What is <emma>? <emma> stands for Electronic Markup and Management Application. By using XML and open source editing software, <emma> enables * writing, editing and posting compositions * collaborating on and evaluating texts * web-based collecting, modifying, distributing, rendering and archiving of student and professional writing * creating and maintaining portfolios The project, initially conceived as an aid to the First Year Composition program, has grown into an environment that supports a wide variety of reading, writing, and research projects. Faculty and students use <emma> to support coursework, share files and ideas, and conduct research. The <emma> Project If you are interested in test driving <emma>, please contact Ron Balthazor at [email protected].

<emma> and Doctoral Education <emma> was conceived in the 2001-2002 academic year as a way to harness the capabilities of XML. From the beginning, graduate students in both the composition and humanities computing programs were involved in the development of this tool. Beginning in the fall of 2005, <emma> will be used by all graduate students as an integral part of their teaching in the first year composition program and as the vehicle for their own graduate portfolio. Participation in <emma>'s ongoing development is open to all interested participants in the department. Currently, graduate students work on a variety of development projects, including documentation, template development, and interface design. Additionally, <emma> has facilitated the collection of data for two dissertation projects, with more conceived for future research.

<emma> as Collaborative Research Tool In a field where scholarship is often solitary, <emma> provides a collaborative environment that mirrors the types of professional work relationships students in humanities computing will encounter. Simply put, doctoral students interested in this growing area of scholarship can engage with a practical project. Aside from the practical aspects, though, students can also devise their own or participate in current research projects that utilize data gathered through the program. <emma> houses tens of thousands of student documents; student engagement with theoretical material can lead to a variety of research opportunities.

What data or evidence tells us that this works? Doctoral students are actively involved in <emma>'s development. As instructors in the First Year Composition program, they are able to create writing environments that meet their individual pedagogical needs. Those interested in the more technical aspects of software development participate in the <emma> Working Group, a committee of faculty, staff, and students who work on ongoing development and enhancement. Doctoral students also regularly make presentations on their <emma> work. In addition to the work that students do in developing the project, a clear marker of effectiveness is demonstrated by student use of the technology to further their own scholarly work. Angela Mitchell Miss's dissertation, Remarkable Texts: The Techne of Memory and Delivery and the Twenty-first Century Classroom (2004), used data gathered through <emma> to ascertain the connection between classical rhetoric and contemporary technology. Anita DeRouen's dissertation project, "'A Way of Happening': Using XML Technologies in Poetry Reading", is studying student engagement with poetic texts by analyzing student's recorded readings of poems.

Reflection from Nelson Hilton, Department Head In the classroom, <emma> facilitates greater collaborative learning--book reports or work-in-progress, for instance, can be easily shared and cross-referenced across the web. For the advisor or mentor, <emma> permits an efficient, detailed, up-to-the-minute experience of the student's actual work before a meeting. Most importantly,<emma> makes more literally visible and more accessible to reflection and review the media in which, as students of inscription, we live, move, and have our being and our future. The knowledge that one is learning a techne essential to the coming world is reassuring, positive, and empowering.

Reflection from Teggin Chamberlain, Doctoral Student As a graduate student and graduate teaching assistant in a doctoral program, <emma> has had a significant positive impact on my doctoral experience. <emma> is highly relevant to my doctoral fields of interest, Rhetoric and Composition, Theory and Humanities Computing, so it offers a fertile area for my own study and practice. In addition to its usefulness in my areas of research, <emma> provides an accessible online environment for collaboration with graduate students and professors. I have been able to participate, through distance learning, in an online directed reading with two professors. Through <emma> we were able to share, view and comment on many different documents, and we were even able to view and comment on a visual diagram that I created and then uploaded. Using <emma> I am also currently working with a group of graduate students, collaborating on our panel presentation for an upcoming conference.