Stuart Selber

Stuart Selber, associate professor of English and science, technology, and society examined the changing nature of instruction sets in online environments, including “web 2.0” environments such as wikis, online user forums, and others as a 2009 Faculty Fellow. He researched and developed a rhetoric for online/electronic instruction sets which can be applied by teachers of technical writing and by instructional designers responsible for documentation, a framework largely lacking in many current technical writing textbooks. TLT staff collaborating with Selber were Elizabeth Pyatt, Erin Long, and Mary Janzen.

During the 2010-11 academic year, Selber and Michael Faris, graduate teaching assistant, have piloted the use of the iPad tablet computer in English 202C Technical Writing. Updates on the project as well as reflections by Faris and the students involved can be found at http://blogs.tlt.psu.edu/projects/ipad/blog/.

Latest News

PSU Students Test Drive iPads in Courses: Jan. 24, 2011 by Jeff Preval, WTAJ. For some Penn State students note taking is going to a new level. Last year, the Education Technology Services Unit or ETS at Penn State bought 40 iPads for students in selected courses.

Students use iPads in technical writing: Jan. 24, 2011 by Anna Orso, The Daily Collegian. When Alex Ulkus found out she would be receiving a free iPad for the semester, she said she was most excited about being able to "Facebook creep" all the time. But after Ulkus realized her new gadget would be used to write papers and take quizzes for her Effective Writing: Technical Writing (ENGL 202C) course, she said her outlook changed.

Students test-drive iPads in technical writing course: Jan. 17, 2011 by Rebekka Coakley, Live. Niko Kovacevic, a Penn State junior studying math and computer science, originally wasn't thrilled about fulfilling the technical writing requirement for his major. What he didn't know was that he would be getting an Apple iPad for the fall semester to use for his course work—no strings attached.

Project explores potential for use of iPad in education at Penn State: Sept. 30, 2010 by Jamie Oberdick, TLT. A Penn State faculty member and two graduate students are working on a project with Education Technology Services staff to find ways to integrate the iPad into education.

Students to Use iPads in English Class: Aug. 19, 2010 by Noah Simmons, Onward State. For years, universities have been sweetening the deal of attending their institutions by providing students with "free" technology.

Stuart Selber explores how social Web 2.0 features change the nature of how-to instructions: Sept. 29, 2009 by Mary Janzen, TLT. This fall, students in ENGL 202C Technical Writing will encounter a new framework describing the spectrum of "how-to" instructions from traditional, fixed instructions to those readers can comment on and rate—or even edit themselves, thanks to Web 2.0 technologies.

Summer 2009 TLT Faculty Fellows begin investigations into teaching tools: June 18, 2009 by Mary Janzen, TLT. Four Penn State faculty members are working with TLT staff to explore technologies and their potential for learning.

Final entry in Symposium video series challenges viewers: Apr. 16, 2009 by Jeff Swain, TLT. Stuart Selber, associate professor of English, Jeanette Novakovich, lecturer, Matt Weiss, Graduate Assistant are redefining literacy in a Penn State technical writing course, and are talking about it in the latest Symposium video.