Here, take my advice -- I'm not using it!
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CRD 704 - Reading 3

Class assignment:
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Computers in the Composition Classroom:

• Chapter 6 (Selfe)
  
• Chapter 7 (Baron)
  
• Chapter 16 (Palmquist, et al., excerpt from Transitions)

PDF in Blackboard Vista:

• Morreale, et al., 2006
• Kim, 2008

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CCCC:
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Industry, and IBM in particular since that is where my experience lies, is guilty of the opposite of Selfe's claim that technology needs exploration in the sense that it needs to STOP using technology to solve any/all problems rather than NOT USING technology to solve any/all problems. In both cases, objective analysis of  is pertinent.

From my perch in Strategy, it always seems like our software products are the offspring of some overzealous technologist with too much time on his (usually his, not always) hands... and our products end up having capabilities that our customers have no immediate or future use for just because the architect finds that functionality "cool'. In Strategy, the worst offenders are executives who -- oh gosh, no kidding -- don't really know what they are technically talking about but hear and use the latest buzzwords and so set directions based on this, err, knowledge. Strategists are certainly technologists, like product architects, and they are also "thinkers" who tend to provide a pro/con analysis along with their opinion on a technology.

Morreale:
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A few things struck me about this article. If there really is a concern about whether students are prepared for careers and jobs, then:
1. it would seem to be a better idea to give a required course on communication the student's senior year when they won't forget what they learned and have matured enough to actually see how it is useful
2. from an industry perspective, I could not care less about whether someone could speak publicly and give a nice presentation. Often new employees are not going to have that opportunity. Rather, I would like to see an end to the "3 mile island" memos I continuously get from colleagues who are unable to sufficiently distill their thoughts or who drone on and on in a lengthy monologue. What good is a prepared presentation and document when, in industry and so many other parts of life, one has to compose and present on the fly? Why not teach that in a communications course?
3. why not use the academic setting, known for it's supportive learning environment, to allow students to learn presenting via "trial by fire" in the respective classrooms which require presentations? Sounds bad, doesn't it --not to have coaching and  experience in a well thought-out class? But that's how most of learning in industry occurs. So... protecting students from the pain of learning-while-doing just makes them less able to cope in the job market.


Posted by hkvonlud ( Sep 03 2008, 07:25:32 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]