Databases and Collaborative Spaces for Composition

Introduction

Matt Barton and Charles Lowe | May 2006

• Introduction
• Open Source CMS's
• What Is an Open Source Content Management System?
• Why Not an Open Source Learning Management System?
• What Does This Mean for Teaching?
• Open Source CMS Conclusion
• Microsoft Sharepoint
• Why Sharepoint?
• Sharepoint and Writing Program Administration
• Sharepoint and First Year Writing
• Sharepoint Conclusion
• Final Thoughts

In the past fifteen years, computer-based writing instruction has moved from using communication and collaborative tools such as MOO's and the Deadalus Interactive Writing Environment to browser-based content management systems (CMS), software which is fast becoming indispensable for many teachers of first-year composition. Like many of their colleagues in other departments, compositionists find these systems helpful for calculating students' grades, receiving and archiving their work electronically, providing access to course texts and materials, and communicating synchronously or asynchronously with their students.

However, while most universities offer an education-specific CMS--campus-wide learning management system (LMS) like Blackboard, WebCT, or Desire2Learn--some compositionists find these systems restrictive and awkward. In classes where visual rhetoric and presentation is important, the pre-defined look and limited configuration options of these sites can be problematic. Other compositionists might yearn to try a new technology like FLASH, blogs, moos, or wikis, but find that their campus' LMS does not offer or allow them. Finally, others just want to have more direct control over their class web site and thus prefer the flexibility and rich features of a full CMS, such as Drupal, Tikiwiki, or Microsoft Sharepoint Team Services.

In the pages that follow, Matt discusses the key features of Sharepoint (ease of use, integration with Microsoft Office, document sharing) and the experiences he and Joe Moxley had using the tool to direct the first-year writing program at the University of South Florida. Charlie then presents a general overview of open source CMS's contextualized in his experimentation with them and the issues involved in choosing an open source application over a proprietary system. We conclude by addressing technical questions such as how to install a CMS, the advantages that open source CMS's and Sharepoint have over Blackboard or WebCT, and how students might use either system to facilitate public writing and peer reviewing.

All content copyright © 2006 by the authors. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

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