September 1997 — Features

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E-COMP: A Few Words About Teaching Writing with Computers

This led them to ask the kind of questions we as teachers of composition wanted them to ask: What makes an effective style? Who is my audience? What discourse persuades them, what figures are appropriate to that discourse, and what will my audience likely ignore or fail to be impressed by?

We also found that, in comparison to our experiences teaching without computers, students were better able to comment constructively at the local level in peer papers. They offered specific revisions and gave articulate reasons for their suggestions, instead of the more familiar general editorial comment ("sounds really good!").

In any writing course, both instructors and students must continually examine their underlying assumptions, which usually involves exposing the course to a variety of writing tasks and perspectives. Since electronic media are currently opening up possibilities for new writing venues, careful instructional use of these media can introduce students to new (but increasingly important) perspectives on rhetoric and writing even while teaching them the full panoply of traditional skills.

It is true that none of this can occur without new thought and training on our part as instructors. Initially, some of us resisted the extra preparation and flexibility demanded by electronic media as daunting. Or we worried that the potential loss of our own authority might lead to diffuse and ineffective teaching. On the contrary, we have found that electronic media made visible and extended the strategies we were already using. And our own excitement as instructors was renewed by seeing our students develop in critical thinking and autonomy as they found the ability to work effectively with others was as crucial to learning as solitary work.

While most of the strategies we touch on here are not dependent on electronic media, we offer our collective experience as indicating that electronic resources, used thoughtfully, can create new kinds of writing while illuminating structures already in place.

For more information, send e-mail to:  e-comp@umich.edu