On Fri, 14 May 1999, Philippa Spoel wrote:
> Finally, I wanted to know whether anyone has ever worked with software
> that (ostensibly) "teaches writing"--you know, the kind where you can
> assign a module and then have the student--whether on-campus or
> off-campus--work independently to complete the module.
I've been wondering about this myself. I have to go read Margaret's
report, which may well dissuade me from the theory I'd like to float here
. . .
. . . which is that Context Matters. I'm thinking that in a distance
setting, there may be value in having three or four drill-and-kill
programs available for people to work through on their own and ask
questions about. Then if someone has questions about commas, say, they
can get three or four different bits of advice about them, and go from
there. My sense is that having more than one resource would enable people
to realize that not all advice about writing is the same -- there is no
set of definitive rules. With different sources, it might be easier to
get across the idea of rhetorical practices as opposed to rules for
writing.
I think in a distance environment it's important to provide lots of
opportunities for students to learn things on their own with the aid of
software or books. These won't answer for all students, of course -- but
it keeps the instructor's/tutor's time free for answering the kinds of
questions that really do need a human to answer. (This could be any
question, depending on the person who's asking -- not everybody will be
able to learn from software, at least not initially.)
Marcy (expecting disagreement . . . )
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Marcy Bauman
Writing Program, University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Rd, Dearborn, MI 48128
fax: 313-593-5552
http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~marcyb
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