In the beginning

Monday, May 05, 2014

2014 Graduate Research Network

Planning to attend the 2014 Computers and Writing Conference in Pullman, WA? Don't forget to sign up to participate in the Graduate Research Network. It's free for all registered conference attendees, and it's a wonderful opportunity to network, to get feedback on work or ideas at any stage of progress, and it's NOT just for graduate students.

Please join us. Deadline for submissions is May 9. Visit our Web site at http://www.gradresearchnetwork.org/ for more information.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Senseless Sensors - Yet another rant

I am a believer in doing whatever we can realistically do to decrease our carbon footprints on this planet. Yup, I re-use whatever I can, I recycle what I can, I've re-lamped at home to CFL bulbs, and I always turn off lights when I leave a room. So, when Georgia Southern University decided to re-lamp, I said YAY! However, when they decided to put sensors in all of our offices that automatically turn lights on and off by detecting movement, well, I'm less than happy.

The problem? The sensor doesn't see me because there's a HUGE file cabinet between the sensor and my desk. I could move all of my furniture around to accomodate the sensor, I suppose, but then I would have to have all new outlets installed for the Internet, telephone, and electrical supplies in the office....

So here I sit. Every 30 minutes I'm thrust into darkness. So I won't break my neck every time I have to jump up and move around the desk to wave my arms like a mad-woman at the sensor, I have to turn on the lamps in my office (which kind of defeats the purpose of having the motion sensors turn off the lights, because now I have to have lamps AND the overhead lights on all day).

I am one of those (rare?) beings who actually needs the fluorescent lights to see; my lamps aren't enough to allow me to work effectively.

So, today:

Lights go out. I walk around the desk, jump up and down a few times until the lights come on, sit back down and realize I have totally lost my place in the work I was reading when I was so rudely interrupted. Lost time....

Lights go out again. This time I try leaning across my desk (past the huge file cabinet), holding a book in my hand so I can wave at the sensor. The lights come on, but I accidentally knock the Web cam off the top of my monitor. I finally find it, replace it, and go looking for the place in my work that I have once again lost track of.

Lights go out again. I've learned my lesson: I mark my place before leaning over the desk (carefully avoiding he Web cam) to wave at the sensors, lose my balance in so doing, catch myself from falling, but bang the hell out of my knee as my chair goes careening across the office.

Solution?

1. Maybe it's time to think about retiring! (Mmmm, no, can't afford to do that.)
2. Bring lots more lamps in to my office so I don't need the overhead lights any more. (Hmmm, that's an idea, but it would INCREASE my carbon footprint -- and probably increase Georgia Southern's electric bill AND defeat the purpose of the sensors in the first place--plus short of asking for more outlets, it would probably entail stringing extension cords everywhere and overloading the circuits: can you say "fire hazard"?)
3. Give up and realize I've been working in the dark my entire life and just didn't realize it. ("Hello, darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.")

So, when you hear me holler, "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" you'll know why.

/End rant

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Graduate Research Network at Computers and Writing Conference

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION MAY 9, 2013!

The 2013 Graduate Research Network (GRN) is an annual forum at the Computers and Writing Conference to connect researchers with other researchers and discussion leaders in the field.

We invite proposals for work-in-progress discussion at the 14^th annual GRN, June 6, 2013, at the Computers and Writing Conference hosted this year by Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD. Work at any stage of completion is welcome, from those just beginning to think through ideas to those ready to consider venues for publication. The GRN is FREE to all registered conference participants. Remember, too: you do NOT have to be a graduate student to participate! Anyone who would like to benefit from the conversations and feedback about projects they are working on is welcome!

Morning sessions will consist of roundtable discussions of works-in-progress. During the afternoon GRN, we will offer an exciting job workshop. We need both presenters and Discussion Leaders. Sign up NOW.

· For more information about the GRN and to sign up to participate, please visit our Web site at http://www.gradresearchnetwork.org/. And don’t forget to apply for GRN/C&W Travel Grant Funding if you meet eligibility requirements. Even if you have already registered for the C&W Conference and checked the GRN Workshop box, you will still need to complete our form. And if you did NOT register for GRN, don't worry--there's still time!

· We also hope that those who can will consider donating to the GRN/C&W Travel Grant Fund. For more information on how you can contribute—or to apply for funding—see http://www.gradresearchnetwork.org/donate-to-the-grn/.

