Module Overview
In this module, we’ll investigate technologies and the future of writing by critically engaging in contemporary writing practices in digital environments (e.g. blogging, microblogging, creating a digital writing portfolio, and conducting online research) while grappling with relevant research in the field of rhetoric and writing studies.
Specifically, we’re going to be grappling with the idea of identity and how it transformed and mediated by the digital spaces we find ourselves in. Who, or what, is our digital and real-life identity or identities? What influences those identities? How do our networks and the ecologies in which we live and act shape us? And how can we as writers think about ways to better compose ourselves rather than being composed by others.
Complementing our readings and discussions, we will be introduced to three writing spaces that are becoming important to writers, readers, and teachers:
- a collaborative professional blog using WordPress
- micro-blogging using Twitter
- personal online portfolio using Dropbox or Spideroak
- the dynamic presentation platform, Prezi
We’ll also be introduced to various visualization tools. Specifics requirements each project will be described in greater detail on a separate assignment page. Students will also write a final paper that analyzes the use of these spaces.