| NCoW @ Texas A&M University-Commerce |
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Texas A&M-Commerce serves as the institutional home for the National Conversation on Writing (2008-2009). Our key charge at A&M-Commerce is to collect and archive NCoW contributions, but because of our own program goals, the proximity of the collection, and related excitement, we have found ourselves feeding the archives and NCoW site with a great number and variety of contributions of our own. [For more about Shannon Carter’s own involvement in NCoW, see her entry at the NCoW Blog.]
A&M-Commerce’s Converging Literacies Center (CLiC) has partnered with Gee Library and the Department of Literature and Languages to create the official archives for the National Conversation on Writing. |
| Video Introducing NCoW and Inviting Contributions |
“Calling All Writers” [Opens in new browser window]—developed by Shannon Carter, November 2008, as a promotional piece; serving as an introduction to the National Conversation on Writing and offering viewers information about how and why to submit stories and artifacts about writers and writing. Debuted at the 2008 meeting of the National Council for Teachers of English (San Antonio, Texas) and located at NCoW's homepage from February 2009 until the newest incarnation of the NCoW site launched in July 2009. [Remixed from images available at Flickr and licensed via Creative Commons.]
“Everyone’s a Writer”—revision of above video by Luca Morazzano, a PhD student in A&M-Commerce’s Department of Literature and Languages and GA for the Converging Literacies Center (CLiC). Luca took the script and media Carter generated and collected for “Calling All Writers” and edited the original video down from more than seven minutes to just over three minutes. Different audio choices and much tighter editing made for an punchier, slicker invitation to potential NCoW contributors. “Everyone’s a Writer” appears on the homepage of the new NCoW site, beginning July 2009.
“Who Said ‘Johnny Can’t Write’?” [Opens in new browser window]—video complement to Stephanie Roach’s (University of Michigan-Flint) presentation by the same name, generated a cornerstone of the first NCoW campaign that launched July 2009. Video developed by Luca Morazzano (Texas A&M-Commerce and the Converging Literacies Center), remixed from footage at archive.org.
“Calling All Writing Teachers”—This video--debuted at the 2009 WPA conference in Minneapolis, MN--was developed by Shannon Carter, July 2009, as an introduction to the 2009 manifestation of the National Conversation on Writing. Given the exciting ways in which the NCoW project has grown since its earliest stages in 2007, it seemed important to introduce viewers to NCoW’s current form and something of the trajectory it took to become what it is today (2009). The video provides an introduction to the National Conversation on Writing (NCoW), including its two key functions: browse and contribute. Begins with a tour of some of the items contained in the NCoW archives, moves on to a brief history of NCoW, then leads to a request for contributions. Coupled with the various support items found at ncow.org (consent forms, submission forms, video call for submissions, etc), "Calling All Writing Teachers" offers viewers what they need to get involved with the National Conversation on Writing. Also available at the NCoW Archives @ TAMUC/Gee Library Archives and on YouTube [Links open in new browser window].
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| Events Introducing NCoW and Inviting Contributions |
National Writing Project-Coastal Bend Writing Project
June 2009—Corpus Christi, Texas
“Writers, What’s Y/Our Story?”—developed by Shannon Carter, June 2009, as an introduction to the National Conversation on Writing and an invitation to NWP members to contribute to NCoW via interviews with one another as writers. Additional information about the workshop and footage from the resulting interviews can be found at “Spotlight On: National Writing Project.” “Writers, What is Your Story?” is a video montage to accompany the audio recording taken during Carter’s June 2009 presentation at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (during the first annual institute of the new Coastal Bend Writing Project). Audio and video are incomplete.
“Toward a National Conversation on Writing: The Coastal Bend Writing Project Joins In”—presentation created by Shannon Carter, June 2009, to introduce members to NCoW and support/guide them in generating their own contributions. Included here are the slides from the presentation itself, which continues where the audio/video (“Writers, What’s Your Story?”) leaves off. No audio included in this presentation.
Conference on College Composition and Communication-Conference on Basic Writing Workshop (CCCC-CBW)
MARCH 2009—San Francisco, California
“Toward a National Conversation on Writing” (slideshow)—developed by Shannon Carter, March 2009, as an introduction to the National Conversation on Writing and an invitation to basic writing professionals and their students to contribute to NCoW via interviews with one another as writers. Additional information about the workshop and footage from the resulting interviews can be found at “Spotlight On: Basic Writing.” (see also presentation handouts and resulting interviews)
“’What’s So ‘Basic’ About Writing Anyway?’: Basic Writing Teachers Talk About Writing and Writers”—video created by J’Non Whitlark (Department of Literature and Languages) and Joanna Thrift (Gee Library), in consultation with Shannon Carter (created June-July 2009). Modeled after NCoW’s inaugural video “Who is a Writer?” (Bowden and Vandenberg), this video brings together interview footage from the 2009 CBW Workshop in order to further the national conversation on writing via stories from writers working closely with at-risk writers. Video will also serve as cornerstone for forthcoming BWe article (link to BWe) that invites more widespread and robust participation in the National Conversation on Writing from basic writing professionals across the country.
