e-mailWritten in HyperCard, containing only the barest technical essentials--a few copied buttons and a crude grid--the Womyn text marks a moment in time: a moment when a student's quest for meaning finds expression in hypertext; a moment when a teacher's belief in technology enables her to encourage a student to realize an idea; a moment when both teacher and student allow their intuitive understanding of hypertext to guide the creation of a text; a moment when both teacher and student realize that you do not need technology to write well, yet Womyn could not exist without technology; a moment when an institution's acquisition of more sophisticated technology (post-HyperCard, pre-backbone connection) becomes a catalyst for learning.
My teaching and my use of technology has evolved since Lisa wrote Womyn. But even though each year brings changes in the way I move through a lesson plan, my goals have not changed. I continue to help students realize that good writing demands continued improvisation and practice and that writing-to-learn nourishes most intellectual activity. As writing program administration continues to intrude on my teaching activities, I now spend my days promoting the use of writing with technology and believe in the changes that technology affords. And yet, occasionally, when in the midst of a heated discussion about the place of hypertext technology in a writing classroom, I remember Lisa's text; it serves as an ambivalent reminder of the promises and perils of hypertext technology.
Emily
Golson, University of Northern Colorado
e-mail