Computers and writing is a sub-field of college English studies about how computers and digital technologies affect literacy and the writing process. The range of inquiry in this field is broad including discussions on ethics when using computers in writing programs,how discourse can be produced through technologies,software development,and computer-aided literacy instruction. Some topics include hypertext theory,visual rhetoric,multimedia authoring,distance learning,digital rhetoric,usability studies,the patterns of online communities,how various media change reading and writing practices,textual conventions,and genres. Other topics examine social or critical issues in computer technology and literacy,such as the issues of the "digital divide",equitable access to computer-writing resources,and critical technological literacies. Many studies by scientists have shown that writing on computer is better than writing in a book
Composition studies is the professional field of writing,research,and instruction,focusing especially on writing at the college level in the United States.
Digital literacy is an individual's ability to find,evaluate,and communicate information using typing or digital media platforms. It is a combination of both technical and cognitive abilities in using information and communication technologies to create,evaluate,and share information.
Information and media literacy (IML) enables people to show and make informed judgments as users of information and media,as well as to become skillful creators and producers of information and media messages. IML is a combination of information literacy and media literacy. The transformative nature of IML includes creative works and creating new knowledge;to publish and collaborate responsibly requires ethical,cultural and social understanding.
Commonly called new media theory or media-centered theory of composition,stems from the rise of computers as word processing tools. Media theorists now also examine the rhetorical strengths and weakness of different media,and the implications these have for literacy,author,and reader.
Storyspace is a software program for creating,editing,and reading hypertext fiction. It can also be used for writing and organizing fiction and non-fiction intended for print. Maintained and distributed by Eastgate Systems,the software is available both for Windows and Mac.
A digital studio provides both a technology-equipped space and technological/rhetorical support to students working individually or in groups on a variety of digital projects,such as designing a website,developing an electronic portfolio for a class,creating a blog,making edits,selecting images for a visual essay,or writing a script for a podcast.
The Digital Writing and Research Lab (DWRL) is a research lab at The University of Texas at Austin,United States,dedicated to the identification and promotion of twenty-first-century literacies. These literacies range from navigating online newsfeeds and participating in social networking sites to composing multimedia texts that require producing,sampling,and/or remixing media content.
LSU Communication across the Curriculum is a program at Louisiana State University (LSU) that works to improve the communications skills of students. This includes writing,public speaking,visual and technological communication skills. The program is a successor to the Writing across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines programs.
Multimodality is the application of multiple literacies within one medium. Multiple literacies or "modes" contribute to an audience's understanding of a composition. Everything from the placement of images to the organization of the content to the method of delivery creates meaning. This is the result of a shift from isolated text being relied on as the primary source of communication,to the image being utilized more frequently in the digital age. Multimodality describes communication practices in terms of the textual,aural,linguistic,spatial,and visual resources used to compose messages.
Kathleen Blake Yancey is the Kellogg W. Hunt Professor of English at Florida State University in the rhetoric and composition program. Her research interests include composition studies,writing knowledge,creative non-fiction,and writing assessment.
Deborah L. Brandt is an American academic who is professor emerita of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Jonathan Alexander is an American rhetorician and memoirist. He is Chancellor's Professor of English,Informatics,Education,and Gender &Sexuality Studies at the University of California,Irvine. His scholarly and creative work is situated at the intersections of digital culture,sexuality,and composition studies. For his work in cultural journalism and memoir,Tom Lutz,founding editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books,has called him "one of our finest essayists."
Renee Hobbs is an American scholar and educator who works in the field of media literacy education. She is Professor of Communication Studies at the Harrington School of Communication and Media,University of Rhode Island and founder of the Media Education Lab.
Victor Villanueva is an American academic and scholar in rhetoric and composition studies,serving the role of Regents Professor Emeritus at Washington State University. Villanueva was awarded NCTE's David Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English for his groundbreaking book Bootstraps,From an American Academic of Color. In 2009,Villanueva was the recipient of the Conference on College Composition and Communication Exemplar's Award. Villanueva has written and edited a number of significant works on the topic of race,rhetoric,basic writing,and the social and political contexts of literacy education.
Asao B. Inoue is a Japanese American academic writer and professor of rhetoric and composition in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University whose research and teaching focus on anti-racist writing assessment. In 2019,Inoue was elected the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Chair. He delivered the keynote presentation for the 2019 CCCC Annual Convention,entitled "How Do We Language So People Stop Killing Each Other,Or What Do We Do About White Language Supremacy?" Inoue is the recipient of multiple disciplinary and institutional academic awards,including the 2017 CCCC Outstanding Book Award,the 2017 Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) Best Book Award,and the 2012 Provost's Award for Teaching Excellence at California State University,Fresno.
Min-Zhan Lu is a composition professor and scholar. She serves as Professor Emerita of English at the University of Louisville. She is the 2005 recipient of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Richard M. Braddock Award and the 2012 CCCC Outstanding Book Award.
Cheryl Ball is an academic and scholar in rhetoric,composition,and publishing studies,and Director of the Digital Publishing Collaborative at Wayne State University. In the areas of scholarly and digital publishing,Ball is the executive director for the Council of Editors of Learned Journals and the Editor-in-Chief for the Library Publishing Curriculum. Ball also serves as co-editor of Kairos:A Journal of Rhetoric,Technology,and Pedagogy,an open access,online journal dedicated to multimodal academic publishing,which she has edited since 2006. Ball's awards include Best Article on Pedagogy or Curriculum in Technical or Science Communication from the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC),the Computers and Composition Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Service to the Field,and the Technology Innovator Award presented by the CCCC Committee on Computers in Composition and Communication (7Cs). Her book,The New Work of Composing was the winner of the 2012 Computers and Composition Distinguished Book Award. Her contributions to academic research span the areas of digital publishing,new media scholarship,and multimodal writing pedagogy.
Jacqueline Jones Royster is an American academic,author,and scholar of rhetoric,literacy,and cultural studies. She is a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the former Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
M. Remi Yergeau is an American academic in the fields of rhetoric and writing studies,digital studies,queer rhetoric,disability studies,and theories of mind. As of 2024,Yergeau is an Arthur F. Thurnau associate professor of Digital Studies and English at the University of Michigan.
