CIWIC: Computers in Writing-Intensive Classrooms

CIWIC-NM will help participants develop approaches to teaching the interpretation and development of new media texts within writing-intensive classrooms and programs. Through the process of composing their own multimedia texts (with plenty of cheery and thoughtful hands-on assistance), participants will consider how compositional and rhetorical approaches to writing carry over into the interactive and intensely visual places of computer screens. Participants will return to their institutions with teaching assignments and plans, with materials to support teaching visual as well as verbal rhetorics, and with knowledge of and comfort with supporting technologies. Like CIWIC-AIC, this institute focuses on people and their teaching and learning goals, and seeks to help them gain critical ease with new technologies.

This workshop is for participants who already have some experience integrating computers into classrooms and programs, but want to focus on developing and thinking about new media texts and assignments for their classrooms and programs. The focus in this workshop is on the composition of new media texts and on new and exciting ways of thinking about the visual as well as verbal texts.

CIWIC-NM is open to educators at all levels: two-and four-year teachers of English studies; elementary teachers of language arts; graduate students in programs related to composition, rhetoric, and technical communication studies; writing center and writing program administrators, etc.

This workshop is designed for participants with more experience using technology in the classroom. Knowledge of at least one graphics software package is useful because the workshop will focus on developing new media texts and assignments for classrooms and programs. Basic familiarity with computers is required.