The English Department at Old Dominion University launched its doctoral program in Fall 2006 — a program that includes a New Media and Professional Writing track. Given this emphasis, the program provides a reasonable opportunity to examine new media production options. Using the university’s LEO Online web registration interface, I generated lists of all graduate level courses offered by the English department over a two-year period (Fall 2006 – Spring 2008) and requested the resulting course syllabi from the English Department. In the table presented below, the number of syllabi (166) differs from the total number of courses listed (188) because some 700/800 split-level courses utilized one syllabus for both offerings. I obtained syllabi for nearly two-thirds of the courses offered over that period.

In reviewing this data, I read each course syllabus and coded it based on whether it offered a new media composition opportunity. I included those syllabi specifically naming multimodal, alternative compositions as acceptable or those requiring the use of digital tools commonly associated with new media compositions such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, or video/sound editing software (regardless of multimodality). The language outlining such assignments varied and, in some cases, the syllabi were unclear. If a web address was provided, I reviewed the available online documentation to ascertain the nature of the assignment. I also noted whether the new media project was required or optional. It is important to recognize that this research may not be generalizable beyond the Old Dominion University English Department doctoral program. However, I believe that this analysis surfaces critical issues and allows comparisons to other findings in a broader context.

New media at ODU • Limited opportunities • An unduplicated count • Works cited • Home