WebWriting: Why & How for Liberal Arts Teaching and Learning

WebWriting is a born-digital, open-access "book-in-progress" sponsored by the Trinity College Center for Teaching and Learning. It deals with issues concerning when, how, and why the web can be used for teaching writing by incorporating essay concerning basic but difficult questions about the risks and benefits of using the web, reconfiguring pedagogy to use online resources, and finding the right tools. The book also deals with specific issues like "How to organize simultaneous peer review with Google Doc" and "Balancing Public Writing and Student Privacy". The site is powered by WordPress's CommentPress Corp plugin, which allows users to interact with the text by leaving comments on sections, pages, or the entire document. The book also includes an annotated "Bibliography-in-progress," complete with links to the cited sources, which creates a small but concise resource library for users interested in the topics WebWriting approaches.

In it's current phase, the focus is on soliciting essays and content from contributors, during which time the book is available online for commenting. In the fall, the focus will be on using the CommentPress Corp technology to massively peer and expert editing and review. At the end of the revision process, the finalized text will be published using PressBooks, which will convert the content into a publication compatible with print and digital readers including web-books, EPUB, PDF, and mobi.

To discuss the editorial process, the technologies used, and the book itself, editors Jack Dougherty and Jason B. Jones are holding a NITLE seminar, freely open to all members of the NITLE Network.