· AND don’t forget, you can also help us raise money for the GRN/C&W Travel Grant Fund , stay fit, and have fun by participating in Ride2CW. For more information, see http://www.ride2cw.org/.

See you in Frostburg! Remember: GRN!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Deadline Extended: Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Deadline Extended to April 1, 2013

The Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy, August 23-24, 2013, in Savannah, GA, invites proposals across disciplines for workshops and presentations that will consider, extend, or otherwise address information literacy in K-12 and postsecondary settings:

• DEFINING INFORMATION LITERACY in a digital age.
• EFFECTIVE MEANS of developing information literacy skills in learners.
• PARTNERSHIPS between librarians and classroom teachers to teach students research skills.
• INFORMATION LITERACY across the disciplines.
• ASSESSMENT of information literacy initiatives.
• INTELLECTUAL property, copyright, and plagiarism in the digital age.

Conference organizers welcome international participants and proposal submissions, in order to broaden and share knowledge regarding information literacy practice, theory and research in a variety of cultural settings worldwide. Please note, however, that presentations must be in English and that the Conference cannot provide funding for attendees or for presenters.

For more information, visit our Web site at http://ceps.georgiasouthern.edu/conted/infolitproposals.html

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Editing for Editors

So, I am teaching a Professional Editing class this semester, and this is the second time during the semester that I have come across professional editing boo-boos. The first was my name badge at a conference I attended in Georgia that misspelled the name of my university ("Gerogia Southern University"). The picture here is from a table tent at the Editor's Round Table at the Research Network Forum at the 2013 CCCC in Las Vegas. I couldn't resist including this picture for my students in my online editing course!

The Rhetoric and Composition Journal Editors Group is an ad hoc group representing (mostly) non-profit editors and publishers in the field. Several years ago we banded together to host a table/booth in the exhibit hall at CCCC where various journals and publishers could share calls for proposals, subscription information, and other information as a public service to the discipline. If you are an editor or member of an editorial board for a journal and would like information about joining us, see instructions for subscribing at http://pwr.gmu.edu/journals-l.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Voter Suppression?

So, if I want to renew my driver's license--which I need to do if I want to vote, never mind drive, I have to prove I am who I have always been. The new rules here request a certified copy of my birth certificate (which I have) AND a copy of my marriage license if I changed my name after birth (which I did).

Unfortunately, since I got divorced in 1974, I tore up my old marriage license and have NO idea where the divorce decree might be. So, I COULD spend time and money requesting a new certified marriage certificate for a marriage that hasn't been for a LONG time.....

Or (easy way out), I can just produce my passport (even though getting the passport did NOT require me to prove that I once got married; they took my word for it!). Sheesh.

So new rules for "secure ID" (that's what they're calling it), harassment or voter suppression? (or both!)

****
More in the continuing saga of acquiring the necessary documentation to prove I have not ceased to be who I have always been in order to renew my driver's license so I can prove I am not attempting to commit voter fraud when I go to the polls in Georgia (because, ya know, that's such a huge problem--not!)

So, in order to acquire the documents (a copy of a 1970 marriage certificate for a marriage that ended in 1974), I have to either apply in person (a 4 hour drive) or download a PDF application, print it, and fill it out by hand. Ok, I have access to the necessary tools, but many of the poor may not.

Then I have to send payment, but no personal checks, credit or debit cards. So now I have to spend more money to purchase a money order or certified check--the only acceptable forms of payment.

Now if, for some reason there is a problem with my request, I assume I will be notified--by snail mail. And I will be asked to re-submit-- again by snail mail. By then, the election may well be over, and many people will have been disenfranchised by this inanity.

I actually will be able to vote--this time. Not so sure about the future, since I am and will continue to be a (gulp) liberal Democrat. Shhh.

I am not usually a conspiracy theorist, but come on--this is blatant.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Too Many Electronic Devices!

Help! I have far too many electronic devices in my life!So of course I am now playing with my latest acquisition--an iPad 3.

So I am trying out the iPad app for blogger and so far all I can say is it sucks.

So now I am trying the voice recognition that is included in the iPod iPad or told you I had too many electronic devices iPad blogger at let's see how it does

Hmmm close, but not quite. Oh well maybe you can figure it out.

Friday, May 04, 2012

Rant and Stance

Stance: n. the position or bearing of the body while standing: legs spread in a wide stance; the threatening stance of the bull. (http://www.dictionary.com)

When I was young(er), I actually went to finishing school. Yes, you heard me right. Bauder Fashion Career College and Finishing School in Atlanta. I didn't finish (well, obviously!).

