http://compfaqs.org/Free-accessOnlineJournals/HomePage

Specific details for the conference can be found here:

http://www.socialmedia.ndsu.nodak.edu/?page_id=20

I think this article really gets at how new media are effecting the humanities.  It wasn’t too long ago that much of an English professor’s entire career could be spent reading analyzing one author – or even one book – deeply and closely.  With the advent of digital resources like Google Books, however, one might be encouraged to look more quantitatively at literature, searching for revealing patterns across large bodies of literature.

Here’s the link to the article for more info:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/07/14/google

As the Twitter feed on the sidebar will likely not funnel through to those of you reading this blog via RSS, you may want to follow us directly on Twitter.  Our Twitter handle is tweet4cco.

This feature is still in a “beta” phase in terms of how I will use it on this blog, so feel free to send suggestions of how you think it could be useful.  I’m open to suggestions!

Congratulations Kris!

Here is a link to the Charles Moran Award description.

Kevin Kelly (2008) has suggested the first lesson of the Web is that we “have to get better at believing the impossible.” According to Kelly, the editor of Wired magazine, the Web is only 5,000 days old and its growth to this point was unimaginable to those working with the Web just ten-plus years ago. Additionally, Tim Berners-Lee (2007) has argued “it is incumbent on all of us to understand what our role is in fostering continued growth, innovation, and vitality of the World Wide Web.” Kelly believes such innovation will make the Web the operating system in the future of computing and, in doing so, create a future Web that is inseparable from writing. In the spirit of these comments, we dedicate this issue to looking 5000 days ahead, to the future of computers and composition ten-plus years from now.

This special issue examines the theoretical, practical and pedagogical issues and implications of future versions and uses of the Web for the teaching of writing. The issue suggests what the relationship might be between computers and composition in the early years of the next decade—a vision for 2020—and beyond.

Questions to consider include the following:

1.     In what ways will enhancements in portability or mobility change how students receive information and compose with computer technologies and what, if anything, should composition teachers do to accommodate or recognize such changes in reading and writing?

2.     In what ways will the increasing individualization and customization of the Web, such as virtual worlds and personalized avatars, impact the teaching and learning of writing?

3.     In what ways will improvements in global access to the Web change the nature of composing with computers?

4.     In what ways will the Web and web applications become more ubiquitous in our lives, and how will the Web’s increased presence change the teaching of writing?

5.     In what ways will application genres evolve over the next decade and how might they change composing with computers?

6.     Which vision of the future Web is most promising/concerning for work in computers and composition?

7.     In what ways will semantic technologies and/or intelligent applications change the ways in which students access and use information in the process of composing with computers?

8.     In what ways will the assessment of writing change to accommodate developments of the Web?

The guest editors invite proposals that answer these or other questions regarding the future of the Web and its influence on the teaching of composition.

Proposals should be one page, single-spaced (approximately 500 words). Deadline for submission of proposals is July 1, 2010. Please send proposals via email to Randall McClure (randallmcclure@georgiasouthern.edu). Queries are welcome. Final manuscripts will be 15-30 pages in length, double-spaced. Manuscript deadline for accepted abstracts is September 15, 2010. Final manuscripts are scheduled to be due in February 2011, and the special issue is scheduled to be published in Fall 2011.

This is a great honor for Kris, and those of us in her department and/or who work with her at Computers and Composition Online – or in any one of the many scholarly enterprises she plays a role in – are very proud of her.  Her work positively affects a lot of people. If you’re near BGSU today around 4:00 pm, be sure to stop by and watch her presentation in room 206 of the student union.  If not, next time you see her at a conference, be sure to give her congratulations for what surely will have been a successful presentation.

I had the pleasure of presenting in the CC this year in Louisville, and I am happy to say that it was one the best Cs experiences I have had so far.  My panel was well attended, and audience members asked lots of questions.  The moderator actually had to ask us to end Q and A because we ran out over our allotted time.  Here are a few details about how the CC works.  There are only two presenters per panel, each person getting 25 minutes to speak, which leaves lots of time for discussion.  Also, given the technological topics of these presentations, all presenters have access to computer projector equipment, which is not the case for regular Cs presentations.  The CFP deadline is usually well after the official Cs deadline.  In fact, the deadline comes after most people hear whether or not their Cs proposal was accepted or not.  Additionally, the CC is not part of the 1 presentation/1 speaking role rule at Cs, which means that it can be done in addition to any other speaking role you might have.

For budgetary reasons, this under-recognized component of the Cs is unfortunately not well publicized.  You won’t find any mention of it on the Cs website, and it is not mentioned in the conference program, though there usually are paper flyers available at the conference near where the official programs are given out.  If you are interested in giving a presentation on any topic related to the intersection of computers and composition/rhetoric, I hope that you’ll consider sending in a proposal for next year’s Computer Connection and that you’ll spread the word to others who might be interested as well.  Alternatively, if you don’t end up presenting at CC, look for the CC flyer at the conference when you register so you can come by to watch some of the presentations.

Here is the link to the Computers and Writing Clearinghouse website for more info on what the Computer Connection is all about and how you can submit a proposal.

http://computersandwriting.org/CCcall07

https://www.mendeley.com/

http://threewordchant.com/2010/02/24/why-the-internet-will-fail-from-1995/