Composing the Canvas Course: Reconceptualizing Faculty as Multimodal Composers in the Canvas LMS
Abstract/Description/Artist Statement
In fields ranging from Writing Studies to Education, research frequently centers on students as multimodal composers, yet the faculty who design and author the digital environments in which learning occurs are generally overlooked. This project investigates the “double-bind” faced by higher education faculty: the tension between traditional expectations of academic scholarship and the demands of teaching in an increasingly technological world (Archer & Breuer, 2016). Through examination and synthesis of 13 key sources across Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing Studies and Instructional Design and Technology, this project reconceptualizes the Canvas LMS as a mediated, rhetorical text. Through a thematic mapping of the literature, from Bazerman’s (2017) theory of socially situated writing to Simpkins’ (2023) framing of course documents as “rhetorical ciphers”, this inquiry identifies a critical research gap: the lack of attention to faculty as intentional multimodal writers in the course development process. Ultimately, this project reveals that course design is a sophisticated act of scholarly composition, advocating for a shift in how institutions and scholarly discourse recognize and support the labor of digital pedagogy.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Thea Williamson
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Email
t19willia@odu.edu
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department
English
College/School Affiliation
College of Arts & Letters
Student Level Group
Graduate/Professional
Presentation Type
Poster
Composing the Canvas Course: Reconceptualizing Faculty as Multimodal Composers in the Canvas LMS
In fields ranging from Writing Studies to Education, research frequently centers on students as multimodal composers, yet the faculty who design and author the digital environments in which learning occurs are generally overlooked. This project investigates the “double-bind” faced by higher education faculty: the tension between traditional expectations of academic scholarship and the demands of teaching in an increasingly technological world (Archer & Breuer, 2016). Through examination and synthesis of 13 key sources across Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing Studies and Instructional Design and Technology, this project reconceptualizes the Canvas LMS as a mediated, rhetorical text. Through a thematic mapping of the literature, from Bazerman’s (2017) theory of socially situated writing to Simpkins’ (2023) framing of course documents as “rhetorical ciphers”, this inquiry identifies a critical research gap: the lack of attention to faculty as intentional multimodal writers in the course development process. Ultimately, this project reveals that course design is a sophisticated act of scholarly composition, advocating for a shift in how institutions and scholarly discourse recognize and support the labor of digital pedagogy.