Writing Inventions: Identities, Technologies, Pedagogies

A collection of instructional stories, research, and classroom applications for teachers who use computers in their writing instruction.

Winner of the 2002 Computers & Composition Distinguished Book Award presented by Clarkson University's Eastman Kodak Center for Excellence in Communication

The increasing role of computer technology in the classroom has left many teachers searching for resources that will make sense of complex theories and provide them with practical pedagogical direction. Offering instructional stories, histories, and classroom applications, Writing Inventions connects the theoretical aspirations of the field with the craft of innovative composition instruction. Focusing on issues of "invention," the book explores "writing inventions"-the computer technology that students use to research, read, create, and compose. But "invention" also refers to the rich collection of processes that lead to what is not yet known: topics for writing, personal and professional identities, and new pedagogies. Methods for teaching invention using the World Wide Web are also outlined, arguing that the Web allows students and teachers to see into each other's learning processes. In the end, Writing Inventions tells stories-instructional accounts of computers and teaching writing that balance theory and practice.