Links

• Curriculum Vita
  • Education
  • Distinctions
  • Teaching
  • WPA
  • Publications
  • Presentations
  • Professional Experience
  • Technology Administration
  • Service
  • Web Development
  • Technology Experience
  • References
• Research Projects
• Web Training
• Miscellaneous E
• Courses
• Main Index

Curriculum Vita

Microsoft Word Version || Adobe PDF Version

Department of English
PO Box 2035
Niagara University NY 14109-2035

(716) 286-8631 (office) || (716) 286-8038 (fax) || ekarper@niagara.edu

Education

Ph.D., English, Purdue University (2004)
Primary area: rhetoric and composition
Secondary areas: rhetoric, technology and digital writing; professional writing

M.A., English, Purdue University (2000)
Specialization: rhetoric and composition

B.A., Writing and Spanish, Loyola College in Maryland (1998)
Honors: summa cum laude
Minor: French

Awards, Honors, Distinctions

• Scholarship of Teaching Grant, Niagara University, 2006
• Technology Maven Award, Computers and Writing Conference, 2003
• Kairos/Lore TA/Adjunct Award for Distinguished Service, 2003
• First Finalist, Janice M. Lauer Dissertation Fellowship, 2003
• Information Technology at Purdue Digital Content Development Grant (Dr. Linda Bergmann, Principal Investigator), 2003
• Teaching Assistantship, Department of English, Purdue University, 1998-2004
• Dean's List, Purdue University, 1998-2004
• Dean's List, Loyola College in Maryland, 1994-1998
• Renk Spanish Medal (awarded by Loyola College in Maryland), 1998
• Writing and Media Department Medal (awarded by Loyola College in Maryland), 1998
• Phi Beta Kappa, 1997
• Phi Delta Pi (national French honor society), 1997
• Sigma Delta Pi (national Spanish honor society), 1996

Professional Memberships

• Council for Programs on Technical and Scientific Communication
• Online Writing Center Consortium
• National Council of Teachers of English

Teaching Experience

Niagara University

Business Communication (Fall 2005)
Designed syllabus and course materials and taught all sections of a course on business communication, using three projects: writing for the job search, documenting a process, and creating a client-based recommendation report. Used laptop carts and created a course Web site.

Communication for Executives (Spring 2005)
Designed syllabus and course materials and taught all classes of a required graduate-level class in Niagara’s Saturday MBA program. The course covered various forms of business communication at the managerial level, including genres of business writing, oral communication (including conference calls and meetings), and use of technology in business communication. Used classroom technologies and created a course Web site.

Grant Writing (Spring 2005; Fall 2008)
Designed syllabus and course materials and taught all classes of a course on grant writing, focusing specifically on writing grants for non-profit organizations and institutions, including audience analysis, researching organizations, and writing persuasively. Used classroom technologies, laptop carts, online research journals, and created a course Web site.

Special Topics in Web Writing (Fall 2006)
Proposed course, designed syllabus and course materials, and taught all classes of an advanced course in Web writing focusing on collaborative and community-based writing. The course projects included two web-based research projects, an online discussion community for weekly readings, and a collaborative Web resource produced by the entire class. Used classroom technologies (including computer-based classroom), wikis, online journals, web and image design software, and created a course Web site.

Visual Rhetoric (Spring 2008)
Proposed course, designed syllabus and course materials, and taught all classes of a course on how visuals are used for rhetorical purposes. The course projects included a case study, an analysis paper, a visual redesign, and the production of a piece of visual rhetoric. Used classroom technologies (including computer-based classroom), web and image design software, and created a course Web site.

Writing and Thinking (Fall 2004-present )
Designed syllabus and course materials and taught all classes (including honors sections) of an informative and persuasive research-based writing course, taught all classes, conferenced with students, incorporated computer technology and created course Web sites.

Writing for the Web (Fall 2004; Fall 2005; Fall 2006; Fall 2007)
Designed syllabus and course materials and taught all classes of a course on writing for and with the World Wide Web, including genre theory, audience analysis, principles for Web writing and design, and development of the Web as a technology, taught in a computer-based classroom. Used classroom technologies, blogs, web and image design software, and created a course Web site.

Purdue University

Technical Writing (Fall 2002)
Designed syllabus and course materials for technical writing course, using a case-based approach with three major projects (analyzing professional documents, revising professional documents, and writing, testing, and revising documentation), taught all classes in computer networked classroom, conferenced with students, created course web site.

Professional Writing Practicum (Fall 2000, Spring & Fall 2001, Spring & Fall 2002)
In conjunction with various professional writing staff members, assisted in course planning, created course materials for learning about computer classroom technologies, taught sessions on using computer technologies, lead discussions related to professional development and pedagogical strategies, worked one-on-one with instructors, contributed materials to course web site.

