Writing teachers who teach writing online — or who want to teach online — often confront new and multiple pedagogical, technological, and disciplinary contexts, opportunities, and challenges. We will explore and write in those contexts with a variety of technological platforms and genres so that you will leave this class with a project that demonstrates your proficiency and excellence in teaching and assessing writing online, focusing on your resourcefulness and flexibility in using contemporary writing technologies.
Just as writing instruction that takes place in face-to-face environments is informed by social, cultural, political, and economic forces, we also attend to those forces in our planning and discussions so that we might remain attentive to — and mindful of — the needs of inclusive learning environments and diverse student populations. No teaching experience is required or assumed in this course, and no extensive experience with writing technologies is required. Note that this is a hybrid course: we meet in person every other week during scheduled course sessions and then online every other week.
How will we do this?
One-half of our course will be conducted in person and one-half — every other week — online, in a hybrid format. Our online work will be done in DePaul’s online course-management system, D2L, in addition to writing technologies that we want to try in support of our work together.
Hybrid and online courses require good time management, pro-active problem solving, and resourcefulness — all good qualities to have anyway, both in college and in life — so we will be practicing those qualities as part of the course.
Since good writing instruction is good writing instruction no matter the mode of delivery — face-to-face, online, hybrid — we spend the first couple of weeks deciding together what constitutes “good” writing instruction, and then tracking those features in our work and class projects.
Course Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, you will know how to:
- Plan, design, and teach a series of online writing course assignments that foreground student writing and your pedagogical aspirations
- Organize and scaffold assignments, activities, and multiple forms of interactivity in online and hybrid environments
- Compose assignments and projects that integrate digital composing technologies and provide flexibility for student diversity and learning styles
- Discuss and articulate for a variety of audiences — academic, disciplinary, hiring committees — your mindful expertise and care managing the human, technological, and pedagogical contexts involved with teaching composing online