ACW Alliance for Computers and Writing
AI Artificial Intelligence
BTW By the way
C&C Computers and Composition (a journal, Ablex)
CAI Computer Aided (assisted) Instruction
CAL Computer Aided (assisted) Learning
CALL Computer Aided (assisted) Language Learning
CCC College Communications an Composition (a journal, NCTE)
CCCC Conference on College Composition and Communication (NCTE)
CE College English (a journal, NCTE)
C&W Computers and Writing Conference
CLI Command Line Interface (as opposed to GUI, below)
CMC Computer-Mediated Communication
EFL English as a Foreign Language
ENFI Electronic Networks for Interaction
(originally English Natural Form Instruction)
ESL English as a Second Language
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
f2f Face to Face
ftp File Transfer Protocol
GUI Graphic User Interface (as opposed to CLI, above)
GUT Grand Unified Theory
IMO in my opinion
IMHO in my humble opinion
IRL in real life (as opposed to virtual reality or cyberspace)
IRW in the real world
LAN Local Area Network (compare to WAN, below)
MBU Megabyte University
MOO MUD, Object Oriented
MUD Multiple-User Dungeon (Domain, for you PC folk)
NCTE National Council of Teachers of English
OWL On-line Writing Lab
Pomo Post Modern
VR Virtual Reality
WAC Writing Across the Curriculum
WAN Wide Area Network (compare to LAN, above)
Participants of Megabyte University. Trent Batson believes that he coined "Megabun," and Cindy Selfe "Megabunny."
As evidenced by papers given at CCCC and C&W, "computer-mediated
curriculum" covers a lot of ground. With that broadness in mind, I'll
nevertheless attempt a description, starting with what modern CMC is NOT.
First, it's not "Drill and Practice," which some of the early
softwares enabled. It's also not computerized test-giving or evaluation.
It is not CAI (computer assisted instruction) exactly, since this term generally
implies that students learn and interact WITH (or are assisted BY) computers,
while CMC suggests that they learn from and interact with other people THROUGH
the computer.
What CMC DOES do is make use of self-paced tutorials on anything from grammar
to research. It uses hardware and software to connect students so that they
may share their work with each other and the teacher more easily. It uses
programs like Grammatik to give its students grammatical and stylistic feedback
on their writing. It uses invention programs to help students flesh out
their topics. It involves conducting a part of classroom discussions via
electronic mail or synchronous (real-time) chat. It uses the power of LANs
and wider campus networks to teach students modern research skills like
Lexis/Nexis, on-line card catalogs, CD-ROM indexes, etc.
*Freshman Composition* *Basic (developmental) courses* -------------------- ---------------------------- Advanced Composition Introduction to Composition Approaches to Writing Language Skills Basic Skills for Writing College Writing Skills Composition I Essentials of Writing *Subsequent course(s)* Expository Writing I ------------------- First Year Composition Analysis and Evaluation (lit) Introduction to Composition Composition II Problems in Communication Essay Writing Rhetoric and Composition Reading and Research Writing Experience Specialized Writing and Research Writing Seminar I Writing and Corporate Culture Writing Workshop Writing Seminar II [juniors]
The definition of "flaming" seems to have taken two different
directions in the past couple of years.
A. As a term applied to electronic discussions, it refers to a situation
where people say something in the electronic situation they probably wouldn't
say in a face to face situation. Social norms seem to have been broken because
of the electronic element. More specifically, most people would further
define this situation ONLY if it applies to negative utterances: gay-bashing,
cursing, cutting remarks. This kind of flaming usually destroys/degrades
the conversation. Many people believe the teacher should intervene at this
point; others feel like the group will monitor itself and bring social pressure
to bear on the flamer.
B. The second definition seems more prevalent on the newsgroups, where it
refers to jumping on someone's case for some reason. This definition doesn't
carry the connotation of saying what you normally wouldn't say in face-to-face
discussions, but rather giving your blunt opinion. e.g. "Sorry for
this flame, but you don't know what the hell you're talking about!"
In my opinion, this kind of flaming rarely shuts down the conversation unless
it degenerates into the first kind of flaming.
Lurkers are subscribers to electronic forums who rarely or never send contributions to the discussions, content to read what others are writing. Reasons for abstaining are varied: having nothing to say, feeling "outclassed" by scholars who post frequently, or simply enjoying the exchange as a passive reader. Alternate terms like "Learkers or Lurners" have been suggested, emphasizing the active nature of reading messages.
Hypertext is the original term, coined by Ted Nelson years ago. This
refers to text whose units proceed non-sequentially. It is a computer phenomenon,
but a good analogy would be footnote markers, which when encountered, invite
you to jump out of the sentence you're currently on and to visit the note
at the bottom of the page. A key concept in hypertext is that the user determines
reading order.
Hypermedia is a broadening of the term, and encompasses text, graphics,
sound, and movies. It differs from multimedia in that users generally make
more of the choices as to the order of presentation.
Hyperfiction refers to creative writing in hyper-text/media. Michael Joyce
is perhaps the best known hyperfiction writer, and he participates here
on MBU.
[Baudrillard's "Hyperreal," however, is something completely different]
Virtual reality refers to textual or graphic representations of spaces
and situations real enough to engage participants. Hard-core virtual reality
may involve data gloves and helmets, which allow users to see their "virtual
hands" as part of the virtual landscape they're seeing in their helmet.
Less involved virtual spaces might involve graphics on a flat screen, or
even textual descriptions of places like MOOs. Somewhere in the middle is
VR which avoids the helmets and gloves, but provides high-quality video
which multiple viewers may share.
A "virtual classroom" would, then, refer to a meeting place of
teachers and students that is not physically real. These participants might
meet in a chat program or through e-mail or in a MOO to share their reading
notes and their papers. They might never meet face to face. Several people
here on MBU have been involved in such experiments. "Virtual classroom"
intersects with "Distance Learning" in many respects, but emphasizes
the computer and the active participation of its uses over the Video/TV
media and passive learning associated with Distance Learning.
Related words (and you can probably figure them out) would include virtual
memory, virtual particles, virtual space, all of which have varying degrees
of virtuality itself.
The original word is Cybernetics, the same root used to get Cyborg (cybernetic
organism), or a cross between human and machine.
Cyberspace is a computer space, graphically represented, extremely complex.
William Gibson once called it "a consensual hallucination." It
is the space where virtual reality takes place.
Cyberpunk is a sci-fi genre that blends technology with outlaws. It's a
place where high-tech rebels live in a dystopian future (Blade Runner, Max
Headroom, for example). "Cyberpunk" as a category, then, spills
over into clothing (wearing computer chips and other artifacts of technology),
journalism (Mondo 2000, Wired), and even attitude (basically an empowered
computer geek who uses technology--not just programming--in his/her social
relations). Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
is an excellent example, as is the work of Rudy Rucker, whose cyber stuff
is often overlooked but whose vision precedes Gibson's and Sterling's.
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