Page 49 - Composition in Convergence The Impact of the New Media on Writing Assessment

16 CHAPTER 1

grams? Probably not. However, we may be able to make some in-
roads into these areas by considering the best of the old ideas with
the promise of the new.

THE WRITING CLASSROOM AS SALON

Perhaps the first step in reinventing Composition needs to begin with
the classroom and teacher practices. For me, as for many other writ-
ing instructors, the classroom is the site where everything related to
the teaching of writing begins. Whether the class's location is in
cyberspace, in a brick-and-mortar building, or in some hybrid form
does not matter. What does matter is the link between a writing
teacher's classroom practices and the students' performance
(Wenglinsky, 2002). That is why to reinvent Composition in an age
of technological convergence, we must first reinvent the metaphor
used to describe the spaces in which we teach. The shift in meta-
phoric thinking then becomes a way to reexamine our teaching and
assessment practices in light of the rise of computer technology.
The writing classroom as salon arises from the life of Kenneth
Burke. Salons were extremely important in Burke's growth as a
young intellectual (Selzer, 1996). In the salon, people gather to ex-
change ideas. Like Burke did with his peers, young writers in the
classroom meet to share their beliefs, positions, aspirations, and
views related to topical material. Unlike the private or semiprivate
discussions students have with their instructors or peer groups in
current-traditional or process writing classes, in a salon format,
discussion and writing are made public, open to all.
When our words move from the private or semiprivate domain
of a papertext assignment into a public forum like a list or MOO or
a web page, students and their instructors must realize that lan-
guage is in a free zone, a place that exceeds the boundaries of class-
room, corporate, administrative, or legislative authority. It is also
a place where interested people feel motivated enough to respond
to what they read. The salon metaphor is used to describe this ex-
changing of ideas in the free zone. The salon is a fitting image for
what occurs in the online classroom experience, because it evokes
the historical understanding of the salon as a center of criticism
and debate with other similarly educated individuals. Through
ongoing interchanges of smart discourse and authentic reflection
with classmates and others via the computer network, students