COMPUTERS AND WRITING 2005 -- SITE APPLICATION
NEW WRITING AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES

 

NEW WRITING AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES

When computers first came into the writing classroom, they were used mostly as word processing tools, enhancing the capabilities of typewriters by simplifying editing practices. Today, computers and their associated technologies are tools that strongly influence writing, facilitating substantive changes in writing, and perhaps then leading to new forms of writing.

This conference will explore the changes in writing stemming from new technologies. Have linear forms of argumentation changed as a result of non-linear, hypertextual influences? Have disenfranchised voices become more prominent, as was predicted with the advent of digital publishing and the promise of internet global spaces? Are new mediums adapting to traditional forms of writing or vice versa? Are computers and software changing the content of our students' work? How do instructors evaluate the work produced by students in these new mediums?

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

  • Date Application Posted: March 2004
  • Name of Applicant: Corinne Arráez. Academic Technology Specialist. Program in Writing and Rhetoric
  • Institution: Stanford University
  • Postal Address:
    Program in Writing and Rhetoric
    Building 460, Room 223
    Stanford University
    Stanford, CA 94305-2085
  • Email Address: arraez@stanford.edu
  • Phone:
    Direct Office Number:650.723.0360
    Program in Writing and Rhetoric: 650.723.2631
  • Year to host Conference: 2005
  • Proposed Date for Conference Weekend: Thursday, June 16 - Sunday, June 19 2005
CONFERENCE FUNDING

Source of Funding:

  • Faculty Registration (200 @ $195.00) $39,800.00
  • Student Registration (150 @ $165.00) $24,750.00
  • Exhibitor Fees $1,000.00
  • PWR & VPUE funding $3,000.00

How will you allocate funding?

This preliminary budget is based upon estimates from Stanford Conference Services and based upon estimates from past conference organizers (for exhibitor fees).

  • Keynote Speakers (fees, travel, lodging) $5,000.00
  • Fringe (admission tickets, salaries, mail) $9,000.00
  • 4 Meals for 350 participants (included in registration fee) $40,500.00
  • Room Fees $5,000.00
  • Equipment rental $1,000.00
  • Awards $1,000.00
  • Post Conference Publications $3,000.00
  • Entertainment $2,000.00
  • Promotion $2,000.00


Approximately what will you charge for registration? What will additional events (e.g., special tours or trips) costs?

The Faculty and FTE fee will be $195 and the Graduate Student fee will be $165. Four meals will be included in the registration fee.

CONFERENCE FACILITIES


In the past, up to 400 people have registered for the Conference on Computers and Writing. Please list hotel(s) and number of rooms to be set aside for attendees.

  • Local Hotels
    We have received a bid for rooms from The Palo Alto Sheraton and Westin. The agreement is presently under review.
  • Main facility providing accommodations
    --> The Palo Alto Sheraton and Westin have placed a bid for 100 rooms; the bid presently estimates room rates to be $139 per night.
    --> Stanford Housing will offer a residential hall package for attendees. On-campus housing at Stanford University will cost approximately $51 per night for a single room and $37 for a double room.
  • Number of Rooms Reserved: To date, the bid from the Palo Alto Sheraton and Westin stipulates that 100 rooms will be reserved. Stanford Dinning/Housing will accept room reservations until two months prior to the event.

What will you do to provide a location and adequate exposure for exhibitors?

All conference sessions will take place on the first floor of Building 160. The first floor of building 160, known as Wallenberg Hall, consists of 4 technology enhanced classrooms and a large learning theatre. Adjacent to the rooms, is a large gathering area and lobby where exhibitors will be placed; conference participants will be passing through this area to go in and out of rooms and to take breaks in between sessions.

How will you guard against uneven placement and ensure traffic for the exhibits?

See above.

Why are you a good site for the conference in terms of excellence of faculty planners, computer/conference facilities, accommodations, and travel?

The Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford comprises a group of well published and enthusiastic faculty. Faculty Director Professor Andrea Lunsford and PWR Associate Director Marvin Diogenes are well known and well published scholars in the field. Faculty members of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford have published many books and articles in the field and participate actively in professional writing conferences such as CCCC. In addition to PWR faculty, the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the parent organization of PWR, houses an Academic Technology Specialist group and a tech support group. The Program in Writing and Rhetoric also has a group of enthusiastic and superb administrators who will work on various administrative aspects of the conference. This strong team of enthusiastic staff and scholars has agreed to work together to offer the best that we can to the CW2005 conference.

