eResearch, eWriting: Preparing Students for Tech-Savvy College-Level Work in the Humanities
Led by Karen H. Gardiner, Ph.D., Associate Director of Composition, First-Year Writing Program, University of Alabama

Teachers often approach the dreaded “research paper” assignment with as much trepidation as students feel in doing the research and writing. How to get started? How and where to find sources? In the library? On the Web? To Wiki or not to Wiki? What to write about? Synthesizing all that information? Quoting? Avoiding plagiarism? Citing sources? Documentation? Formatting? Is all of this necessary for college? With so many questions to consider, it’s no wonder the research assignment causes sinking stomachs and sweaty palms all around. This institute may not cure research-paper anxiety, but it will allow participants to explore how technology changes student research and the “research paper.” Since student access to information—both of primary and secondary texts—is expanding, workshop participants will practice searching library databases and the Web for a variety of content-area texts. Participants will also explore research and writing challenges: preventing plagiarism, online citation and documentation issues, evaluation of Web sources, and designing assignments that prepare students for the research and writing innovations they will encounter in college—all hands-on experiences that may alleviate research-paper stress and help better prepare students for college-level research and writing quests.

Location: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

Date: Monday, June 23 – Friday, June 27, 2008

Times: Institute begins Monday at 10:00 am and concludes Friday at 2:00 pm. Mornings begin at 8:00. Evenings conclude at 9:00.

Lodging: On-campus, high-security apartment with four bedrooms (one per teacher), two private bathrooms, joint living/study areas. Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided daily.

Format: Residential Institute

CEUs: 40+ hrs

Presenting Scholars:

• Karen Gardiner, Ph.D., Associate Director, First-year Writing Program, University of Alabama (after May 16: Director, First-year Writing Program)
• Mike Palmquist, Ph.D., Professor of English and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar; Director, Institute for Learning and Teaching; Co-director, Center for Research on Writing and Communication Technologies, Colorado State University
• Flowers Braswell, Ph.D., Professor of English, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Jennifer McClure, M.L.S., Humanities Collections Coordinator, University of Alabama Libraries
• Richard Cox, MFA, Media Service Coordinator, Media Research and Design Center, University of Alabama Libraries
• Doug Phillips, Ph.D., Executive Producer, Discovering Alabama, UA Museum of Natural History
  
  Session Topics (Tenative / In Order):

• Getting started on a research project (topic selection, topic development, research proposals)
• Gathering Information (primary & secondary sources, library databases, Alabama Virtual Library, electronic resources, print resources, and field research)
• Working with Sources (evaluating sources and taking notes)
• Ethical Research (writing plagiarism-proof assignments and helping students learn to avoid plagiarism using a variety of Web-based tutorials)
• eWriting the traditional research paper (organizing, outlining, drafting, integrating sources, and documentation, using readily available Web resources and an online Writing Studio)
  eAlternatives to the traditional research paper (multi-modal projects)
• Moving beyond first-year writing (research in upper-level college humanities classes)

Program Activities:

• Tour of Gorgas House and other historic sites in Tuscaloosa
• Individual research projects
• Dinner with local college faculty and GTAs to discuss college-level research and writing
• Other special activities TBA

Resource Materials:

• Mike Palmquist. The Bedford Researcher, with Research Pack and i-claim / i-cite CDs
• Mike Palmquist. The Bedford Bibliographer online resource
• Mary Lynn Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History
• Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing
• Laura Hennessey DeSena. Preventing Plagiarism: Tips and Techniques
• Robert A. Harris. The Plagiarist Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism

Session topics, program activities and materials are tentative and subject to change. Information will be updated as available.

For questions about this program contact
Karen H. Gardiner : kgardine@bama.ua.edu

For all other inquiries contact
Thomas E. Bryant: tbryant@ahf.net 205-558-3997