Site – Good stewardship
“The extent to which the classroom space supports multiple and diverse modes of teaching and learning in a writing program—for example, facilitating peer-response, supporting discussion, coaching, presenting, etc.” (4). This means that “classroom spaces [need] malleable characteristics” (5). “Technologies remain in flux while constructions are materially fixed for durations of time. What we want to sustain is not a particular classroom, but the way in which it embodies current thinking about teaching and learning” (6). “[S]pace and orientation do matter in that they establish the limits or boundaries for the activities that take place within a particular space. Site ecology (i.e. space and the way the space is structured) clearly both introduces and reinforces action” (7).
Resources – Balance of needs
“The efficacious use of computers resources available to a program - how reflexively and critically resources are negotiated by competing interests, including administration, community, students, faculty, etc.” (4). To balance resources, Strasma recommends thinking about interactions as partnerships.
The interactions I’m thinking about obviously include computers, wires, projectors, desks, servers, and course-management systems—these are the obvious resources to map in terms of interactions. Some less apparent elements include student
testing and placement, as well as access to online writing labs and writing tutors. These need to be planned, negotiated,
and implemented through partnerships with writing-invested local departments and with global, college-wide technology
resource providers. Working as a member of a technology team helps break down barriers that are often in place, and that
have solidified over years of institutional replication. (8)
Awareness - Education and development
“Initial (e.g., orientation) and ongoing development for effective instruction with computers, technology, and new media - for example, how well a department provides learning that supports the critical use of technology in the classroom” (4). “[A]wareness is the ability to optimize ongoing performance of agents and equipment” (10). “This process of keeping pace with developments while gathering stakeholder feedback [i]s essential for a successful computers and writing program” (10). “[F]aculty need more than general training with software and hardware; they need opportunities to see through the resources and allow their pedagogies to emerge along with or be transformed by their interactions” (11).
Design – Innovation
“The ‘emergence’ of insights and synergies made possible through effective leadership - for instance, the value of administrative and faculty experimentation and innovation with emerging, cutting edge pedagogies for effective writing” (4).