Constituting Conventions of Practice: An Analysis of Academic Literacy and Computer Mediated Communication

Abstract

In this article we examine the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) with respect to the academic practices of students and instructors in university settings. Two questions framed this study: How are the literacy practices traditionally associated with academic work changing in light of new communicative technologies? And secondly, How do people learn to engage in these practices, particularly when the practice is new or developing and does not have clear rules or standards? An analysis of the relationship between language, technology and academic practice provides a key to responding to these questions. We examine this relationship in an academic context where a web based hypertext program was used as part of a doctoral seminar program. Based on our analysis we argue that an understanding of the language and literacy associated with CMC is essential if we are to learn how to engage thoughtfully and critically in this form of communicative practice. Further, we need to consider the educational value of new forms of reading and writing in a university setting, to take responsibility for making explicit the conventions and norms of these practices, and to make judgments about the pedagogical and social values associated with this technology.