However, I did learn a few things about what was called "etiquette" (along with fencing lessons, the proper way to descend a flight of stairs or sit, and a few other not-so-useful-in-the-60s--or the 2010s for that matter--"rules").

So anyway, I do have a point, for whatever it's worth.

One of the things I learned was that it was bad manners (déclassé, actually) for a lady (okay, so "woman" was a derogatory term back then) to ever put her hands on her hips. Ever. Never ever ever.

So now, much has changed--and I celebrate most of those changes. I can put my hands on my hips when I feel like it with aplomb. And I do. AND I am woman (hear me roar) and whatever.

But still.....

WHY is that that EVERY picture (ALL of them, not just a few, but, well, okay, MOST of them anyway)--MOST every picture of young women that I see on Facebook and pretty much everywhere else has them all standing around with their hands on their hips? Or at least, the women on whichever end--both ends--have at least one hand on one hip.

At first, it appeared to be some sort of cheerleader/majorette stance. Okay. But now I see it so often that I no longer see the girls/women in the pictures. All I see is the elbow sticking out.

Come on, people. There are other things to do with an arm. Try holding up two fingers (V for victory or peace, depending on what decade you hail from). Or try holding up one finger (depending on the finger, of course, that might be a bit dangerous...). Maybe try holding a flower. Or, wow, just let your arm dangle at your side.... Do something.

Do anything.

But please quite sticking elbows out ALL of the time. Please.

Okay, so this old fogey person is going to go have her picture taken with her elbows sticking out, just cause I can. Keep an eye on this space. :)

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Just because I can

Just playing with blog posting from my cell phone, attaching silly pictures, and other work avoidance strategies...

Oh my! CCCC is coming up soon, but I haven't quite finished collecting my data, and I have absolutely no idea what to do with data once it's collected.

And then MLA finally comes out with a recommendation for citing tweets, right after I "publish" my recommendation to Twitter and Facebook, after responding to an email from someone I'm not sure I know asking me how to cite tweets. Coincidence? Conspiracy? Ha! Oh, well, at least this time MLA almost got it right -- almost but not quite (though I do have to admit I think they're right to put the tweeter's real name first if known....

OK, enough thumbnail-typing for one morning...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Call for Proposals - 2012 Graduate Research Network (GRN) at Computers and Writing

The Graduate Research Network (GRN) invites proposals for its 2012 workshop, May 17, 2012, at the Computers and Writing Conference hosted by North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.

The C&W Graduate Research Network is an all-day pre-conference event, open to all registered conference participants at no charge. Roundtable discussions group those with similar interests and discussion leaders who facilitate discussion and offer suggestions for developing research projects and for finding suitable venues for publication. We encourage anyone interested or involved in graduate education and scholarship--students, professors, mentors, and interested others--to participate in this important event. The GRN welcomes those pursuing work at any stage, from those just beginning to consider ideas to those whose projects are ready to pursue publication. Participants are also invited to apply for travel funding through the CW/GRN Travel Grant Fund.

Deadline for submissions is April 25, 2012. For more information or to submit a proposal, visit our Web site at http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writling/GRN/2011/index.html or email Janice Walker at jwalker@georgiasouthern.edu.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Doorstops, Bed Posts, and other Nonsense

My university was nice enough to loan me a MacBook to play with--both so I could do some things I wanna do for a research project I'm working on and so I could be a bit more knowledgeable about Mac "stuff" (I am admittedly Mac-illiterate) so I can help students/faculty.

So I brought it home for the break to play with, but unfortunately the "powers that be" have it set up so that I do not have administrative privileges. So, I try to access my home wireless network to connect to the Internet and it asks for administrator login info (which of course I don't have), so I can't download and install the programs I need (which will also probably require administrator logon info). So, I figure I'll play with iMovie, but when I connect my Flip and try to access FlipShare, the silly thing again wants administrator info.

WHO in the world decided that technology which should be in support of faculty endeavors should be so SECURE that it will only work as an expensive doorstop??? OK, so if all I want to do is type papers and save them to a USB drive, this thing might work..... Blccch.

And, of course, since it IS the break, IT people aren't responding to my requests for help. Their idea of a "break" must be NOT working; my idea of a "break" is time to try to do some of the work I don't have time for during the semester.

Is this any way to run a (research) university?

Can you feel my frustration??!

Luckily, thanks to a friend, I discover there is a quite easy way to change the administrator password and get in. So, what's with all the security that isn't secure after all?

