Wiki+creator+and+contributors

This **Online Collaborative Writing Wiki** was created in late April - early May 2007 by Amanda Goldrick-Jones (aka [|GlamorousGrammar]).

For longer than I want to say(!), I've been teaching undergraduate-level composition/academic writing and rhetoric courses as well as technical/professional communication. Currently coordinating writing support for all levels of students at Simon Fraser University (in Burnaby, right next door to Vancouver, BC), I've taught at the University of British Columbia and at Langara College (both also in Vancouver); at Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. in Troy, NY; and at the University of Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Grounding my philosophy of teaching writing on the premise that writing is a social process, I've incorporated peer review and/or collaborative writing assignments in as many of my writing courses as possible. Then in 1999-2000, I entered cyberspace and began developing writing courses taught wholly online. I wanted to incorporate student teamwork and collaborative writing in those courses as well ... and found the learning curve very steep indeed. Fortunately, starting in 2005, I had the opportunity to take five MA-level credit courses toward a certificate in Technology Based Distributed Learning, offered by UBC's [|Master of Educational Technology Program]. I began this wiki as the capstone project for my final course in this program--an independent study focusing on building learning communities in online writing spaces.

It's a gross understatement to say I learned a great deal from this program about online teaching practices, rationales for course design, and the nature of online learning communities. But the learning never stops...nor should it, especially when one teaches for a living. Nor can one person working alone, however qualified, hope to "know everything" about all "best practices" or always succeed in incorporating them into teaching.

In that collaborative spirit, I hope anyone with experience and interest in teaching collaborative writing (whether face-to-face or cyberspace) will contribute to and/or edit this wiki. And when you do, please add your bio to this page!