Alvarado2007

Teaching with Digital Text

R. C. Alvarado

Academic Technology Lunch 'n' Learn Series

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Introduction

• Welcome
• Thank yous and introductions

About this series

• Purpose
• Content

Segue to today's topic

• Begin with the less familiar
• Provide some framing ideas

What is digital text?

"Textualities"

• AKA "Discourse Genres"
• Form, Content, Practice

Mark-up

• Think of this as close-reading, text-criticism
• A methodology that merges the (old) New Criticism with the discourse analysis of the socio-linguist with the Qualitative Data Analysis of the sociologist
• EXAMPLES
  • TEI
  • XML in general
  • Grizzard

Collaboration

• Wikis and Blogs

Linking

• An overlaying dimension to the previous technologies
• Text as Database → from Sequence to Random Access
• Has the most profound and difficult to control effects:
  • Challenges the the notion of the text itself
  • Narrative
• EXAMPLES
  • Ovid
  • Figura

Why work with digital text?

Technology breaks things

• Describe the principle

"The times, they are a' changin'

• The changes are happening now
• The macro forces are beyond are control
  • Economics will drive the move to e-books
  • The Googlefication of Everything

Mediations

Research and Teaching

• Collections-based teaching possible

Research and Publishing

• New models of publishing
• New engagements with audiences

Remarks

• Research mediates between Teaching and the two other areas of academic work
• Technology mediates between both Research and Teaching, and Research and Publishing

Conclusion

• Scholars have the opportunity to shape practice and discourse genres by working the technology
  • AKA hacking, bricolage
• The point is not to give you ready made examples of examples of how to teach with digital text, complete with rubrics, outcomes, and best practices
• Rather, it is to engage you in your historical role as producers not only of knowledge but of knowledge practice
• From theory to method . . .