Messenger - Vol. 4, No. 3, Page T-4 1995 On Technology A way with words in UD's Writing Center Writers of the past were concerned mainly with stringing words together using ink on paper. With the advent of typewriters and computers, writers began to revise and manipulate their work more freely. These days, students in the University's writing program are beginning to "write" with sound and pictures as well as words-thanks to new multi-media technologies. Using sound cards and compact discs that can be read by computers, it's now possible to embed an audio track or moving pictures into a written text, says Marcia Peoples Halio, assistant professor of English and assistant director of the UD's writing program. In this way, she says, an essay about the late John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech could be enhanced by a sound clip or film from the actual event. Recently, a student emphasized the volatile nature of the abortion controversy by adding sounds of clinic protestors to a multi-media essay on the topic. In the 21st century, Halio says, creating such documents will require a "new literacy." Because the English department's computer lab is linked to the information superhighway, she adds, students already are learning how to write on-line. Methods for writing and revising documents using standard word- processing software are emphasized in a freshman English course. Writing exercises cover brainstorming, list-making and writing for different ethnic audiences. "Too often, students use computers as very expensive typewriters, and we want them to do much more," says Halio. "They should know how to block off a chunk of text and move it around, how to complete on-line revisions and how to work with a split screen, so that they're looking at their notes on one side of the screen while also working on a document." James M. Dean, associate professor of English, uses electronic resources to teach undergraduate and graduate literature courses. Graduate students, for example, may fulfill an optional requirement by hopping onto the information superhighway. Multi-media software lets students view stunning images, via the Internet, from a manuscript of Beowulf, the first major literary work in English. "I wanted students to know that the carefully edited texts they were reading in class were quite different from the original manuscript," Dean explains. Dean also has asked students to store translations and other work on computers in the University's writing laboratory. Because the documents are stored in a shared electronic "workspace," students can consult with one another. In this way, Dean's students have collaborated on translations of documents such as The Battle of Brunanburh, an Old English poem.