Extended abstract: Dynamic rhetorics: Incorporating programming into the technical communication curriculum

This panel argues for a curriculum-wide model of programming. Computer languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and ActionScript support the creation of electronic texts that are visual, interactive, and hyperlinked. Creating those texts at the level of source code, as programming, creates significant affordances for students to learn more deeply the dynamic rhetorical implications of information they must convey to their audiences electronically. Each panelist describes concrete classroom examples that demonstrate significant student learning achieved through code-level text construction that builds upon standard, familiar curricular emphases on writing, rewriting, and research.