Writing Gets a Technology Boost
Asubject most would describe as “low tech” has taken a new high tech direction at UT.
Many writing classes are now held in a new technology-enhanced classroom in the Humanities and Social Sciences Building. The room features 25 networked computer workstations, a computer-DVD-VCR setup for the instructor, printers, a scanner, projector, and Internet access. Assignments are written, researched, shared, and critiqued electronically–and in some of the classes, no papers change hands.
Students and faculty alike applaud the marriage of writing and technology.
“Students’ faces light up,” says writing instructor Emily Dziuban. “The level of excitement is palpable.”
The networked classroom makes students more comfortable with technology as well as developing their writing abilities.
“The computers don’t dominate; they facilitate,” says Kirsten Benson, director of the Writing Center. The monitors are recessed in the desktops so they don’t block the view between instructor and student.
“Students have constant, easy access to writing and research tools and yet nothing interferes with the ability to communicate freely with the instructor during class discussions,” Dziuban says. All types of writing classes—first-year through graduate level—meet in the room.
Student comments are enthusiastic:
- “Every day I look forward to English.”
- “I feel more connected with the teacher.”
- “I like the way papers are reviewed and can be edited on the spot.”
- “I can’t imagine what the technical and professional editing class would be like without this classroom”
The classroom was funded by the Stokely Foundation, the English Department’s Hodges Fund, and the student technology fee. The English Department’s writing program would like to equip another similar room if a space can be found.
Bottom line—do students learn to write better? The results, of course, are still anecdotal, though there are plans to assess their performance in this environment.
“They certainly write more,” Benson says. “And they feel more positively about what they write—which is so important to the process of learning.”