Stanford University offers state-of-the-art technology-enhanced teaching and learning environments that will enable conference participants to engage in hands-on sessions. Stanford University's Program in Writing and Rhetoric is a growing academic program, currently implementing a new second-level writing course that focuses on engaging students in research-based argument across a wide range of genres and media. PWR has a group of highly motivated lecturers who are adept users of technology in the classroom and who dedicate a considerable amount of time to research and writing about issues in Computers and Writing.

Finally, the San Francisco Bay Area affords both beautiful natural environments and culturally rich scenes for visitors.

How far is the conference site from a major airport? Identify any potential travel agency connection.

The San Francisco South Bay Area has 2 major international airports. Both the San Francisco Airport (21 miles north of Stanford) and the San Jose Airport (17 miles south of Stanford) offer fee-based door-to-door shuttles to the Bay Area 24 hours a day.

What computer support can your provide for attendees drafting papers, printing documents, checking email, and so forth? Are labs available on campus? What kind of local dial-up access will be available?

The Stanford Writing Center, equipped with computers and high speed connections (and 17 wireless laptops) will be available for participants to check email and carry out other daily computer-related work. Meyer Library, located on the main campus, will also have available public stations for email and web browsing.

The ideal site will be in a location that offers a safe environment for conference attendees regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and cultural background. To your knowledge, are there any legal, social, or cultural reasons that your site may pose a problem?

No. Stanford and the Bay Area at large are known for their openness to diversity, be it race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, or culture.

The ideal site will also have facilities that are accessible to the disabled. How does your site ensure accessibility?

Residence hall housing will be in accessible buildings, as are the suggested hotels. Rooms used for the conference sessions were designed according to the principals of Universal of Design and, as such, accommodate a wide variety of users. All technology used in session rooms is equipped with screen reading software, and reasonable accommodations can be made for any technology that is inadequate (e.g. enlarged keyboards, adjustable tables, etc). The conference website will be ADA compliant and all printed and electronic documents will be available in PDF format (enabling the use of the free PDF Accessible Reader) and offered, upon request, in braille.


CONFERENCE PROGRAM AND EVENTS




Past conferences have sponsored as many as 55 one-hour-15-minute sessions over a two- or three-day period. These are concurrent sessions with approximately four speakers for each session. Conferences have commonly begun with workshops, registration, and keynote on Thursday, held concurrent sessions all day Friday and Saturday and on Sunday morning and ended with a brunch or lunch and final speaker on Sunday. Briefly describe your plans for the conference program--its structure and focus.

We plan to maintain the current C&W conference structure with only minor modifications. Pre-conference workshops will be offered on Thursday when participants will be picking up their conference and meal tickets along with any other conference materials. Thursday night, during the first official banquet, the first keynote speaker will present. Friday and Saturday will be booked with up to five concurrent sessions. Lunch will be provided both Friday and Saturday. Friday evening will feature our second keynote speaker, and Saturday evening will be the CW2005 official party, featuring the well known Composition Blues Band. On Sunday afternoon, the conference chair will host a small but very entertaining end-of-conference affair, theme and place to be announced.

Who will you ask to review proposals to ensure high quality?

As with past conferences, members of the 7Cs will be invited to participate in the review process. Stanford faculty in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric will also be invited to participate in this process.

Are you planning on sponsoring other events (dinners, tours) that attendees might participate in? If so, please list, with cost above in the Funding section.

Banquets featuring keynote speakers will take place on Thursday and Friday evenings. Saturday evening will feature the Composition Blues Band playing in a picturesque Stanford garden.

What specific features are you planning to make your meeting unique or to improve or enhance the Computers and Writing Conference?

Stanford's Academic Computing facilities offer great opportunities for us to push for participatory sessions and for us to showcase prize nominees and other projects related to Computers and Writing issues.

We plan to apply for a small grant to offer the opportunity for undergraduate students from other higher education institutions to discuss their own involvement in Computers and Writing. This we feel will be an important contribution to our understanding of students' perspectives about writing and new media. We also hope to apply for funds to support graduate student participation in the conference.


CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF

What kind of help or advice from past organizers would you find most useful?

All information relating to the organization and distribution of conference materials would be useful.
Information regarding the online review process and the overall level of participation by the members of the 7Cs would also be appreciated.

Would you be willing to serve on the CCCC's Committee on Computers and Composition for the year preceding and following your sponsoring the conference, to receive and then provide counsel about sponsoring the conference?

Yes.

Which previous Computers and Writing Conferences have you attended?

C&W 2001 (and will attend) C&W 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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