Documenting the long, proud history of OWI pedagogy

I'm psyched to share that a Computers and Composition article I co-authored with my four fantastic colleagues Jessie Borgman, Amy Cicchino, Heidi Skurat Harris, and Casey McArdle has now been published: "From correspondence to cloud: The history of research and online writing instruction"(1). 

As we describe in the abstract, in the article "we explore the historical trajectory of OWI through five distinct eras." Starting in the 1980s, we provide a detailed review of "landmark publications, organizational initiatives, educational crises, and technological inflection points to trace how OWI evolved into a sophisticated area of inquiry and practice." For 40 years, OWI has been driving innovation in Rhetoric & Composition/Writing Studies, carving out its own clear existence as a field.

Thinking ahead, especially with the issues posed by AI/LLMs for writing instruction, we close "with recommendations for how OWI can build on its rich history to address new and ongoing challenges."

The article includes a timeline of significant technology, distance ed, and OWI events as well as an extensive bibliography. 

I hope you have a chance to check it out. And if all goes well, several of my co-authors and I will be talking more about it in a Computers and Composition-supported round table at CCCC in 2027.

Note:

1) Borgman, Jessie, Amy Cicchino, Heidi Skurat Harris, Casey McArdle, and Scott Warnock. "From correspondence to cloud: The history of research and online writing instruction." Computers and Composition 80 (June 2026).