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Welcome to "Going
Online to Develop and Communicate |
| Abstract:
The purpose of this
website is to explore the impact of internet technology on research,
learning, and teaching in multicultural studies. Our web presentation
centers on review and discussion of student websites produced for
Humanities 299: Student Perspectives on World and Multicultural Writers
- Writing for the World Wide Web, an experimental course offered in Spring 2000 and Spring
2001 at Central Oregon Community College. Hum 299 was developed in
Spring 2000 through our participation in "Advancing the Humanities Through
Technology," a project of the Community College Humanities
Association, funded by the National Endowment of the
Humanities. The course arose from our sense of the need to break
beyond the borders of our relatively isolated and homogeneous Central
Oregon region. Rich resources for students of multicultural
writers and issues are available on-line, as well as in print; and we
theorized that our students would make the strongest connection to this
material if they participated as creators, rather than as passive
recipients, of internet knowledge.
Through structured "web-practices," Hum 299 students were guided in choosing topics and conducting research on cross-cultural writers, themes, and/or related interdisciplinary issues. They were also instructed in "cyber-rhetoric" of writing for the World Wide Web, and in developing academic standards for evaluating and creating web-sites. In creating and publishing their final website projects, students were encouraged to work in teams, and given significant freedom in adapting web genre, design, and media to present their content and express their perspectives. Hum 299 students were required to present a cyber-rhetorical analysis of their web sites, identifying and discussing relationships among their topic interests, research findings, web purposes, intended audiences, and genres. Other instructional features built into the course included formal and informal teamwork, peer and self-assessment, interdisciplinary faculty reviews, requirements of copyright to obtain permissions and observance of "netiquette" courtesies that engaged students in dialogue with their web sources. These interactions stimulated the formation of an interdisciplinary learning community that extended well beyond boundaries circumscribing traditional classroom learning and teaching. In "Going Online to Develop and Communicate Student Perspectives on World and Multicultural Writers," Kathleen Walsh and Cora Agatucci respond to four discussion questions that we deem central to assessing the outcomes of our Humanities 299 project: |
