Ben Reynolds writes:I'm not sure I understand this question. I think the sharing of practices, whether online or off, is a process of validation and correction. Most writing teachers are on their own most of the time. Sharing validates their good practices and (if the teacher is rigorously intellectually honest) corrects malpractice.
Online sharing (listservs, etc.) probably reaches more teachers than just face-to-face seminars and conferences, and there's more give and take online. Both these aspects probably grow the practice. But online sharing probably loses a large proportion of older and very new teachers because they are the folks least likely to tolerate or comprehend the worst aspect of online sharing -- graduate students dueling in the argot of theory. Grad students by nature are True Believers. They ignore those not washed in the blood of their particular lamb. I wouldn't be surprised if, beneath the robes of every inquisitor, there beat the heart of a grad student.