English Composition I (Fall 1999, Spring 2000)
Designed syllabus and course materials for a computer-based research and exploratory writing course (projects included research papers, annotated bibliographies, personal web pages, group Web research projects), taught all classes in computer networked classroom, conferenced with students, created course web site and electronic and print course packs.

English Composition II (Spring 1999)
Designed syllabus and course materials for a research-based argumentative writing course, conferenced with students, incorporated computer technologies and created a course web page.

English Composition I (Fall 1998)
Designed syllabus and course materials for an expository, argumentative, and research-based writing course, conferenced with students, incorporated computer technology and created a course Web page.

Rassias Foundation, Dartmouth College

Assistant Teacher of Spanish, Advanced Language Program (Summer 1999)
Conducted language drills with beginning Spanish learners, and participated in one-on-one tutoring sessions with individual students.

Writing Program Administration Experience

Associate Director/ Assessment coordinator, WRT 100 Program (2005-2008)
Niagara University Department of English

Interviewed and hired new instructors; coordinated scheduling of approximately 25 sections per semester. Facilitated day-long instructional workshops for instructors; provided mentoring throughout the academic year.  Observed instructors and prepared evaluations.  Developed an outcomes assessment plan, collected samples, developed rubrics, hired raters, and wrote reports. Created common learning outcomes; chose textbooks and instructional materials; prepared resources for students and instructors, including program Web site.

Publications and Presentations

Publications

• Karper, Erin. “Web 2.0 and Literate Practices in an Undergraduate Course.” Computers and Composition Online. (forthcoming).
• Karper, Erin. “Design for Leaving: Revising the Purdue OWL for User-Searchability.” OWL History: Purdue's Experience and the Future of Online Writing Labs. Eds. Michael Salvo and Linda Bergmann. (forthcoming).
• Karper, Erin. “Collapsing Boundaries and Changing Literate Practices in a Web Writing Course.” New Technological Literacies: Thinking and Doing Across Multiple Modalities. Eds. Jason Swarts and Loel Kim. (forthcoming)
• Karper, Erin. “‘Make It Do or Do Without’: Transitioning from a Tech-Heavy to a Tech-Light Institution.” Technology in the Composition Classroom: Teaching on the Frontlines of the Have/Have Not Technology Battle. Eds. Lanette Cadle and Elizabeth Monske. Southern Illinois University Press (forthcoming).
• Karper, Erin. “Everyone and No One All At Once: Theorizing Audience Awareness in Web-Based Self-Presentation.”  Teaching Audience: Theory and Practice. Eds. Brian Fehler, Elizabeth Weiser, and Angela Gonzalez. NCTE Press. (forthcoming)
• Karper, Erin. Instructor's Flex-Files for the Thomson Handbook. Thomson-Wadsworth: 2007.
• Karper, Erin, and Karl Stolley. “New Wings for an Old OWL: Database Solutions for Small and Large-Scale Writing Center Web Sites.” Databases in Higher Education: New Media Discourse in Composition and Rhetoric. Ed. Rich Rice and Jeffrey White. Hampton Press: 2007. [in-press]
• Karper, Erin. “Focus on Research Column: Dissertation Research.” Business Communication Quarterly 68.3 (September 2005): 340.
• Karper, Erin. Encore MOO Guide (2nd Ed). 2003. <http://pw.english.purdue.edu/technologies/MOO/guide>.
• Karper, Erin. "Web Usability and Creating an OWL." in The OWL Construction and Maintenance Guide, ed. James A. Inman and Clint Gardner. IWCA Press: 2002.
• Bates, Jonathan, Ianetta, Melissa, and Erin Karper. Review of David Coogan's Electronic Writing Centers: Computing the Field of Composition. The Writing Lab Newsletter 22.8 (2001): 3.
• Huffman, Debrah, Karper, Erin, and Julie Woodford. "A Reading from The Book of Academics:  Or, A Creation Story." The Writing Instructor. 2001. <http://www.writinginstructor.com/digresso/creationstory.html>.

