I must admit I'm still a bit overwhelmed by this week's readings. I can't quite wrap my mind around the concept of boxes in the freshman composition classroom. In box-logic composition, Sirc explains, "notions of articulate coherence, conventional organization, and extensive development seem irrelevant" (115). How is this unlike most other freshman writing? Isn't this the mode that we're supposed to help them out of? I'm exaggerating, of course, but I seriously wonder whether freshman students are ready for this. How, for example, will learning to compose in this manner help them when they get to their philosophy, biology, and fishery writing-intensive courses?
That's not to say that I think using internet technology is bad. Rather, on the contrary, I think that allowing students to compose using technology--sound clips, weblinks, videos, photos--would greatly enhance their experiences.
In terms of implementing an adaptation of this, I think it would go particularly well with my second assignment, where students juxtapose an essay dealing with stereotypes (particularly those related to race/class/gender) with a character in Crash. Students would then be able to write a web-based text, rather than a paper one. That said, the emphasis would still be placed on the coherent, organized, and developed essay, which would be enhanced by the technology--where the technology would allow them to input multiple forms of evidence.
Thoughts?
--Bri
3 comments:
You post gave me an idea. Thanks, Bri. Could students analyze one of Joseph Cornell's pieces as part of one of the papers? There might be some interesting ideas that come out of such an assignment.
Great idea, Andrew! That would be really interesting.
I, too, had a lot of questions about using boxes and how the idea was different from other composition ideas. The goal seems to be the same, but something is just really difficult for me to comprehend. Maybe I am having dimensional trouble.
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