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last.updated 6.2.14

Practices of OWI

Purpose

We will continue to discuss Scott Warnock's book, Teaching Writing Online: How & Why, and Neff & Whithaus' Writing Across Distances and Disciplines focusing on when they were written and the changes that have occurred since then. We will especially pay attention to these book's usefulness for preparing writing instructors to teach writing with the technologies available prior to 2010. As a result, you will get the opportunity to approach this book as both a scholar and a practitioner.

Freewrite I–I, Publisher

For ten minutes address the following prompt:

What are specific features of Warnock's book that make it useful for writing instructors teaching from a distance in 2010? Also, Warnock, like most authors, probably had some constraints on producing this book. What would you have liked to have seen covered or developed that was not? For some of you, other ways to think about this question is if he was writing for a more advanced audience, what should he cover, or how would you write this book?

Activity–Making the pitch

Using Google Hangout, you will discuss a pitch you would, as a group of author's make to a publisher (like NCTE) on a book that will compete with Warnock's praxis-oriented text about teaching writing online. In this pitch, you will want to explain the book's audience, purpose, what will make your book distinguishable from other books on the market (note that I understand you have limited time, so this can be based upon the assigned scholarship you have read, what you have read for your blogs, and generally anything you have come across as teacher of online classes).

Discussion I –Teaching Writing Online

We will discuss the following questions:

• What questions, comments or concerns do you have about Warnock's or Neff & Whithaus' book?
• What pedagogical philosophy about teaching and teaching writing is Warnock using as the foundation for this book?
• What is your opinion of Warnock's book? How applicable is this book in your context?
• If you were Warnock's publisher what would you want to see him do with this text?
• According to Neff and Whithaus why are WAC strategies conducive for distance learning courses? What are process scripts and how might one design them for a writing course? How does one complement F2F curriculum and customize it for learners?
• What heuristics would you develop for designing and implementing an OWI course, based upon the readings you have done so far for this course?