Response to 4/14 readings

Taking Control of the Page: Electronic Writing and Word Publishing
Patricia Sullivan

As it was written in 1991, Patricia Sullivan’s chapter “Taking Control of the Page: Electronic Writing and Word Publishing” provides a glimpse into early reactions and expectations in regards to technology and writing. I absolutely love articles like this, especially when they foresee developments, as Sullivan does.

Sullivan asks, “What will happen in the 90s as the gap between the manuscript and the printed page closes in new and interesting ways?” (Sullivan 44) From our vantage point of over a decade later, we can answer that question, and ascertain whether or not Sullivan predictions are correct.

One aspect of Sullivan’s article that I found both insightful and ahead of its time was her implorations for composition instructors and researchers to integrate computers into their writing studies and pedagogies. We tend to take the presence of computers for granted in our technology satiated society, but this was written in a time when many people viewed computers with fear or mistrust.

Sullivan notes that "[w]riting theories, by and large, have not embraced the computer and woven it into their conception of writing and its teaching." (45) Luckily the majority of universities presently have classes (such as Technical Writing) that do weave writing and computers together; I am sure that a large amount of this is due to the efforts of scholars such as Sullivan.

Throughout her essay, Sullivan integrates composition theory with burgeoning technologies. Her sections on visual aesthetics in electronically composed documents are still relevant, as are her observations on pictures and photographs taking a more active role in persuasive arguments in text.



The politics of the program: ms word as the invisible grammarian
Tim McGee and Patricia Ericsson

Based on the title and subject matter, I really thought I was going to enjoy this article. However, McGee and Ericsson’s condescending attitudes towards technology and computational linguistics really irritated and angered me.

I do agree with many points McGee and Ericsson bring up, such as MS Word’s ubiquity making it an omnipresent grammar instructor, and the fact that many aspects of its programming are flawed. However, I think they belittle computational linguists, many of whom have had years of linguistic and writing courses before focusing on programming.

There was one quote in particular that made me question the research put into the technological and societal aspects of this piece. “Although some users may have doubts about artificial intelligence after seeing the Spielberg/Kubrick film, AI, the intelligence built into the MSGC isn’t nearly as ominous as that in the movie, but does lend another invisible force to the program.” (McGee and Ericsson 462) Ominous? What the hell are they talking about? Have they even seen this film? Humanity is the villain in this case, not artificial intelligence. A more apt movie to name would be 2001: A Space Odyssey; perhaps the authors feared such a reference would date them, and imply they were technophobic old people. Or maybe they just did a google search for “ai and film”, and AI was the obvious result.



The Internet-Based Composition Classroom: A Study in Pedagogy
Leslie D. Harris and Cynthia A. Wambeam

This article was amazing, reading it brought me back to when I was twelve, and the internet seemed immense, and full of many incredible opportunities. Leslie D. Harris and Cynthia A. Wambeam strike me as way ahead of their time, many of the ideas they implemented in their classroom have appeared in online classrooms such as WebCT.

In regards to them using MOOs as online classrooms, I thought that was fantastic. When I was ten, my brother introduced me to MUDs and MOOs. I loved the vividly described rooms and environments, the sense of actually moving around in a physical location, and of course, the social interaction. Although the MUDs I partook in were all games, they still taught me a lot about programming, typing, social interactions in a non-verbal environment and processing text.

I would be interested to see how the authors would react to an application such as Second Life. Although I have played many MMORPGs (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Games), I had avoided Second Life because I associated it with fetishists (I won’t go into detail here, but I might mention some of them in class.) After reading this article, I logged onto a couple MUDs that I had characters on, as well as LAMBDA MOO. Sadly there are not that many users on anymore, I believe that many instead log onto MMORPGs or Second Life.

In regards to the article, I loved the fact that students were more interested in writing as a result of their interactions. I also enjoyed the addition of guest speakers, and other opportunities that a brick and mortar classroom would not be afforded. This article has made me rethink my opinion of Second Life, I am currently looking at pedagogy research in regards to this environment as an online classroom.

Undistributing Work Through Writing: How Technical Writers Manage Texts in Complex Information Environments
Shaun Slattery

In this article, researcher Shaun Slattery explores and describes the various methods technical writers use to complete projects. These projects use information garnered from various sources; the article highlights the complexity and variety of techniques employed.

Many of the techniques mentioned in this article reminded me of the assemblage essay we read last week. Tech writers often use multiple sources (many of which were created for completely different motives), and must manipulate the information into a coherent form.

I thought the amount of messages and text generated in regards to these project was incredible, fifteen years ago we would have been unable to send constant notifications and updates. My favorite part of this article was the humorous anecdote regarding an item that everyone involved in the project should have been knowledgeable about. Instead, they cannot agree on the simplest of facts, such as the number of cables contained in the box. This really highlighted the hazards of using multiple authors, much like the game of telephone, vital original information may be obscured or lost.