Since I have always considered assigned writing an extension of classroom discussion, I hoped to draw more students into classroom conversations. With all dormitories hardwired, students have relatively easy access to networked computers, most from their rooms.
Many more classes make extensive use of email.
Early in my Vanderbilt career, I found that our students, while very bright, often were reluctant to disagree openly with one another in class. In response, I started to experiment with intensive collaboration in small groups, followed by plenary discussions. In what follows I first describe how CAI worked in basic composition and then in my advanced honors class. My conclusions bear on both kinds of course. Most basic writers devote too little time to invention.