Craig Stroupe's essay was, for me, the perfect example of academics talking to each other about each other. The comparison between Elbow and Castro was very interesting to me, in terms of pedagogy. Both texts are instructional, and the comparison illustrates the collaborative nature of composing for the web. Composing for the web involves getting a handle on the intervening technologies between you and the reader while composing in print requires getting a handle on the intervening censor. I love Peter Elbows pedagogy, and have improved my writing using it. How to books about the web have never worked well for me. I do best with web tutorials that utalize the very things that Castro talked about.
While Elbow is concerned with the writer's ability to control the text, Castro and anyone who composes for the web must concern themselves with the reader's ability to control the page. The opportunities for freedom and free ranging from one web page to the next the better.
Through hyperlinking, we move from the static illustration that usually only speaks to the text on the page to mutually illuminating dialog.
Dancing
14 years ago
I agree with your comments from reading this article. I have to say that Craig Stroupe did a good job of connecting writing with the web. The reference he makes to Peter Elbow's Writing Without Teachers, reminds me of his stance on cooking and letting thoughts form naturally, which Stropue elaborates on in the article. This article proves that the world of writing is big and able to adapt in a way to allow people the ability to engage in it actively and with ease. Though one might think that the act of writing is completley different from the use of the web, which is what I once felt. Through reading this article I realized that though there made be differences present that makes each one unique in their own way. There are also simmilarities that intertwines them together on a level that is relatable to its many users.
ReplyDeleteNVT,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you speaking about the world of writing as being big. It is. The teaching of writing as a means of enabling our students to access thoughts and perform them on the page. I think if we think about the thought process involved in writing, and the performance aspect of writing, we can expand the concept of writing. Our class is about implementing this in our classrooms (Sparkle text here we come!!) in our pedagogies, and helping students develop the means to navigate a world that is changing around them.