Give. When in doubt, give more.
Manifesting Giving in Academic and Online Spaces.
Giving in academia and beyond manifests in unique ways and it happens because of kind humans who have a giving spirit and a willingness to support others. The late Bill Hart-Davidson was one of these kind humans. He was also one of the biggest cheerleaders for The Online Writing Instruction Community and its founders (Jessie Borgman and Casey McArdle). Bill Hart-Davidson encouraged so many others in the field, cheering them on as they developed in their careers and found their place in academia and industry. So, in honor of the late Bill Hart-Davidson, The Online Writing Instruction Community invites you to join our free fully online symposium in which we explore the ways “giving” manifests in academic and online spaces.
The theme of the symposium will be an inspiring phrase often spoken by Bill Hart-Davidson:
“Give. When in doubt, give more.”
The theme of the symposium will be an inspiring phrase often spoken by Bill Hart-Davidson:
“Give. When in doubt, give more.”
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Shelley Rodrigo, University of Arizona
Sustaining Saying "Yes"
Shelley Rodrigo
For most of us, “giving more” is about saying “yes” to a request that will take time as well as physical and emotional energy.
“Yes” I can…
Although the moment of doing the thing is highly satisfactory and rewarding, the impact on time and energy as well as the growing anxiety associated with the lengthening to-do list can take a physical and mental toll. How do we balance personal and professional well-being with the charge to “give more”? And, if we have reached burnout, how do we recover?
I wish I could say I have “the answer.” My guess is most of you know deep down there is no single solution, and no set of solutions that work the same for everyone. And as scholars and pedagogs more familiar with various technological tools, we know they do not provide simple solutions either.
During this presentation I’ll share the strategies I’ve used starting as an active scholar while teaching full-time at a community college and currently juggling being a WPA at an R1 university while also President of the National Council of Teachers of English. I’ll share strategies learned from scholars mentoring scholars as well as those shared in business trade publication and the most current experiments coming from scholarship on culturally sustaining and socially just pedagogies. And, most importantly, I’ll be vulnerable in sharing how I’ve (un)successfully navigated professional, social, and personal expectations of saying “yes.”
“Yes” I can…
- complete an external review for promotion,
- mentor a colleague or graduate student at another institution,
- facilitate a workshop at a local high school,
- serve, or chair, a committee,
- (un)officially review (a draft of) a manuscript,
- wake up early or stay up late to meet,
- collaborate on a project,
Although the moment of doing the thing is highly satisfactory and rewarding, the impact on time and energy as well as the growing anxiety associated with the lengthening to-do list can take a physical and mental toll. How do we balance personal and professional well-being with the charge to “give more”? And, if we have reached burnout, how do we recover?
I wish I could say I have “the answer.” My guess is most of you know deep down there is no single solution, and no set of solutions that work the same for everyone. And as scholars and pedagogs more familiar with various technological tools, we know they do not provide simple solutions either.
During this presentation I’ll share the strategies I’ve used starting as an active scholar while teaching full-time at a community college and currently juggling being a WPA at an R1 university while also President of the National Council of Teachers of English. I’ll share strategies learned from scholars mentoring scholars as well as those shared in business trade publication and the most current experiments coming from scholarship on culturally sustaining and socially just pedagogies. And, most importantly, I’ll be vulnerable in sharing how I’ve (un)successfully navigated professional, social, and personal expectations of saying “yes.”
Presenter Bios and Ignite Talk Titles
Cat Mahaffey
Cat Mahaffey "Belonging and Becoming: My Path as a First-Gen Scholar"
Cat Mahaffey is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies (WRDS) at UNC Charlotte. She teaches first-year writing and courses such as Digital Design Theory and Practice and The Rhetoric of Digital Design. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE). Her research interests include AI, online privacy, accessibility, digital rhetoric, and technical and professional writing. She has a forthcoming book titled ACCESS: Accessible Course Construction for Every Student’s Success.
Link to ignite talk video
Link to ignite talk slides
Cat Mahaffey is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies (WRDS) at UNC Charlotte. She teaches first-year writing and courses such as Digital Design Theory and Practice and The Rhetoric of Digital Design. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE). Her research interests include AI, online privacy, accessibility, digital rhetoric, and technical and professional writing. She has a forthcoming book titled ACCESS: Accessible Course Construction for Every Student’s Success.
