Kokila Ravi
Morehouse College

This project attempts to integrate instructional technology into the English Composition curriculum to enhance students' research skills through the curriculum, and thereby create an interactive learning environment which may improve the effectiveness of the existing curriculum. The Writing Skills Lab, equipped with modern computers and software including Windows '95/the new electronics classroom will provide the electronic writing environment for this purpose. On an experimental basis, one section of English 102 will be taught in this laboratory, and the following goals will be achieved:

1. provide a variety of writing contexts by using E-Mail
2. enhance students' research skills through the use of the Internet, WWW, and other relevant database
3. generate a broad based discourse environment through computer-mediated conferencing and communication
4. create a conducive and collaborative learning experience where students can identify errors in each others writing, and learn to eliminate them
5. create a global learning environment for student writers
6. use chat rooms and open doors for informal communication between members of the class and the instructor

In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, a composition course will be developed involving active use of computers for composing individual writing assignments, collaborative writing, conducting research work, peer evaluation, and proof reading and the actual process of writing research papers using computers. The Internet and World Wide Web will be used extensively not only for gathering data but also for networking with other researchers involved in similar projects. This experience will enable students to become aware of the most recent developments in their chosen fields of study. Student writers will also be encouraged to use text analysis program which provides information on various levels of analyses such as word usage, sentence and paragraph structure. Immediate feedback will also become reality, as peer evaluation can be effectively conducted by multiple users simultaneously responding to one student's writing sample as it appears on the screen. Word 7.0 will be used to edit students' writing collaboratively. Ample emphasis will be placed on the actual process of writing a research paper which is a major component of 102 English Composition. The software (Writer's Prologue, Documentation Hotline, Grammar Hotline, and Exercise Tutor) that is recommended by St. Martin's Handbook, the current textbook used for 101-102 English Composition courses, will be used in conjunction with the text so as to enrich the overall learning experience.

Institutional Support:

Morehouse College has recently commissioned the electronic classroom and the office of Information and Technology will be able to assist with other reasonable requests.

Having attended the ACS sponsored Technology and Course Design in the Humanities workshop in June, the applicant is aware of the wealth of resources the ACS faculty pool can offer, and efficient use of the ACS resource is planned. The positive effects of using technology in student learning was unequivocally demonstrated at this recent workshop.

The following outcomes in student learning are envisioned through the implementation of this plan.

1. sharpening of research skills resulting from efficient use of multi-media sources
2. ability to access broader range of resources for research projects
3. broadened understanding of concepts and issues due to increased exposure to various facets of an issue
4. improved editing and proof reading skills

Time Line: This project will be pursued during Spring '99. The grant amount will be utilized to obtain one course load release time.

Evaluation and Dissemination of the Results: As two sections (traditional and technology-based) of English Composition 102 will be taught by the applicant, through direct comparison, assessment of the technology-based course is feasible. Also, the current assessment instruments used in course evaluation will be modified to include the assessment of the technology component. A workshop will be conducted for the other interested members of the department in Summer '99 to evaluate the success of the course. For consortium members, a class webpage in Fall '99 will be in operation and the chat room will be open for critical insights, helpful hints, and any other suggestions.

Kokila Ravi
Morehouse College
kravi@morehouse.edu