Offered Winter 2000
From: Andy Jones, Coordinator of Computer-Aided Instruction
Subject: Class in Computers, Composition, and the World Wide Web
This winter quarter I’m offering a special two-unit section of English 298 (Directed Study) to interested graduate students. Class participants will review recent research in Computers and Composition, discuss practical ways to improve instruction through the use of computers, and learn how to best present such research and skills to future potential employers.
The first hour of the class will be open to all members of the English Department in the form of an informal review/workshop on the topic of the day. In the second hour of the class, participants will review (and offer informal presentations on) relevant literature in the field. Participants who take the pass/no-pass seminar for credit will be expected to attend and participate regularly, as well as to submit a short paper on an important issue in Computers and Composition.
Time: Winter 2000, Fridays from 1:10-3:00pm
Place: 247 Olson (The Laptop Room)
Enrollment: Limited to 12
The following syllabus is subject to change:
Week One -- Overview of Computers and Composition
Library Resources on Computers and Composition
Books, the Journal Computers and Composition, etc.
World Wide Web Resources on Computers and Composition
Academic publisher sites; university-based sites
Review of Prominent CAI Programs
Week Two -- Presenting the Topic of Web Research to Students
Finding the Best Search Engines (e.g., www.alltheweb.com)
Evaluating Internet Sources (e.g. Susan Palo’s research)
Citing Internet Sources
Reviewing the Problem of Internet Plagiarism
Week Three -- The Internet Outside the Classroom
Setting up an Automated Class Mailing List
Managing student e-mail/ Using Eudora effectively Extending Office Hours via e-mail (new options!)
Downloading Rosters and Computing Grades with Excel
Week Four -- Composition in the CAI Classrooms
Review of CAI classrooms in Olson
Daedalus discussion groups/ Potential Daedalus Replacement
Presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint
John Stenzel’s CAI manual
Tricks and Tips for the CAI classroom
Week Five — Creating Basic Web Pages
Netscape Composer as HTML editor
Potential guest speaker from The Arbor
Review of Design and Accessibility Principles
English Department policies re: Department web server
Sample academic web pages at UCD and elsewhere
Week Six -- Web Sites Resources for all Composition Instructors
On-Line Writing Labs/ Available handouts
Syllabi of other composition classes
Week Seven -- Resources for Literary Study/ Teaching English 3
Voice of the Shuttle -- Panoply of Literary Databases
Bartleby Project -- Actual Literary Texts available On-Line
Week Eight -- Others’ Classes
Four Guest Speakers share their classes and approaches
Class Syllabi and Advanced Comp (English 101, 104A, 104E)
Classes offered by other universities
Week Nine -- Theorizing CAI
Considering Publishing in CAI studies
Integrating CAI into current classroom teaching
Week Ten -- Presenting Our CAI Research to Others
Computers and the Professional Graduate Student
Sharing Expertise with Others
CAI on the CV