Monday, March 21, 2011

What Counts as Writing (to me as a student)

In ENGL 514 (Computers and Writing) I realized that “writing” is not simply an action done with a pen or pencil.  “Writing” can include cave drawings, time capsules that children bury in schoolyards, formulas in Biology or Chemistry  class, hieroglyphics, engineering drawings … the engineer's second "draft"/re-draws, pencils, pens, and lipstick on paper, a message in a bottle, a love note or a thesis for a Ph.D. , a composition or an equation in Chemistry class.  It can be applied to loose leaf paper or card stock,  drafting sheet  or white board, painted on canvas,  carved on metal bracelets to identify a patient with a defibrillator or latex allergy, a limestone wall to articulate the life of a great pharaoh, or a greeting card to welcome a new baby.  It can be transferred via the Internet, Facebook, blogs, U.S. Mail, Pony/Federal Express, or scripted on a lllllooooonnnnnggggg sheet of toilet paper (really) and handed off in a high school classroom.

“Writing” attempts to communicate thoughts and ideas, to make meaning (or we’re just drawing symbols”), and capture them to “make ideas permanently visible, so it can be stabilized and re-examined at a later date (Winsor).

Blog Use for Winter 2011

How I've use my 515 blog:
Originally invited to create a blog to reflect on the articles being read for ENGL 515 class during the winter term, I was happy to participate.  I’ve created blogs before … mainly for classes at EMU.   I’ve actually kept hard copies of my blogs as they grew under the weight of the text involved.  These “archives” have come in handy as references for studies in my current classes.  I have the intention of doing the same with this blog from 515.
I enjoy cruising on-line for curiosities related to my classes.  I regularly post conference information for anyone interested in literacy/written literacy/ and writing centers.  It provides me with the chance to research additional opportunities for professional development.  I love quotes, so I’ve included a posting to capture quotes on literacy and writing.  I think writers are inspired to write, and sometimes it just takes a few words of inspiration to get them started. 
Also included in the blog is information about literacy related organizations, books and writing center programs at area colleges and universities.
I've used the blog as a sort of educational journal.  Many of the articles read, conferences reviewed, and inspirational quotes taken to heart have helped me learn and immerse myself in theories about writing that I didn’t know existed.  It’s humbling to read the thoughts and ideas of so many writers, who have questioned and/or augmented current practices with the hopes of helping other writers improve their own theories and practices.  
Blogging gives me more tech experience too … which is after all another form of “writing”.