Page 63 - Composition in Convergence The Impact of New Media On

32 CHAPTER 2

What grounds these various e-texts is Joan Tornow's (1997) im-
portant observation that e-texts, particularly e-mail threads, are
"heavily context-dependent, yet the exact referent may not be im-
mediately evident" (p. 73). Tornow's point underscores the more ex-
tensive and sophisticated coverage that the e-mail genre in the
classroom space has received from computer and composition spe-
cialists. But what can be said for e-mail also extends to the other
e-texts as well—these genres are highly context-dependent com-
pared with most papertexts; however, the differences may not al-
ways be instantly apparent to the instructor.
Frequently this situation arises with student web pages, which
some writing instructors erroneously compare to student papers.
These teachers often do not realize that the change from paper to
pixel creates a shift in the students' writing processes, particularly in
the editing processes. Kathryn Sutherland's essay collection, The
Electronic Text (1998), extends this idea in greater depth as contribu-
tors explain how e-texts require different editing activities compared
with their papertext counterparts. In the same vein, Christina Haas
(1996) also identified numerous differences in writers' composing
processes when the material tools used for writing change.
Undoubtedly, a critical mass exists in the computer and composi-
tion literature that outlines the distinctions between writing on
screen and on paper. Without retracing all of these authors' steps,
this chapter explores how technological convergence's transforma-
tion of the text sets in motion a transformation both in what writers
can do with electronic texts and in what instructors can do with
writing assessment. This is an important next step in the conver-
gence process taking place within Composition. It is not enough
anymore in higher education just to argue that a new form of writ-
ing and texts exists. In an era of learning outcomes, assessment, and
both being tied to budgets and faculty hires, one must also be able to
measure how student writing grows and develops in the
internetworked classroom. Moreover, if Composition truly values
the teaching of writing through the use of computers, then it is im-
perative that individuals in Composition Studies offer assessment
models to evaluate the work students (and their teachers) do in the
classroom. Otherwise, as Edward White (1994) warned, people
outside of Composition will do the evaluating for us.
The field has learned enough about computers for compositionists
to recognize that technology has modified the characteristics of a