Call for Submissions

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

1ST ANNUAL SCISSORTAIL WRITERS FESTIVAL

FEATURED AUTHOR:MARK COX
Award winning author of __Smoulder__,__Thirty-seven Years from the Stone__, __Natural Causes__, and other works

April 6-7, 2006
East Central University
Ada, Oklahoma

*Possible submissions: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, mixed genre, or performance pieces involving text (15-20 minutes reading time).
*We are open to any form of creative work, traditional or experimental. We embrace "variorums of variation." Writers may address any subject, and they may also use the opportunity to perform work about the region or examine the idea of regional identity, etc.
*Email submissions are encouraged. Submit a brief cover letter with contact information and a brief career narrative with a short sample of the work to be performed. If the submission is electronic, the career narrative and sample may either be in the body of the email or attached as separate files.
*Festival participants will not be charged registration fees.

Deadline for submission: March 3, 2006
Notification by March 17, 2006

Send submissions or inquiries to:

Dr. Hugh Tribbey, Scissortail Festival Board Chair
Department of English and Languages
East Central University
Box P-1
Ada, OK 74820
Email: htribbey@mailclerk.ecok.edu

Sponsored by the ECU Cultural Affairs Committee, the ECU Foundation, Ada Arts and Humanities Council, and the Oklahoma Arts Council.

Responsibility

I saw a survey recently in which someone had polled local instructors on what they believed was the single most important thing students needed to learn in order to be more successful in college. By far, the most common answer was responsibility.

How would you answer this question?

Paperless Classrooms

I know people have been talking about and experiementing with paperless environments in composition for a long time, but this is the first time I've actually tried it myself. I'd be interested in hearing from people who have more experience with these sorts of electronic tricks (or treats?) in the classroom.

I'm using an online program that comes with our textbook. The students upload papers for peer reviews and for instructor comments and grades. There are drop down menus that allow the instructor to insert automatic comments in the papers along with pointers to the handbook and to exercises on particular errors. McGrading, I suppose.

As with anything, this has its ups and downs. I think it will work well for me in that I have big class loads and limited time for individual attention to the students. I also have students who need extra help with grammar, and I work in a place that does not have a writing center. The online classroom does give students the opportunity to seek more help on their own should they so desire.

The downside, I think, is that the students who "don't get it" and tend to fall by the digital wayside are the ones who are in greatest need of the extra pointers and exercises and online resources.

Thoughts, anyone?