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Just to say that I agree with Marcy's point about multiple sources of information. One way to build in these resources is by putting in hot links to good sites on the internet. The Purdue site (their OWL) for example is excellent. And I personally like the University of Ottawa's on-line site for English as a Second Language Speakers. It was the only site of its type that I found last summer that was somewhat interactive. It also seemed quite thorough. -----Original Message----- From: Marcy Bauman <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: May 14, 1999 12:41 PM Subject: Re: Technology advice--thanks! >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 . . . ) > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > 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 > [log in to unmask] > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >