Rebecca B. King

rking@mtsu.edu

Maria Bachman

English

Smart Classroom

Peck Hall 325

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The English Department teaches 200+ sections of composition classes each semester, serving most mostly non-majors in first-year, upper division and graduate courses. Currently, only five computer classrooms exist in Peck Hall for scheduling writing courses, including three that are first scheduled for 1010K classes that enroll at-risk students. For most writing classes, we compete across campus for computer space. However, best practices in teaching composition include fostering digital literacy through a variety of processes that require computers. For example, the Literacy for Life-focused ENGL1010 and the revamped ENGL1020 require multimodal components. As part of a long-term plan to teach all writing courses in computer classrooms at least one session weekly, this proposal involves converting Peck Hall 325 into a computer classroom. Through careful scheduling, adding this computer classroom will allow us to schedule 15 more sections of writing classes once-per-week in computer writing classrooms. The classroom will also foster the training of graduate students in composition pedagogy. This room, now a traditional classroom, was once the computer lab for the University Writing Center. Much of the infrastructure remains, thus minimizing construction costs. Costs involve providing 19 computer units with cloud connection; work space to house them; an instructor module; and appropriate seating. Portable tables already in the room will be reused for a central work space. We use ITD’s managed printing services to minimize costs.