• A Global Imperative. Report from Summit on 21st Century Literacy. "Unlike the traditional notions of language and literacy, which are primarily unimodal and textual, this new form of communication and self-expression occurs multimodally, incorporating visual and aural elements with textual elements, and an immediacy which itself is a dimension of the new language."

• Faculty are more likely to help students create multimedia projects instead of only writing papers if the faculty member is creating such multimedia projects for professional and research communication.  This article by Bruce Ingraham describes some of the advantages of non-printable research publication, including the ability to include non-printable data such as databases, video, and sound in the publication, speed to readers, and the ability to have continuing online exchange about the article, linked to the article, after publication.

• Stanford now requires a second year course that helps students master skills of written, oral and multimedia communication. Here's a description of this family of courses, in the context of Stanford's undergraduate requirements in writing and rhetoric.

• The Visible Knowledge Project has stimulated a number of faculty projects involving multimedia authoring by students. This page from VKP's web site displays some of the best of this work, with great faculty reflections about the role the students' work plays.

• The University of Southern California's Institute for Multimedia Literacy has been a pioneer in fostering digital writing across the curriculum; it helps faculty incorporate student use of multimedia for course projects.  Mark Kann's web site, mentioned above, is an early IML resource for faculty, teaching assistants and undergraduates. And this 2003 EDUCAUSE Review article by Dean Elizabeth Daley makes a case for defining multimedia literacy around reading and writing on the screen.

• February 24, 2005 The TLT Group and AAC&U offered a webcast on "Redefining Writing."  Here (in the form of a 1.7 megabyte PowerPoint file) are selected slides from the Feb.24 session.

• Can you suggest web sites and other resources that would be useful for programs/institutions considering interested in developing their students' digital writing skills? Please e-mail Steve Ehrmann at ehrmann@tltgroup.org.

Related general education resources in this site

• Information literacy - this cluster of research skills is a close companion of writing

• Integrative thinking and electronic portfolios - The development of digital writing across the curriculum can be assisted by the use of electronic portfolios to guide and assess student progress in writing. And, if students are competent in digital writing skills, they'll find it easier to create eportfolios.  Electronic portfolios are complex pieces of digital writing: the more skilled students are in digital writing, the more influential the portfolio is likely to be. And the portfolio, used appropriately can provide feedback to help accelerate the student's progress as a digital author.

Digital Writing Across the Curriculum - Home Page l Technology and the Shape of a College Education

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