Federation Rhetoric Symposium 2009
February 2009—Commerce, Texas
“National Conversation on Writing: A Digital Installation” (proposal and program)— This proposal and event program a Digital Installation featuring a variety of NCoW contributions at Federation Rhetoric Symposium 2009.
Program for the event [PDF download], including abstracts from each of the entries included in the interactive display. The Digital Installation contributes to the National Conversation on Writing by articulating the connections made among the various archived pieces and explores what can be done with the collection in local contexts.
A Description:
This Digital Installation features six, concurrently available projectors/screens with individual menus offering access to representative pieces from our National Conversation on Writing archive. Featured texts include video essays, podcasts, webtexts, graphic narratives, poetry, and collages. Contributors include graduate students, faculty, seventh graders, undergraduate students, writing center professionals, basic writing students, and inmates. Come see what’s happening in the National Conversation on Writing and learn how to participate yourself!
Video footage [coming soon]—images from the Digital Installation held at Texas A&M-Commerce February 2009. |
| Classroom Assignments Yielding NCoW Submissions and Making Use of NCoW Archives |
Graduate Courses: English program, MA, PhD
Undergraduate Courses
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NCoW Marketing and Materials |
Website redesign: October/November 2008, in preparation for our upcoming NCoW presentations at the National Council for Teachers of English and the National Writing Project (San Antonio, November 2008), Joe Shipman and Michael Lewandowski designed a new interface for the National Conversation on Writing.
Office of Instructional Technology (Joe Shipman, Coordinator of Multimedia Services, and Michael Lewandowski, Interactive Designer
NCoW postcard: Also in preparation for the 2008 NCTE/NWP conferences, Nathan Pieratt in A&M-Commerce’s Office of Marketing Communications designed a postcard inspired by Joe and Michael’s website design.
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Acknowledgements |
Shannon Carter, NCoW Coordinator and Associate Professor of English at the Department of Literature and Languages, is grateful to the following individuals and offices for providing their expertise and support of NCoW.
Department of Literature and Languages (provided a GA Fall 2008-Spring 2009 for processing NCoW submissions)
- Dr. Salvatore Attardo, Professor of English and Head of the Department of Literature and Languages
- Dr. Donna Dunbar-Odom, Professor of English and Director of Doctoral Studies in English
- Angela Kennedy, MA Student in the Department of Literature and Languages (NCoW GA, Fall 2009-Spring 2010)
- Luca Morazzano, PhD Student in the Department of Literature and Languages (filmmaker responsible for video complement to “Who Said ‘Johnny Can’t Write’” and sharp revision of “Calling All Writers” entitled “Everyone’s a Writer”).
Gee Library (provided resources, technical and cataloging expertise, and countless volunteer hours to this project)
- Greg Mitchell, Director of Libraries
- Adam Northam, Digital Collections Librarian
- Sean Anderson, Technology Librarian/Library Webmaster
- Paul Jones, Library Assistant II-Technology
Converging Literacies Center (CLiC)
CLiC provided the infrastructure through which Carter was able to negotiate campus resources leading to the creation of the NCoW archives and systems for sharing resources at events like the Digital Installation (showing off NCoW resources) and workshops at the Coastal Bend Writing Project (collecting interviews at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi via equipment provided by CLIC) and the Conference on Basic Writing (collecting interviews at CCCC in San Francisco via equipment provided by CLiC and generating a video essay from these interviews from these interviews). Also provided via CLiC are all the videos listed above.
Special thanks go to Sylwester Zabielski, MA Student and CLiC GA; Angela Kennedy, MA Student and NCoW GA; Luca Morazzano, PhD Student and CLiC GA; Joanna Thrift, Library Assistant II and CLiC Liaison /Consultant; J’Non Whitlark, Interim Writing Center Director, Spring 2009, and regular CLiC contributor
Additional Technical Support Provided By
- Joe Shipman (Instructional Technology)
- Michael Lewandowski (Instructional Technology)
- Chris Jones (Technical Services)
College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences has been a consistent supporter of the Converging Literacies Center and the National Conversation on Writing. Especially important to our NCoW efforts have been
- Dr. Jim Klein, Former Dean of Arts and Sciences (current Provost at Southern Oregon University)
- Dr. Dave Crenshaw, Former (Interim) Dean of Arts and Sciences
- Dr. Christine Evans, Dean of Arts and Sciences
A special thanks goes to Dr. Mary Hendrix, also a persistent of CLiC and, by extension, the National Conversation on Writing. |
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