Link to ignite talk video
Link to ignite talk slides
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Allie Johnston "Giving the Gift of Boundary-Setting: Advocating for Writing Center Tutors and Myself"
Allie Johnston is Assistant Professor of Languages and Literature and Writing Center Director at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. She teaches first-year writing courses and Composition and Rhetoric pedagogical approaches for graduate students. Her work has been published in The Peer Review, Open Words, XChanges, and forthcoming in Kairos. Her research areas include first-year writing, writing center studies, and multimodality. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Jason Evans
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Jason Evans "Centering the Human in an Online Literature Class"
Jason Evans is Professor of Developmental Writing and English at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Illinois. His work has appeared in the edited collections Writing Placement in Two-Year Colleges and On Teacher Neutrality, as well as in BWe, Open Words, and Teaching English in the Two-Year College. Jason’s research examines the relationships between composition, racial identity, and social class in community college writing programs. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Ben Lauren "Deliberate Practice in Online and Online-Assistant Writing Classes"
Ben Lauren is Chair of the Department of Writing Studies and Director of the co-major in Innovation and Society at the University of Miami. His research focuses on the intersections of rhetoric, user experience, and experiential learning. His most recent monograph Hold Me Down: Toward a Rhetoric of Feel is forthcoming in 2024 on the University of Michigan Press (https://press.umich.edu/Books/H/Hold-Me-Down). Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
Ben Lauren
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Ariel M. Goldenthal
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Ariel M. Goldenthal "Transparency in the Online Classroom: Giving Students Expanded Recommended Weekly Schedules"
Ariel M. Goldenthal is an associate professor and assistant director of Composition at George Mason University. Her research focuses on instructor and student experiences of hybrid writing classes. She has published work in The Journal of Response to Writing, WPA, Academic Labor: Research and Artistry, and PARS in Charge: Resources and Strategies for Online Writing Program Leaders. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Kevin DePew "“Whatever you Need, Any Time Of The Day or Night”: Ungrading Online and The Spirit of Giving"
Kevin E. DePew is an associate professor at Old Dominion University. He is also the Vice-President of GSOLE, an organization in which he also co-administrates the Certification Course and co-chairs the Conference committee. He studies writing pedagogy writ large, including online writing instruction, digital literacy, multilingual writing pedagogy, and linguistic justice. He has published articles in journals, such Computers & Composition and Composition Studies, chapters in publications like Better Practices: Exploring the Teaching of Writing in Online and Hybrid Spaces and Emerging Pedagogies in the Networked Knowledge Society. In 2015, he co-edited Foundational Practices of Online Writing Instruction with Beth Hewett. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
Kevin DePew
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Tawnya Azar
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Tawnya Azar "Giving Space for Community Building in Asynchronous OWI"
Tawnya (Ravy) Azar is an Assistant Director of Composition and an Associate Professor of English at George Mason University. She is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and received her M.A. and PhD. in English at The George Washington University. Azar has been an instructor of composition and literature in higher education since 2009. Her research interests include Online Writing Instruction, Communty-Engaged Teaching, and Digital Composition. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Al Rodriguez "Giving Yourself Grace: Leveraging Automation for Sustainable Online Teaching"
Al Rodriguez (they/them) is a Senior Lecturer in First-Year Writing at North Carolina State University and a second-year PhD student in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media at NCSU. Their research interests include: the use of automation and AI in writing classrooms, digital literacies in online written roleplay networks, and the intersections of technology, science, and belief in paranormal investigative media. Al is passionate about exploring how rhetorical and cultural practices shape communication, identity, and narrative construction in digital spaces. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
Al Rodriguez
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Jessica L. Parker
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Jessica L. Parker "The Importance of Giving to Ourselves"
Jessica L. Parker is a Professor of English at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She recently returned to teaching full time after directing the First-Year Writing Program for over a decade. Recent research focuses on empathy in pedagogy and on linguistic diversity and justice in FYW classes. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Stephen David Grover "Just-in-Time Pro Dev for Online Adjuncts"
David Grover is an assistant professor of English at Park University, where he oversees the First-Year Writing program. His recent research focuses on instructor presence in pre-designed courses. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
Stephen David Grover
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Traci Gardner
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Traci Gardner "Supporting Every Member: Strategies for Kindness and Team Success in Online Writing"
Traci Gardner is an instructor in the Department of English at Virginia Tech. Her work specializes in technical communication, digital tools, and AI integration. She focuses particularly in designing engaging, career-relevant assignments and on ways to incorporate active learning strategies in digital environments. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Tara Wood "Comparing Online vs. F2F Assessment Findings"
Tara Wood is an associate professor of English and Writing Program Administrator at the University of Northern Colorado. Her research focuses on writing program administration, disability studies, and assessment. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
Tara Wood
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Linford Lamptey
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Linford Lamptey "Strategies for Fostering Active Student Engagement in Online Learning Environments"
Linford Lamptey is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Program in Writing Across Campus (PWAC) at the University of Washington, where he teaches technical communication and linked writing courses. Dr. Lamptey’s doctorate degree in English (2023) is from Miami University, where he focused on African rhetoric, Indigenous rhetorics and methodologies, and decolonial and cultural applications to digital writing and technical communication. His work seeks to emphasize the ways in which Indigenous people use online platforms to tell their stories – which are often underrepresented and/or misrepresented in digital spaces – in affirming their identities and achieving survivance. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Laura Vernon "Peer Review in the Online Writing Course: Giving Instructors and Students What They Need to Succeed"
Laura Vernon is an associate professor in the School of Writing, Language, and Literature at Radford University in Virginia. She teaches in-person and online undergraduate and graduate professional and business writing courses, and she produces scholarship in teaching and learning and in environmental rhetoric. In addition, she coordinates the online Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing program, which she initially developed and recently redesigned. Before earning her PhD, she had a successful career in journalism, public relations, and environmental writing, creating communications in both print and digital formats. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
Laura Vernon
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Steve Krause
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Steve Krause "Reflections on Early Research in Online Writing Instruction, or, Me and Bill's Excellent Grad School Email Adventure"
Steve Krause is a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Eastern Michigan University, which is in Ypsilanti, MI. He is the author of More Than A Moment: Contextualizing the Past, Present, and Future of MOOCs, the co-editor of Invasion of the MOOCs: The Promises and Perils of Massive Open Online Courses, and the author of The Process of Research Writing, a research writing textbook. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
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Geoff Sauer "Recording Classes Improves Student Success"
Geoffrey Sauer is an associate professor in the Technical Communication and Rhetoric area in the English Department at Texas Tech University. He teaches in person and online undergraduate and graduate courses. In addition, he directs the TTU English Media Lab, and was the founding director of EServer.org, a digital humanities free ebook website from 1990 until 2017. Link to ignite talk video Link to ignite talk slides |
Geoff Sauer
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