Lesson Plans for the Computer-Enhanced Classroom . The following exercises are meant to aid instructors who are teaching composition courses and who have access to a computer lab during class time.  Some of the exercises can certainly be adapted for out-of-class use; others more or less require computer use during class time.  Symbols next to each exercise will indicate at quick glance whether the lesson deals primarily with email , searching the Web , or word-processing .  You may use the bookshelf at page bottom to navigate. Basic Word-Processing Exercise Intended both as a learning exercise for the student and a diagnostic tool for the instructor.  Covers elements needed in academic writing such as footnotes, citing titles, numbering pages, etc. Email "Shared Story" Familiarizes students with sending and receiving email, as well as generating a complete list of email addresses of the class participants. Search Engine Exercise Introduces students to how search engines operate, and the fact that different search engines produce different results.  Gives pointers for more effective searching. Netiquette Discussion An outline of how to set a basic standard for class discourse for the semester, and to have students become aware of some of the conventions of various electronic discourse communities. "Movie Page" analysis Helps students see web pages as "texts" that have purpose, audience, author, genre, context, and so on.  Students are encouraged to analyze web sites in rhetorical terms;  exercise aims to help students become critical of sources, and call into question notions of "objectivity". Email Conferencing Increases student familiarity with email, while at the same time providing a hands-on example of what sorts of communication tasks email is less suited for.  In general, helps raise student awareness of the connectedness of form and purpose in writing; gets them to think about the "right tool for the job". ... or Back to the Resources For Composition Instructors Page . Page last modified September 7th, 1999