Letter from the Chair

June 7, 2023

Hello, OWI Standing Group Members! 

 

I’m writing to update everyone on the current leadership transition. I’m excited to be stepping in as the Online Writing Instruction Standing Group (OWI SG) Chair for the next two years. If we haven’t met, I’m an Associate Professor and the Writing Program Coordinator at Kent State University. I’ve taught online writing since 2010 when I was afforded the opportunity to work with and learn from an instructional designer at my first full-time position at a community college. From there, I published an article about avatars and social presence in online classes, which served as a catalyst for my current academic trajectory.

 

Because of my interest in online pedagogy, I attended the OWI Standing Group meeting at CCCC in 2016 in Portland, Oregon. There, I met and formed a research team with Lyra Hilliard (a previous OWI SG Chair), Mary Stewart (a previous OWI SG Communications Chair), and Natalie Stillman-Webb. With them, I’ve been involved in OWI research, scholarship, and pedagogy related to the Community of Inquiry Framework. I share all of that to emphasize that joining the OWI SG changed my academic life in a positive and real way and is where I found a true sense of community.

 

I’d also like to introduce Chris Andrews who is our new Communications Chair for the next two years. Chris is the Coordinator for Writing Studies and Technical and Professional Writing programs at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Chris has experience with online writing since 2009 as a student, teacher, researcher, and administrator. Chris also has a background in technical communication and helps with digital publications management at Kairos. 

 

Thanks to the outgoing officers, Jessie Borgman (Chair) and Joanna Whetstone (Communications Chair), for their leadership over the past years. Jason Snart (Associate Chair) and Allegra Smith (At-Large Member) will continue on in their leadership roles for another year, and Chris and I look forward to working with them. Jason and I are also continuing on with the State of the Art of Online Writing Instruction research based on the 2021 SoA OWI Report that Jessie spearheaded.

 

If you’d like to be more involved and haven’t yet joined a working group, please consider doing so. We currently have the following working groups for 2023-2024:

 

If you’re interested in joining any of the above working groups or have an idea for a new group that you’d like to lead, please complete this Google Form. 

 

Along with Jason, Chris, and Allegra, I want to thank you for your ongoing support of the CCCC OWI Standing Group. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. You can reach us at the following:

 

Jen: jcunni17@kent.edu  

Jason: snartj@cod.edu 

Chris: christopher.andrews@tamucc.edu

Allegra: allegra@gatech.edu

 

We look forward to continued and new projects and to working with you during this academic year!

 

Happy OWI-ing!


Jen