We are moving ever closer to a world where nothing the individual does will be private in any sense of the word; however, the individual will be limited to doing/using only that which they are allowed to do/use. Cloud computing, while a lifesaver in many ways, can also be used as a means of control.

For many, many years I have warned/forecasted that we will again see the days of "dumb terminals" instead of full-featured PCs (or Macs); instead of accessing programs on a mini-computer, however, we will access them online. Many universities and companies already do this, of course, saving on software licensing fees and making more programs available to more users.

But think this through: when ALL software is accessed online (probably with concomitant online storage of our files), then not only would it be possible to track our every use (and keystroke--no, I'm not paranoid....much), but it also, well, keeps us honest. That is, we will no longer be able to pirate, er, I mean borrow, copies of software from friends; we will not longer be able to create our own software packages (or hacks); and we will no longer be able to decide for ourselves even when we want to keep using old (unsupported) versions of software rather than upgrade.

In "The Coming War on General Computation" (http://events.ccc.de/congress/2011/Fahrplan/events/4848.en.html), Cory Doctorow says, "The coming century will be dominated by war against the general purpose computer, and the stakes are the freedom, fortune and privacy of the entire human race." All I can say is, "Yup."

Saturday, October 08, 2011

GRN Is Scannable!

Scan the QR code with your cell phone app to be taken directly to the GRN Web site! Post it to your Facebook or Google+ pages, tatoo it on your--well, someplace visible, wear it on your t-shirts, or, well, just scan it!

Look for more exciting news from GRN. And don't forget to donate to the C&W/GRN Travel Grant Fund and Ride2CW!

Thursday, September 01, 2011

My First WPA Conference

Day One:
I really didn’t want to eat hotel fare my first night in Baton Rouge, but as I wandered a bit away from the hotel, I realized it probably was not a good idea to be out alone, so here I sit.

Day Two:
WPA breakfast. Sightseeing. Old friends and new ones. At the WPA banquet, I admired Amy Kimme Hea’s beautiful necklace—beads—so she GAVE it to me! (Hey, gee, I really like your computer!)

I discovered there wasn’t much open at night or on the weekend around the hotel. The downtown area was pretty much closed up when the workers in downtown businesses go home. That plus much construction work going on in the area made for slim pickings. However, I did manage a bit of “fun” sightseeing on this lonely day, when I hadn’t yet run into anyone I knew who wasn’t busy. I found the old State Capitol building, and took lots of amazing pictures (well, amazing for me—even if my photography skills stink).

Day Three:

I enjoyed attending all the sessions. Lots of fresh perspectives and very interesting questions!

Day Four:

Exhausted. But my flight out isn’t until tomorrow morning, so after the half day of sessions, I ventured out again. Found some more “fun” sightseeing things to do: a casino that thinks it’s a boat (but doesn’t go anywhere), a planetarium/science museum (didn’t allow pictures), an art museum (I didn’t take pictures because most art museums don’t allow them, so I didn’t even ask), and a ship/veteran’s memorial (yes, I took pictures).

Day Five:
Finally, I’m home.

All in all, WPA is an amazing conference, but somehow I felt “out of the loop.” I did know many of the people in attendance—and I’m going to be hosting the WPA conference in 2013—but perhaps since I don’t usually attend the conference, or perhaps because technically I’m not a WPA, I really didn’t get the warm/welcoming/nurturing feeling that I expected from a conference of this (small) size. Everyone seemed to be too busy, too otherwise engaged, or whatever. It just is NOT the kind of conference that welcomes “newbies” with open arms. Sorry, but that’s the feeling I got.

I’m glad I went for two important reasons. One, since we will be hosting the conference, it’s good to have a sense of it, of the expectations and needs of the attendees, etc. And, even more important (to me), I really did get a lot out attending the sessions. There are some very smart people out there in WPA-land!

Friday, April 01, 2011

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

April 15 is the deadline to submit proposals for the Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy!

