The ICaP tech mentors collect materials on a variety of topics related to using and teaching technology in the Composition classroom. Apart from their teaching in the 505 practicum, the tech mentors maintain a site that outlines strategies and offers downloadable resources for use by ICaP instructors in their classrooms. The site also lists department resources and the expectations for technological proficiency for our instructors.

Goals

Digital Course Management Proficiency

To help mentees interact with students in their course.
To provide course materials to students in accordance with Purdue/departmental requirements.
To aid mentees in using the resources available to them at Purdue.

Comfort/Competency with current composing technologies

To help mentees in learning current and new technologies used for writing.
To allow mentees to then demonstrate and guide their students in the use of these technologies.
To facilitate thinking about and teaching composing across a variety of contexts and genres.

Understanding of best practices for research and writing with technology

To help mentees navigate the digital resources of Purdue Libraries and online research tools.
To explore digital tools for composing including online spaces and multimedia devices.
To aid mentees in critical thinking about the use of technology in composing for their own scholarship and the work of their students in the classroom and at Purdue.

Establishing a techno-pedagogy for the 106 classroom

To apply tech mentoring lessons to their students in 106.
To apply tools and techniques learned from tech mentoring in the 106 class.

Means

Regular classroom instruction by the tech mentors in at least eight (8) sessions of 505 per semester
Use of the tech mentor website and resources for developing these skills
Classroom discussion on issues with using technology faced by mentees or their students
Development and maintenance of a course website for providing materials to students
Creating, assigning, teaching, and grading at least one multimedia assignment with their students
Meeting with tech mentors during office hours or outside class on an at-needed basis to work on concerns or questions about technology

Outcomes

By the end of the first semester of tech mentoring, mentees should be able to:

Maintain a course website that includes course policies and syllabi.
Be comfortable with discussing, teaching, and assessing a multimedia assignment.
Utilize the computer lab day effectively with students.

By the end of the second semester of tech mentoring, mentees should be able to:

Create their own assignments utilizing technology for the 106 classroom.
Support and maintain their own portfolio website or digital CV materials.
Be comfortable responding to student work with digital tools.