Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments
Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments explores digital authorship through a focused study of digital platforms. This course blends theory and practice, emphasizing collaborative writing, content management, and rhetorical strategy in online spaces. Students will tackle real-world design and publishing challenges while critically engaging with issues of credibility, accessibility, and digital influence, preparing them to lead and innovate in digital environments.
Introduction
NMAC 5108: Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments explores the interplay of theory and practice in digital composition and publishing. This course investigates the dynamic evolution of writing within digital platforms, emphasizing the rhetorical, technical, and ethical considerations of producing and managing content in online spaces. Students will examine the role of digital writing in shaping personal, professional, and community narratives, with particular attention to collaborative and participatory environments such as Wikipedia.
Through hands-on projects, students will develop practical skills in digital authorship, content curation, and design, while critically engaging with questions of credibility, accessibility, and the digital public sphere. The course is project-driven, encouraging students to tackle real-world challenges in rhetorical delivery, digital collaboration, and content management across diverse digital platforms. By the end of the course, students will have enhanced their capacity to navigate and contribute meaningfully to complex digital ecosystems.
Sections
| Term | CRN | Class | Day and Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2025 | 23601 | NMAC 5108.01 | Online ⚠️ 2nd | - |
| 25300 | NMAC 5108.02 | - |
Catalog Description
This course examines composition through the theory and practice of digital writing. It examines the ongoing evolution of writing and publishing in digital environments and its impact on personal, professional, and community-based projects. It prepares graduate students to analyze and solve design problems related to rhetorical delivery and content management in digital and online contexts. Individual and collaborative projects will require students to work flexibly across various digital platforms.
Goals
In this course, you will use lessons, texts, and daily practice to improve your writing for the screen while developing your online, professional persona. Specifically, students will develop:
- writing skills most appropriate for several platforms on digital media;
- a professional persona that targets a specific expert community; and
- a collaborative sense of composition.
You will read, write, and workshop (discuss each other’s work online for the purpose of improvement). Though this class teaches you how to target a digital audience and the skills for publishing the web, it is not a technology class; it is primarily a writing class, though we will address various digital media throughout. That said, our primary concern is writing, not the tech we do it with.
Student Learning Outcomes
By successfully completing the course, students will demonstrate:
- the ability to analyze and evaluate issues in new media and communication;
- proficiency writing for the web; and
- proficiency collaborating on a writing project.
| NMAC 5108: Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments | |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite | Meet Graduate Certificate Admissions Requirements or Permission of Graduate Program Coordinator. |
| Description | NMAC 5108 expands the definition of writing through the theory and practice of digital writing. It examines the ongoing evolution of writing and publishing in digital environments and its impact on personal, professional, and community-based projects. It prepares graduate students to analyze and solve design problems related to rhetorical delivery and content management in digital and online contexts. Individual and collaborative projects will require students to work flexibly across various digital platforms. |
| Credit Hours | 3 |
| Additional Info | Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments supports the Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and Digital Communication Program at Middle Georgia State University. Before attempting this course — especially if you've never taken one fully online — you might consider the implications. |