Call for Proposals
Our keynote speaker this year will be Dr. Troy Hicks, professor of English and Education at Central Michigan University. He specializes in digital literacy, and his work can be followed on his blog, “Digital Writing, Digital Teaching.”
Please consider proposals that relate to our theme and/or reflect one or more of the following topics:
- Navigating Digital Literacies
- Expanding Definitions of Composition
- Critical Thinking and College Readiness
- Writing for College and Beyond
- Evaluating Sources in the Age of “Fake News”
- Innovative Ideas for the Writing Classroom
- Technology Access Inequalities & Universal Design
- Balancing Writing Foundations in the Digital Age
- Assessing Writing in the Digital Age
- Developing & Sustaining a Writing Center
Types of Proposals:
- Individual presentation of up to 15 minutes in length (to be combined with another presenter)
- Panel of either 2 or 3 presenters (up to 30 minutes in length).
- Round tables may have up to 6 participants (at 5 minutes each).
- Workshops may be up to 45 minutes long (since the expectation is that they will be interactive from the beginning
View the full Call for Participation
Let’s Get Digital: Teaching and Learning in the Age of Information
Transitioning to College Writing Symposium 2018
Our annual symposium for teachers and students of composition will be held this year on Thursday and Friday, October 18-19, 2018. This year’s symposium will again coincide with the National Day on Writing, sponsored by the National Writing Project. We hope you will join us for keynote speakers, workshops, and special writing events!
This year, we welcome keynote speaker, Dr. Troy Hicks, professor of English and education at Central Michigan University. Dr. Hicks has authored a number of books, many of them focused on digital literacy. His blog, Digital Writing, Digital Teaching has a large following among both K-12 classroom teachers and college educators alike. Our symposium will tackle key issues in the teaching of writing as well as providing a space to share resources and interact with other teaching professionals.
Our theme this year seeks to look closely at how we, as teachers and learners, navigate composition in the 21st century. By offering a space for teachers to have genuine conversations, we will tackle common frustrations with technology in the classroom and brainstorm fresh ideas that encourage innovative approaches to assignments while also prizing the strength of foundational writing. We will consider these questions:
- How do we balance the foundational teaching of writing with the implementation of various forms of classroom technology?
- How do combat “fake news” and help students evaluate sources when so much research today happens online?
- What role should technology play in the assessment of student writing?
- How do we help our students rethink how varied composition can be as they navigate digital literacies?
- How do we handle technology access inequalities in our schools and institutions?
- What role does universal design play in how we use technology in the classroom?
- How do we prepare students for the kind of writing they’ll be doing in college and beyond, when so much of that writing will be online?
- How do we encourage critical thinking as a college readiness skill?
- How do we develop “lifelong composers” (writing for college and beyond)?
- How do we expand definitions of composition in the digital age?
- How can we develop and sustain writing center programs in our institutions? And how can our writing centers support students in the process of creating digital texts and/or projects?
We invite proposals for workshops, round tables, panel presentations, and individual presentations that engage with these and other topics of interest to writing teachers. We invite proposals from all interested writing teachers, in middle school, high school, junior, and community college, and four-year university and college settings.
Format for Proposals:
Sessions are 50 minutes long and should include at least 20 minutes for Q&A or conversation.
- You may propose an individual presentation of up to 15 minutes in length and conference organizers will combine your presentation with another, or
- You may propose a panel of either 2 or 3 presenters (up to 30 minutes in length).
- Round tables may have up to 6 participants (at 5 minutes each).
- Interactive workshops may be up to 45 minutes long
We encourage all sessions to be interactive, provide time for attendees to ask questions and have conversations, and include either digital or print resources. (Questions: email tcw@go.olemiss.edu)
The deadline for proposals has been extended to April 20, 2018!