than I do with physical people." Lennie says, "or then we talked a lot about writing in learning or academic contexts" SabrinaG says, "Yes. I try to explain academic contexts to my students as far as the audience expecting such writing." Lennie says, "I like that line, "Transparency might not offer solidity."" SabrinaG says, "Thanks. It has some truth for me concerning permanence." The housekeeper arrives to cart SarahS off to bed. Lennie says, "Well, shall we call it Sabrina?" Lennie says, "This was an interesting discussion that has got me thinking." SabrinaG says, "Yes, please. Thanks." -- End log: Saturday, February 18, 2006 12:11:21 pm English MOO time -- |