NODE — Case Study Resources

17 January: first line of thinking

While I must choose one OoS for a class project, I find myself in a quandry:which to choose? In fact, I rather feel like this guy, given so many choices — “Squirrel!”

But I digress…

So, I’m creating a list of interesting objects discovered along the way. Many of these may turn out to be teaching resources I use later on, but some have simply made me pause to ask, “how might this affect / impact the composition classroom and/or my pedagogy?”

So, here’s the first discovery: Mind Mapping Software. Clearly, mind mapping isn’t just for composition classrooms anymore. The potential for applications are growing, so much so there’s now a profit-based market for them. The one mentioned on the site entitled Bitesize Bio, however, is “free.” Found on an education source, this description also includes a bibliography, which I find to be a fascinating inclusion, both rhetorically and otherwise.

http://bitesizebio.com/306/free-mind-mapping-software/

Clearly, the existence of such sites reflects a nod from the educational community that the presence of the Digital in classrooms is no longer considered such an ancillary, “add on” feature. To me, it suggests that we’re moving more of our activities to the digital spaces, expecting our students and colleagues to follow.

18 January: next line of thought

Pondering further, and after seeing a brief news item about the popularity of MOOCs in higher education, I think I’ve found my Object of Study. I really do not know much about MOOCs, other than a surface knowledge, but I do know of a MOOC composition course that was offered last summer in which my WPA took part. Online composition courses are problematic — promising in many ways, but problematic nonetheless. Therefore, this iteration seems a likely / worthy candidate of study. Yes, Comp. MOOCs it is. Now to write my proposal.