Conference Presentations

• “Literate Practices in a Web 2.0 Course.” Computers and Writing 2008. Georgia Tech University.
• “Theorizing Audience Awareness in Web-Based Self-Presentation." Computers and Writing 2007. Wayne State University.
• “Researching Beginning Web Design(ers): Then and Now.” Computers and Writing 2006. Texas Tech University.
• “Searching for Jobs in Computers and Composition.” Computers and Writing 2005. Stanford University.
• “Graduate Research Network.” Computers and Writing 2005. Stanford University.
• "Disciplinary Identity and WAC on the Web." Computers and Writing 2003. Purdue University.
• "Purdue's Online Writing Lab: Reaching New Frontiers." 2003 Teaching Learning and Technology Showcase. Purdue University.
• "Writing Underfoot: Using Sidewalk Chalk To Expand on Students’ Understandings of Genre." 2002 Conference on College Composition and Communication.
• "The Who, How, and Why of OWL Access." Computers and Writing 2002. Illinois State University.
• "Purdue's OWL and Multimedia." 2002 Teaching Learning and Technology Showcase. Purdue University.
• "Creating Virtual Spaces and Real Opportunities for Digital Publication." (full-day workshop with David Blakesley). Computers and Writing 2001. Ball State University.
• "OWL Are You?: Uses for and Users of Purdue's Online Writing Lab." Computers and Writing 2001. Ball State University.
• "The Purdue OWL: PowerPoints and Multimedia." 2001 Teaching Learning and Technology Showcase. Purdue University.
• "The ViEW Project." 2000 Teaching Learning and Technology Showcase. Purdue University.

Professional Experience

Educational Consulting

Thomson Publishers (2003-present)
Developed projects and exercises for The Thomson Handbook. Wrote instructor manual to accompany textbook.

Allyn and Bacon/Longman Publishers (2003-present)
Developed a chapter on visual and document design for Academic Research: Fields of Study and Inquiry. Reviewed textbooks and ancillary materials.

Prentice Hall (2000-present)
Developed a chapter on document design and web design for the Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers 6/e. Reviewed textbooks and ancillary materials for composition and Web writing textbooks.

Houghton Mifflin (2001-present)
Reviewed textbooks and ancillary materials.

Pearson (formerly Allyn and Bacon) (1999-2000)
Created content and edited web pages for Professional Writing Online, a web-based online textbook.

Technology Administration Experience

Online Writing Lab (OWL) Technical Coordinator (May 2000-August 2004)
Purdue University Writing Lab

OWL administrative/support tasks
Administered two servers which served as http://owl.english.purdue.edu (Purdue's Online Writing Lab/OWL). Administered electronic mailing lists. Supported online writing lab tutors in replying to over 1500 online tutoring requests per year.  Designed and revised materials (web pages, quizzes, graphics, workshops, and PowerPoint presentations) for the OWL website.  Redesigned the entire site in August of 2000. Hired and managed OWL consultants. Handled requests related to permissions, copyright and fair use issues.  Created and produced the Purdue OWL News, a weekly email newsletter with over 10,000 subscribers.  Generated yearly reports on OWL use. Promoted OWL at on and off-campus workshops, conferences, and other venues.

Writing Lab administrative/support tasks
Purchased, installed, configured and maintained computers and peripherals for the Writing Lab. Provided technical support to Writing Lab faculty and staff. Updated and maintained usage databases.  Generated reports. Answered grammar hotline calls. Collaborated with the Department of Child Development and Family Studies to develop print and online materials for a Writing Across the Curriculum initiative funded by an ITaP Digital Content Development Grant. Helped convert over twenty volumes of the Writing Lab Newsletter from print to digital format.

Technology Coordinator (August 2000-August 2004)
Purdue University Professional Writing Program

Administrative tasks
Helped run orientation sessions for new teaching assistants and provided mentoring. Provided technical support to program faculty and staff. Assisted the director with purchasing technology for the program. Provided support to staff using technologies in their classrooms. Helped coordinate the Technology and Pedagogy Showcase for 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, which included recruiting participants, creating publicity, and providing technical support. Redesigned the program's website in August of 2000.

Technology-related tasks
Administered three servers which provided web, mail, and file services for the Purdue University Professional Writing Program, the Purdue University Rhetoric and Composition Program, the Computers and Writing 2003 Conference, and The Writing Instructor. Produced documentation for using program technologies.  Upgraded and configured the Instructional Multimedia Production Lab (IMP), a small lab of Macintoshes, PCs, printers, and scanners and the Electronic Publication Lab (EPL), a small electronic publication lab.  Created MOO spaces, wwwthreads boards, online journals,  and mailing lists for faculty and staff. Generated reports on server use.

University Service

Niagara University English Department

Sigma Tau Delta Moderator (2006-present)
Served as the moderator for Niagara’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the national honor society for English majors.

WRT 100 Instructor Workshops (Fall 2005; Spring 2006; Fall 2006; Spring 2007; Fall 2007)
Planned and presented two-day or one-day workshops on learning outcomes, course planning, assignment development, commenting, assessment, universal design for learning, and library and technology use.

English Department Web Site Management and Design (2004-present)
Re-designed entire English, WRT 100, and Writing Minor Web sites. Created, revised, and edited Web site content; continue to update the Web site as needed. Created and moderate discussion group for English department students.

Graduate School Interest Group Moderator (2006-present)
Created an interest group to provide assistance and mentoring to English majors pursuing graduate studies. Recruited students; facilitated meetings; provided materials and support.

