Blog #8: First Post

The chapter on "Communication Across the Curriculum" by Young describes what CAC entails. Communication across the Curriculum is similar to WAC but recognizes the importance of oral communication, visual communication, critical thinking, collaboration, problem-based learning, and other active leaning strategies (55). I believe this is very important to include in a classroom because you are challenging a student to use every aspect of their mind to promote learning. There is no set way to teach students so If you incorporate many different strategies you can reach more students. Many students will find it boring to write about a newspaper article, and those students can use their visual communication skills by writing about a picture in the newspaper rather than reading.

Chapter 3 of WACNM discusses how electronic communication tools are reshaping and expanding academic instruction, adding dimensions of learning not possible in the traditional way of getting students to learn. Do you think using electronics to promote learning is useful? What problems may students have with using electronics in the classroom?

I found it quite ironic that Kress' article English at the Crossroads, discusses how visual media and print has changed over the year and how it effects its audience, and the article itself was visually impairing to read because it was sideways. I am not that computer savvy and do not know how to rotate a web browser window. Maybe electronics should have been implemented more when I was in grade school. Anyhow I believe this article was very interesting because I never really analyzed or even considered how visual media effects people. According to Kress, "The visual is becoming more prominent in many domains of public communication. This is to realize that written language is being displaced from its hitherto unchallenged central position in the semiotic landscape, and that the visual is taking over many of the functions of written language" (68).

I fell like there was so much information on this section of readings that It was to much to cover in just one 450 word blog.

Do you think that WAC should be replaced by Communication across the Curriculum and Electronic Communication Across the Communication, since this the world is becoming more computer savvy and more a more college students are using distant learning for higher education?

Do you think learning the fundamentals of writing will become obsolete with the advancement of auto summary, spell check and proof reader?

--Morales

Respond to posts by clicking on the "comments" link.

Blog#7: DiscussionBoard

First Post

I found this week’s readings to be quite loaded with information about many different things. Each of the four authors had given me many different inputs and thoughts into my head. I read about many interesting things that seemed to catch my attention. What I did notice about the readings was that it all tied into writing and communication and how they go hand in hand.

I first looked at “Teaching Writing across the Curriculum” by Art Young. Although this article was extremely lengthy I was able to soak up the information I found very useful. The article was written for Professors that provided how to use writing across the curriculum in your classroom. It spoke about WAC theories and how to practice it. What I liked about this article was that Young did not gear it towards just English department teachers, but teachers of all subjects.

Young had said “One way to think about the classroom uses of writing is to consider writing as a valuable tool for learning as well as for communication” (9). This quote stood out for me because I agree that writing is a tool of communication. Teachers of all subjects need to realize that by understanding their students, assessing their students and having their students convey their thoughts to the teacher can all be taken in forms of writing. Writing is a huge form of communication because it opens doors for students to say what they want on paper instead person to person which can be more confrontational. As a student myself I tend to show my real self and language through the papers I am told to right rather then if I were to have a one on one conversation with my teacher. As a teacher I tend to see my students show more of their personalities through their writing.

Young had stated that the relationship between writing and communication is important, “these processes are interrelated and overlapping” (12). Writing and communication goes hand in hand.

This also goes into the point that the author Berkenkotteretal was trying to make. He had thought that the linguistics of the classroom was extremely important and can affect someone’s writing. Linguistics as we know is the study and science of language. So he also correlates language (communication) to writing.

In the “Non Designs Design Book” we see chapter 7 giving us tips on how to create and design ways that can convey the information we want to give to people (ex: business cards, flyers, newsletters, brochures, postcards, newspaper ads, etc…) These to me are forms of communication through writing.

I came up with the conclusion that writing and communication goes hand in hand with each other. Which ever comes first the other one always seem to follow. They both aid to help each other; can you agree with me on this statement?

--Rosemarie

Respond to posts by clicking on the "comments" link.