Welcome back from spring break. This week’s reading, a draft of my On The Line book-in-progress, is now available at http://OnTheLine.trincoll.edu
Either read on the web or download a pdf or ebook version. Feel free to comment online and/or bring your thoughts to seminar, where TA Elaina Rollins will facilitate the first part of the discussion (with me out of the room).
Let me clarify that this is a draft of *pieces* of a book, which I’m struggling to bring together. It’s not even half done yet. Every day I work on the book, it reminds me how slowly I write, edit, and rewrite, and don’t always feel like I’m making progress. Perhaps you’ve felt that way about your writing, too?
But I decided to share this not-ready-for-prime-time book on public web at this early stage, because I’ve learned the value of receiving reader feedback during the process of writing, rather than after it’s all done. Students like you are my primary audience, and you can help me improve by reflecting on these questions as you read:
1) What are the goals of this book, and how well does it accomplish any of them in the current draft?
2) While reading, make a note on any portion where you felt:
– confused, bored, or disappointed
– interested in making new connections, or eager to learn more
3) In this book I’m exploring new possibilities with the open-access web platform. Did any of the digital aspects of the draft help you as a reader? Did any distract you?
4) A meta-question: In what format did you choose to read the draft, and how did that shape your understanding? See also the short “Digital Natives” article by Wash Post writer Michael Rosenwald in our syllabus.
Thanks for reading — now back to my grading. . .
Jack