PWR MERIT REPORT

TO: PWR Personnel Committee FROM: Amy Goodloe, Instructor SUBJECT: Technology Coordinator Activities from March 2011 to February 2012 DATE: February 15, 2012

committee work Chair, Digital Composition Committee: The committee helps faculty adapt to the shift from print to digital literacies by offering resources and training in new technologies for teaching writing, writing in digital environments, and multimodal composition. Over the past year, I guided the committee towards the following accomplishments:

• offered a variety of workshops and presentations • conducted research into digital composition at peer institutions • published articles and resources on the Teaching Writing with Technology blog

(pwrfaculty.net/technology), including a bibliography of recommended readings • began assembling sample assignments and activities to help faculty implement digital composition • established the first annual Digital Composition Student Showcase, which will take place at the end

of the Spring 2012 semester Connections with Other Committees: I set up Wordpress blogs on pwrfaculty.net for several committees, including Outreach and Development, Diversity, Creative Non-Fiction, Professional Writing, and Sustainability. I also set up blogs for several purposes indirectly related to committees, such as: PWR Summer Seminar, Resources for New PWR Faculty, and Information Literacy. I worked extensively with Caroline Sinkinson and Diane DeBella on setting up the site for Information Literacy, and I also assisted other committee members in developing their sites and exploring digital tools appropriate to their committee work. administration Strategic Planning: Near the end of 2011, I began working on a strategic plan to integrate digital literacy into the PWR, which is still under development. The strategic plan defines digital literacy in the context of writing instruction, shows how digital literacy fits within our established goals and objectives, compares the digital composition offerings at our peer institutions, and makes recommendations for the PWR regarding hiring and reappointment criteria, curricular goals, and other ways of supporting digital literacy. The plan also includes an appendix of sample assignments and activities to help instructors integrate digital literacy at the level they feel is appropriate. Some of my ideas for the strategic plan were inspired by what I learned at the CCCC and Computers and Writing conferences in the Spring of 2011 as well as at the Digital Media and Composition Summer Institute (DMAC) at Ohio State University in the Summer of 2011. Those experiences prompted me to explore the pedagogy of digital composition in much greater depth, which has informed my approach to the strategic plan as well as to faculty development.

faculty development Workshops: In addition to holding a variety of Friday afternoon workshops each semester, I also conducted a successful and much appreciated intensive workshop in digital composition from August 8 to August 11. Faculty Mentoring: Given the complex and highly personal nature of most people’s relationship to technology, I have found that one-on-one mentoring of colleagues results in the greatest benefit. Over the past year I spent more than 30 hours working with individual faculty members, by email, by phone, and in person (including a few house calls!). Faculty Resources: I’ve continued to contribute material to the PWR Teaching Writing with Technology blog, including sample assignments and activities as well as information about the national conversation on the changing nature of literacy. I’ve also continued to develop handouts on a variety of aspects of digital composition, including using digital tools for writing and research, writing in web environments, and composing in digital media. These handouts include step-by-step instructions with screenshots as well as screencast videos, many of which I’ve made in response to requests by PWR colleagues. The handouts are available on the web site I created for them: DigitalWriting101.net outreach External Web Site: I redesigned the external PWR web site in October of 2010, and I have not yet been asked to make any revisions to the site’s layout or design. Connections Across Campus: I further strengthened the PWR’s relationship with Tim Riggs and Dave Underwood of Academic Media Services in ATLAS, as well as with the TAM program. I also developed a relationship with Tim Cowan of Student Training Services in OIT. Tim is very interested in working with PWR faculty to offer customized digital literacy training to our students. I delivered a well attended presentation on Digital Storytelling at the 2011 COLTT conference, which sparked interest in faculty across CU regarding further opportunities for students to learn about digital composition. (I assured them that the PWR was working on it!) This presentation led to invitations to present similar material elsewhere, including at a conference for public school teachers in Denver and for the Norlin Learner’s Lunch series. curricular development Revising Curricular Goals: I've consulted with the Coordinators for First-Year Writing and Upper-Division regarding ways to integrate digital literacy into the revised curricular goals they are each working on. I’ve also offered them sample assignments and activities appropriate to each level. New Course: I proposed a course on Digital Storytelling to ATLAS, as an offering for the TAM program. The course will be offered for the first time in the Fall of 2012 and will be cross-listed with WRTG 3090, in an effort to make more visible the PWR’s interest in digital composition. technology See above :-)