Course Site Serves Current and Future Poetry Students

Daniel Tobin
Chair
Writing, Literature and Publishing

When Dan Tobin, chair of the Writing, Literature and Publishing department, first sat down with the Instructional Technology Group to discuss the course Web site for LI651 Seminar in Poetry, he made it clear that the site needed to serve two groups of students: those currently enrolled in the class and those who will take the seminar down the road. Future seminar classes, Tobin noted, would likely use the same course site.

This long-range view played a important role in the design of LI651. Tobin provided the Instructional Technology Group with a host of hard-copy poems and essays, which were transitioned into PDF and HTML form. The move from hard-copy to digital ensures the material can easily be ported from semester to semester. These poems were arranged according to the flow of the course. The introductory material is presented in one section, followed by "Music," "Structure," "Imagination," and "Story."

The visual elements in the LI651 course site are drawn from the poetic imagery noted in the class material. As students move throughout the site, their classroom experience is expanded by images such as an old woman's hands, a distant galaxy, ancient ruins and a man/moth photo illustration inspired by Elizabeth Bishop's poem "The Man-Moth" (see image, below). Select quotes are also woven into the pages to further deepen the connection between text and imagery.

In an effort to bring the auditory elements of poetry to the course site, Tobin read six poems in a recording session. These readings were then posted as downloadable audio clips amidst the text-based material on the course Web site. The intermingling of text and audio material provides a subtle illustration of the bond between written and spoken words.

For help designing your course site, please contact the Instructional Technology Group at x8961.

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