Posts tagged wordpress
Using WordPress to Facilitate Multimodal Student Writing
Susanne Hall & Seth Dowland, Thompson Writing Program
Changes in technology have always produced changes in academic writing. In our digital age the kinds of questions we want students to be able to explore in their writing can sometimes be an uncomfortable fit with the traditional academic essay, written in a word processing program with limited capabilities. This panel will introduce the discourse on multimodal writing and discuss the uses of WordPress to create multimodal projects.
This semester, Thompson Writing Program faculty members Susanne Hall and Seth Dowland asked students to complete multi-modal assignments using WordPress multi-user. In “The Posthuman Author” Professor Hall’s students read a variety of texts from the growing field of Electronic Literature and used WordPress to write analytical essays focused on close reading Electronic Literature. Writing in WordPress allowed students to “quote” from literary texts that contain animation, sound, and unique graphic elements. In “Religion & Popular Culture,” Professor Dowland’s students created webpages that featured embedded audio and video alongside annotations of these multimedia clips. This session will briefly cover some recent research behind multi-modal assignments and then offer attendees a chance to see how we have used WordPress multi-user in our classes this spring. The session will focus on practical elements of assignment design and execution, and it will discuss resources and support available to those interested in pursuing multimodal writing projects in their own courses.
Using Blogs to Make Texts Public
Christine Erlien, Thompson Writing Program
One of our initiatives in the Thompson Writing Program is to “make texts public.” We are working on doing that in a variety of ways, but one that speaks specifically to the use of instructional technology has been the participation of several of our faculty members in the WordPress pilot program. I think it would be valuable to share how writing instructors in a range of disciplines are using blogging software in their courses.
[CourseCast recording] or YouTube video (below)
WordPress in a Spanish Language Course
Lisa Merschel, Romance Studies
This session will explore the use of WordPress pages in two lower-intermediate Spanish courses as a substitute for the Wiki feature in Blackboard. In one class students worked individually on a WordPress page, and in another students worked collaboratively in pairs. Some questions addressed will be: what are the pros and cons of moving outside the Learning Mangagement System (Blackboard) for a technology assignment? Did students prefer working collaboratively or
individually? Was there added value in using a WordPress page vs. using a Wiki on Blackboard? And how does one assess such a project? I will share the results of pre-assignment and post-assignment surveys of my students and share some thoughts on what I think to be best practices for usingWordPress pages.