Introduction
Facing the Future of Electronic Publishing

Enculturation, Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 2002

Making it Happen: Classroom Boundaries and Electronic Publishing

When Byron Hawk invited Academic.Writing to participate in this special issue, I recognized a unique opportunity to expand the debate about publishing online and to provide a set of high quality, well written articles about publishing online. As we move into publication, I'm pleased to be a part of this special issue not only because it provides a new means of advancing the debate about online publishing, but because of the quality of the articles included in the issue. Two of those articles appear in Academic.Writing and, as might be expected given our mission, both deal with pedagogical implications of publishing online. Peter Sands has written a thoughtful, detailed reflection on his efforts to integrate webzines into his teaching of writing. His reasons for using webzines go to the heart of all writing instruction: enhancing students' understanding of audience and purpose, and providing them with the opportunity to work within an authentic set of rhetorical constraints. Peter's article is both well informed and well grounded. Writing teachers interested in options for enhancing their students' understanding of rhetorical situation will be well served by it.

While Peter Sands' has written a traditional, linear article, Carl Whithaus provides a hypertextual contribution to this issue. Carl's hypertext essay traces the historical trajectory of word processing, calling our attention (often playfully, but always with good sense and an awareness of the implications of the choices his readers might make) to the implications of the evolution of word processing technologies for classroom practices and students' understanding of writing situation. This year's winner of the Hugh Burns Dissertation Award, Carl draws on his careful analysis of word processing technologies to create a well written and insightful analysis of the place--and potential impacts--of electronic publishing in our classrooms.

— MP

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