The Georgia Conference on Information Literacy invites proposals across disciplines for workshops and presentations that will consider, extend, or otherwise address information literacy in K-12 and postsecondary settings.

http://ceps.georgiasouthern.edu/conted/infolitproposals.html

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

2011 Graduate Research Network at Computers and Writing Conference

The Graduate Research Network at the 2011 Computers and Writing Conference invites you to join us! We need presenters and discussion leaders. GRN discussions are informative, exhausting, and not to be missed. Please spread the word! http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writling/GRN/2011/index.htm

Follow the links for information about the CW/GRN Travel Grant Fund as well. Apply for a Travel Grant, or donate to the fund if you can.
Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sample Video - LILAC Wiki

Sample Video - LILAC Wiki

I have posted some sample Research Aloud Protocol (RAP) video links to YouTube. The links are available on our WIKI. Let me know what you think.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Writers Talk: Cheryl Ball

"Cheryl Ball is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Illinois State University. She teaches classes in multimodal composition, digital media, composition theory, and digital publishing - known as "New Media Studies." She also serves as the editor of Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy.

"While visiting Writers Talk, she offers insight on the use of digital technology in the classroom, illustrates how different media can work together to reach new audiences, and shares her prediction on the demise of the internet."

http://www.ohiochannel.org/multimedia/programs/media.cfm?file_id=125254&program_id=107792

Monday, June 07, 2010

Online Publishing and Malleable Texts: When Do Digital Publications Become "Permanent"?

At the 2010 Computers and Writing Conference at Purdue University (May 2010), I was privileged to be part of a roundtable with Michael Pemberton (Georgia Southern University), Kathleen Blake Yancey (Florida State University), and Nick Carbone (Bedford/St. Martin’s). Following is (mostly) what I said, just in case anyone is interested.

Traditional citation formats have focused on print sources which, once published, have remained relatively stable, and most online scholarly publications have retained this model. However, as scholarly publishing online allows—or even encourages—more malleable (literally, “to beat with a hammer,” according to Dictionary.com) texts, what kinds of challenges will this create for citation practices?

In his presentation on “E-Book Rhetoric” at a recent symposium at the Georgia Institute of Technology, L. Andrew Cooper discussed a custom e-book initiative between Georgia Tech and Bedford/St. Martin’s. Students purchase a 5-year subscription which, to use Cooper’s words, “evolves with the book.” That is, as long as the student’s subscription is current, the e-book s/he accesses online is continually updated, so that the “book” the student reads today may not be the same “book” s/he read last month. Of course, changes are probably not drastic or frequent—but they COULD be.

Traditionally, as Michael Pemberton noted, errors or updates in books, newspapers, magazines, journals, or other print media are noted in subsequent editions, often in fine print. Of course, even if errata were to be published in bright red, engorged font on the front page of a subsequent edition, when our students (or, for that matter, when WE) access articles in print or online, we usually don’t read subsequent editions to determine if there have been any amendments or corrections!

While allowing for edits to “published” work in online venues can help to ensure that scholars are accessing correct and up-to-date information, this could also wreak havoc on citation practices. Do we cite the date published, the date last modified, or the date of access—or all of the above? Will we have access to historical publication information (such as the “history” in WIKIs and shared Google docs, for example), or will we take a researcher’s word that the source USED to say thus-and-so? Will subsequent work that relied on the information ALSO need to be amended, and so on and so on and so on? And, of course, multimedia—video, essays, etc.—create further complications. (I believe it was Nick Carbone who further problematized this with the concept of “reflowable textuality,” for instance, reformatting various media to fit small screens.

Obviously, the date that information is accessed is essential. Unfortunately, styles such as APA eschew including online publication information for information accessed through online databases that the researcher BELIEVES to be the same as print editions (ouch!). APA does now encourage scholars to include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for sources, which is MUCH more reliable (and realistic) that what MLA has done, of course. MLA now thinks we should just Google online sources rather than include a URL (MLA 182) so, even though they DO encourage scholars to include the date of access, I don’t think that’s enough if we don’t know which site the scholar may have consulted in the first place.

We’ve all seen what happens when we Google a source that is no longer available -- Google offers up a cache-memory copy. And the WayBack machine stores lots of no-longer-available sites. Many sites are mirrored, and even information in online scholarly databases may be available through different means (try Google Scholar versus EBSCO Host versus CompPile, for instance). In other words, it is entirely conceivable that multiple versions of an article may exist, such that the “googler” may end up with an entirely different (older? Newer?) version. If one site is amended, are all of these copies also updated?

So, here are some of my questions for scholars and for editors of online publications:

Include “errata” notices/corrections ON the original “page” for online publications.
When that is not feasible, retain historical documents and include links to these historical publications, perhaps with editorial or authorial notes about the necessity for amending.
Offer citation suggestions for authors that specifically note which “edition” (corrected or not) is being used, including the URL where feasible, or, even better, the DOI.
Ignore MLA…. (or at least turn our backs on it!)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Grand Unified Citation Theory: Response to TechRhet Thread

Michael Wojcik writes, " the real problem [with creating a new citation system] would be getting other people - notably journal editors - to accept it." But actually, having created a citation format of my own way back when, the challenge isn't with the journal editors but with getting teachers to use it.

