Author: Sarah Fischer

Speakers: Crystal VanKooten (MSU), Bree Straayer (MSU), Stuart Dees (UCF), and Shane Wood (UCF) In this session, the speakers reported on the assessment of their respective First-Year Composition (FYC) programs. They provided empirical research and rigorous analysis, which was especially impressive given the large enrollment sizes of FYC at their institutions (MSU and UCF). Session attendees left with nuanced perspectives about data collection, data analysis, and the role of digital projects in FYC. VanKooten and Straayer focused on the impact of digital remix projects, in which students transform one of their earlier projects in the course into a new form,…

In this blog carnival, we, writing center personnel, center on how emerging digital technologies have been impacting the writing center world. Therefore, we invited reflections from writing center tutors and administrators across geographical, linguistic, and cultural contexts to explore how they think and imagine the connections between digital literacy, multimodal composition, and writing centers (see the full CFP here.). What resulted is seven unique yet interconnected blog posts that serve as starting points for current and prospective writing center professionals and literacy advocates to collectively think about ways the interrelatedness of digital literacies and writing center studies could evolve the…

Across global Rhetoric and Composition Studies teaching and professional communities and their allied fields, the impact of digitalization and multimodal literacy is undeniable (Bhutoria, 2022; Nazari, 2021; Sevnarayan & Potter, 2024). This influence has significantly shaped writing program pedagogies and theories (Fyfe, 2023; Graham, 2023; Mohammed, 2023); the writing center is no exception (Buck & Botvin, 2024; Essid, 2023). Scholars have highlighted how digital transformation, including AI and online teaching, has sparked reflective discussions among directors and writing center tutors. This literacy amalgamation has led tutors and administrators to adapt their philosophies and tutoring strategies, empowering writers and fostering community…

I hardly remember a time before social media. I made my first email account to instantmessage my friends after school when I was in elementary school (AIM “away messages” were iconic). I made a MySpace account when I was 12 years old, only for it to be quickly replaced by Facebook; then a few years later, supplemented with Tumblr, Instagram, and most recently— YouTube. Documenting our everyday lives and connecting with others online has been foundational for me and for my generation. I was drawn to the field of digital rhetoric because of the unique power held by social media…