“Searching For Better Research Habits” September 29, 2010, Inside Higher Ed NEW YORK CITY — Should colleges teach students how to be better Googlers? Educators who see the popular search engine as antithetical to good research might cringe at the thought of endorsing it to students. But they might not cringe nearly as hard as […]

Definition: recording what appears on your screen (after orchestrating a variety of actions to appear in web or desktop apps, like web browsers, social media apps, photo editing apps, etc.) Best for: telling Difficulty: medium to hard (depending on what you want to show on screen) Tools: free or free-trial versions of screencast software The […]

NOTE: I originally wrote this material for a Fall 2013 calendar entry, for students who were recording “solo” interviews (as though the interviewer was off camera). But I’ve added info relevant to those recording interviews between two people. The “tried and true” method of framing a subject for still or video shots is to follow […]

Browse the categories on the sidebar to find help pages on a variety of topics related to writing in digital environments. For more info about the purpose of this site, see the About page in the top menu. NOTE: Posts below are not shown in chronological order. The first dozen or so are sorted by […]

I originally created this bibliography for my colleagues in the PWR at CU Boulder, to help them explore the scholarship and pedagogy that supports digital composition. The bibliography below is by no means comprehensive, but it should provide a good starting place. Professional Statements Before you explore these readings, you might want to take a […]

I know “conventions” is kind of a funny word, but I’m using it because that’s the word that shows up on the state-mandated learning goals for all writing classes, as well as on the learning goals for all classes in the discipline of Rhetoric and Composition across the country, which is what our class fits […]

Web Site by Tera (WRTG 3020 – Fall 2012) Are there really people who don’t want to have sex? The answer to this question is yes. These people are categorized as asexuals. Since very few people know about asexuality and all that it does and does not entail, I decided to make a website all […]

I’ve been telling my students that writing is a “design art” for a while now, as a way of conveying that rhetorically effective writing is about more than stringing words … Continue reading Below is a short presentation I delivered in a session on Using Digital Tools for writing instructors at CU Boulder. I drew […]

I just came across this presentation while looking for more cool things to do with EverNote. EverNote is quite possibly the most handy digital tool I’ve ever used, and I frequently recommend it to students, but until I saw this presentation, I hadn’t thought about how useful it would be to students who are working […]

This article, from the March 2009 issue of Educational Leadership, provides a clear overview of the changing nature of literacy and argues that teachers at all levels should more effectively integrate digital literacy into their education practices. The author also offers eight guidelines that can “help teachers promote the crucial skills associated with digital literacy.” […]

After having several students use GoAnimate for projects, I decided to test it out — and it’s very easy to use. I made this very short conversation scene after talking to a student whose “girly” appearance always led people to make mistaken assumptions about her major and sexual orientation. You don’t look like the type […]

A video blog entry is pretty much what the name implies: an informal video recording featuring you sharing whatever you would’ve otherwise written about in a blog post. The info below also applies to any recording you make of yourself speaking directly to the camera or across the camera (as though you were being interviewed […]

This screencast demonstrates how to make a simple voice recording in GarageBand ’11 (which should look similar to GarageBand ’09). The screencast also shows how to export the recording in mp3 format, so that you can share the file with others. See also: MORE DETAILS The materials below offer more details on working with GarageBand […]

This screencast is part 3 of a series on how to create a CDS-style digital story using iMovie ’11, but you might find it useful even if you plan to use iMovie for other types of projects. In this screencast you’ll learn how to import an audio essay you recorded in GarageBand into your digital […]