Michael Salvo is correct that citation formats aren't really all that different—they use the same elements, but join them in different ways and forms. In The Columbia Guide to Online Style, I attempt to define those elements and to explain (at least briefly) why there are different ways of emphasizing them by discipline: the COS-Humanities Style, designed to work with styles such as MLA and Chicago, for instance, focuses on the author of the work (ethos based), while the COS-Scientific Style, which works with styles such as APA and CSE, follows the author/date system, whereby the date something is published is often of primary importance.

That said, I think we (not I, but WE) could actually design something that works—and which would work better with bibliographic software which, quite frankly, does a lousy job with citing anything that is not standard print books/journals/newspapers.

For me, as a teacher, I think it is more important to help students (future scholars!):

Identify the TYPE of source they are using, and
Identify the ELEMENTS they need to record

Then it's actually not so difficult to put these together (using bibliographic software, or a style sheet or manual) as needed.

I actually LIKE what APA has done by encouraging/requiring the inclusion of DOIs in citations. These Digital Object Identifiers are better than URLs even for accessing/locating documents. MLA? Well, see my MLA rant at http://mywabbit.blogspot.com/2008/09/mla-rant.html.

I think it's very interesting (okay, remember, I have a very sick sense of humor!) that:

MLA couldn't figure out that the "URL" created by online databases wasn't a real URL, so, yeah, it was ridiculously long and unwieldy and didn't work outside a particular database anyway, so they just gave up and decided to just say "Web" (even though items in library databases aren't actually ON the Web, just accessed FROM it). And excluding URLs (or other identifiers) for items that are on the Web—we can just google them??—is the utmost in ridiculous-ity!
APA released their new manual with PAGES of errata—they finally released a new edition of the new edition, of course, which corrects those errata, but the damage is done….

I think the Columbia Guide still works (although the latest edition is 2006, so new models might be useful), but as Charlie Lowe continues to prod me, we can take this further.

But the challenge is to get people to listen to us—and remember that K-12 teachers learned MLA in first-year comp classes, then learned APA to use in their education classrooms, then they use whatever book is foisted upon them which usually includes MLA for their students to (not) learn.

Many first-year composition teachers are also given textbooks chosen by committee—many of the members of which are literature-trained (can you say "MLA"?). So here we are.

And our own textbook publishers, who once DID actually include Columbia Online Style have given up on including it since no one (outside our small group) knows what it is anyway—so no one bothered to look at it.

So, am I saying we can't change the world? Not at all!

We can:

Develop a bibliography generator that will actually work (knowing what we know about the elements of citation and identifying the variety of types of sources that researchers actually use).
Work with librarians, educators ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES (this isn't something we, as writing teachers, can do ourselves), editors, and publishers to develop formats that can be easily generated, and that help to ensure the sustainability of links/identifiers, such that the potential ephemerality of digital scholarship is addressed.
Teach our students (and demand that our textbook publishers include) whatever we come up with.

Maybe someday, everyone will do as I did in my presentation at the Computers and Writing Conference last week, when I said I believed we should "just turn our backs" on MLA (um, if you weren't there, I was wearing a black denim jacket with a very bling rhinestone skull and crossbones on the back!).

Thursday, April 29, 2010

GRN and Travel Grant Submissions

We have just discovered a problem with the online submission forms for the Graduate Research Network and the Computers and Writing/GRN Travel Grant Fund.

According to our IT folks, a spam filter patch is the culprit. They are working on the problem, but in the meantime, any submissions posted after 9pm on Monday, April 26, 2010, were NOT received. I don't know at this time if they are recoverable or not.

To be on the safe side-and for those who have waited until the last minute to submit-we are extending the due date for submissions until Thursday, May 6, 2010.

Please submit the required information via email to jwalker@georgiasouthern.edu.

You can see the required fields online:

Broken GRN Submission Form: http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writling/GRN/2010/submit.html
Broken Travel Grant Application Form: http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writling/GRN/2010/application.html

Again, please do NOT use the forms. If you have any questions about whether or not your application(s) have been received, please email me at jwalker@georgiasouthern.edu. We apologize for the inconvenience!