how a system birthed dialogs

How a System Birthed Dialogs: The Place of Technology in

Writing Centers

Presented by:Peter Ellis, Information Technology Manager

Sandra Yannone, Director of the Writing Center

The Evergreen State College Writing Center

2007 Pacific Northwest Writing Center Association ConferenceAt Whatcom Community College, Bellingham, WA

Session Outline

• 10 minutesThe “Big Picture”: How has technology changed our operations?

• 10 minutesHow a dialog birthed a system

• 10 minutesHow a system birthed dialogs

• 30 minutes (interspersed)Questions and answers, general discussion

The “Big Picture”

• 2001-2002: Technology priorities– Create dynamic web site that reflects Center

philosophy– Move from paper to computer-based

scheduling (not necessarily web-based)

• Fall 2002: Web site manager hired

• Conversation: What does our web site do for us?

Writing Center Web SiteMarch 18, 2003Courtesy archive.org


• Fall 2003: Peter hired as tutor– How did this change the dynamic?

• Scheduling is done via Excel spreadsheet

• Summer/Fall 2004: AccuTrack for scheduling

• Web site conversation: evaluation content


• Fall 2005: Student Originated Software begins work on new scheduling system

• Priority of the web site becomes nearly nonexistent during system development


• Winter 2006: Return to Excel spreadsheets for primary scheduling

• Spring 2006: Presentation at 2006 PNWCA conference on philosophical approaches to Writing Center web sites, as well as the pre-conference session


• August 2006: Information Technology Manager position begins and the conversation broadens…


• What’s the common thread?– It’s not technology….– It’s that everything we’ve done is born out of

conversation.

• Our web site as a result of ongoing conversation:http://www.evergreen.edu/writingcenter/

http://www.evergreen.edu/writingcenter/




• But there are still more questions…– Should the Information Technology Manager

position continue?– Is its impact significant enough to warrant a

continued line item in our biennial budget?

Questions? Comments?

Session Outline





How a Dialog Birthed a System

• Scheduling system proposed as project in mid-Fall of 2005– What were Sandy’s concerns?

• Project turned into two-person project with addition of Conrad Gudgel

How Dialog Birthed a System

• Internal conversation between developers and Sandy about how Writing Center approaches its work

• Conversation broadened to include Network Services to work out technical details


• Our perception of the Writing Center’s work has already changed at end of Fall– Explicit statements of our business rules

begun– Realization that we had the ability to create a

solution that worked for everyone


• Winter quarter, weekly conversations continue to narrow down specifics of Writing Center operations

• Conversation with Network Services about technical details continues throughout the quarter

• Weekly conversations with Student Originated Software faculty continues to inform development process


• Focus group helps to provide a secondary perspective – that of tutors working day-to-day with appointment scheduling

• System coded to usable point by Spring• Early April, meeting with Registrar to demo

the system and address concerns regarding access to Banner for student information– We end up getting more than we asked for.


• What is a usability test?– Method of checking developer’s ideas of what

system looks like against reality– Method of gaining user feedback

• Two usability tests done for system

• How do all these conversations interact?

Questions? Comments?

Session Outline





How a System Birthed Dialogs

• Sandy: Why bother with a hire?

• How has that affected our conversations?


• Conversation topics since the IT Manager’s hire:– How to communicate with other campus units– Scheduling system– Web site– Article for Writing Lab Newsletter

• How is technology approached in writing centers?

– Tutor training– Handout development


• More conversation topics:– Technology budget and grant proposals– Shared drive

• Institutional memory• Collaborating with College Archivist• Policy creation


• Position begins in August with staff retreat planning

• Fall quarter begins – issues with equipment replacement

• Shared drive access/data maintenance policy

• Benchmark statistics collection• Scheduling system used in Prime Time• Web site changes


• The big changes at the end of Fall Quarter:– Technical communication is mostly routed

through Information Technology Manager– Reactive vs. preventative


• Winter Quarter starts off with conversations regarding technology funding– PLATO

• College-wide review of information technology takes place – we’re not part of it, but we learn from it


• Web site change: posting Inkwell and Ink, Paper, Conversation

• Meeting with Registration and Records regarding new College policy using student e-mail as primary contact point

• Drastic appointment system changes

• Statistics gathering continues


• Spring 2007 (so far…)– Preliminary biennium budget proposal– Scheduling system now in regular use in main

Center– Shared drive is opened for general staff use

how a system birthed dialogs

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