Core Projects

The Penn State Digital English Studio provides support for a wide range of digital projects in the English department. Our areas of focus are pedagogy, usability, and strategy.

We Operate Studio Space

The Penn State Digital English Studio operates a physical studio with equipment for producing new media projects, and we have equipment people can borrow to help them do their work. Most importantly, we provide rhetorical design perspectives on how to think about the evolving nature of digital texts, practices, and contexts.

We Design Distance Education Courses

The Digital English Studio oversees the English department’s distance education courses. We are responsible for distance versions of Basic Writing (English 04), First-Year Composition (English 15), Writing for the Social Sciences (English 202A), Technical Writing (English 202C), Business Writing (English 202D), Article Writing (English 215), and Creative Writing (English 50). In addition, we are developing an English minor for the Penn State World Campus. This minor will include several new online courses, including Advanced Technical Writing (English 418), Writing for the Web (English 420), and Communication Design for Writers (English 480). A discussion-based approach informs our thinking about pedagogy, instructional design, and delivery. Our development platform is Canvas.

We Support a Teaching with Technology Certificate

The Digital English Studio assists graduate students and lecturers in English who are working to earn a Teaching with Technology Certificate from the College of Liberal Arts. We help people craft teaching with technology philosophy statements and other reflective materials, integrate technology into their courses, and design digital teaching portfolios.

We Design and Maintain Websites

The Digital English Studio designs and maintains websites for the English department, including the department’s main site and sites for the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, the Center for American Literary Studies, and the Visual Studies Dual-Title PhD Program. Our development platform is Plone.

We Manage Social Media Assets

The Digital English Studio manages the English department’s social media assets on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Our management activities involve defining audiences and purposes for posts, establishing conventions for posts, capturing content for posts, and leveraging Web analytics.