Sunday, September 19, 2010

Writing consultants for digital stories?

During my reading of "Youth Culture and Digital Media: New Literacies for New Times" by Glynda Hull, there was a pending question at the back of my mind: is the job description for a "writing consultant" going to encompass more than just writing on paper? As difficult as it is to improve a writer's ability to write academically in the traditional essay form, can you imagine what will happen when technology is thrown into the mix? Are we going to be editing digital stories and improving not just the written content, but also the audio-visual content too? I see this as an issue further down the line of technological advancement simply because, right now, traditional academic writing is still at the core of how professors and students interact with each other on an intellectual level, and the use of digital media is only recently gaining popularity amongst writers and professors who incorporate aspects of digital media creation into their classes. So my question is, should writing consultants be expected to help students with digital media projects? The closing of the "digital divide" will soon create an academic world in which the majority of students (and teachers) are well-versed in the use of computers and technology to create academic material that transcends formal essay/report writing. It seems like writing centers will need to incorporate this change of academic landscape into their training programs in order to keep up with the vast technological changes that occur every day.

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