WRT 100 Technology Workshop (2005)
Presented workshop on using technologies in teaching Writing 100 courses at a Niagara University Writing 100 instructor workshop in 2005.

Job Search Committee (2004-PRESENT)
Participated in searches for new full-time faculty in English.

Niagara University

Committee on Instructional Technology and Distance Education (2006-present)
Worked as part of  Instructional Technology subcommittee to develop initiatives and plans for improving instructional technology at Niagara University. Presented workshops on using Contribute to university employees.

Niagara Reads Committee (2005-present)
Participated in choosing a book for the Niagara Reads initiative; developed and maintained a program Web site.  Created and supervised essay, poetry, and visual art contest for first-year students.

ADA Committee; Instructional Design Subcommitee (2006-2007)
Developed initiatives and plans for helping to improve instructional design at Niagara University.

Middlestates Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee (2005-2007)
Developed charges and gathered information related to outcomes assessment of student learning  for Middlestates re-accreditation report.

CARE Writing Placement Evaluator (2005-present)
Rated and evaluated essays for incoming first-year students in order to determine their placement in writing courses.

Service to the Field

Conferences

• Discussion Leader (2008)
  Graduate Research Network, Computers and Writing 2008 Conference
  
• 
  Discussion Leader (2007)
  Graduate Research Network, Computers and Writing 2007 Conference
• Discussion Leader (2006)
  Graduate Research Network, Computers and Writing 2006
  
  
• Conference Moderator (2005)
  Conference on College Composition and Communication
  
  
• Reviewer (2003)
  Computers and Writing 2004
  
  
• Technology Maven, Web Development Communication Management (2002-2003)
  Computers and Writing 2003
  
  
• Conference Moderator (2001)
  Computers and Writing 2001 Online Conference

Journals

• Communications Editor (2001-present)
  Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy
  
  Technology Maven (2000-present)
  The Writing Instructor
  

College Board

Examination Rater, AP Language and Composition Exam (2006; 2007; 2008).
Read and rated essay questions for the AP Language and Composition examination administered by the College Board.

Syllabus Reviewer, AP Language and Composition (2007-2008)
Through the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC), reviewed AP Language and Composition syllabi to determine if they included key AP curricular and resource requirements.

Web Development Experience

Purdue OWL pages

• "Annotated Bibliographies" (with Geoff Stacks). Available at <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbib.html> August 2001.
• "Practice Exercises." (22 Interactive Online Exercises). Available at <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/interact/index.html>. May 2003.
• "Resources for Documenting Sources." Available at <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_docsources.html> June 2001.
• "Writing A Thesis Statement." Available at <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_thesis.html>. August 2002.

Other Web Design Experience

Many of these sites are no longer available or have been revised since I worked on them. I have provided a description of what I did for the sites and links to sites that still retain examples of my work.

• Bill Walker Kte'pi (2003-present)
  Designed professional web site for artist and writer Bill Kte'pi, including graphics. Converted site to use WordPress content management system.  Taught author to update his own pages.
• Purdue University Jewish Studies Program (2003)
  Redesigned entire program web site, including graphics, edited content, produced digital versions of print materials, trained program staff to update site.
  
  
• Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R) (2002)
  Developed conference website, including graphics, digital versions of registration forms, and digital archive of conference papers. Created and edited page text.
  
  
• Midgard Studios (2002)
  Created web site for small independent film production company. Designed menus, templates, graphics, and style sheets.  Created and edited page content.
  
  
• Purdue Professional Writing Program (2002-2003)
  Created web pages, updated resource pages, created online forms for showcase proposal submission and technology request submissions. Uploaded content to the web site.
• 
  Computers and Writing 2003 Conference (2002-2003)
  Created e-mail accounts, mailing lists and weblogs for the conference staff and attendees. Designed and wrote documentation on using the mailing accounts. Updated web pages and created resource pages and digital image galleries.
  
  
• GYRE Reduced Gravity Robotics (University of Washington) (2001-present)
  Designed web site for use by the GYRE research team as well as the general public. Created graphics and web pages. Produced digital image galleries and electronic versions of print documents. Created and edited page text.

Technology Experience

Server-based applications

• Analog (web site analysis software)
• Appleshare IP and MacOS X server (web, mail, and file server)
• Apache (web server)
• AspSeek (search engine)
• Blackboard (educational portal software)
• Encore (MOO server/database)
• Filemaker Pro (database and web server)
• Greymatter (weblog/journal software)
• LiveJournal (online journal application)
• Ht://dig (search engine application)
• Mailman (mailing list server)
• Macjordomo (mailing list server)
• Movable Type (weblog/journal software)
• Phantom (search engine application)
• Retrospect (backup application)
• wwwthreads (web-based bulletin boards)
• WordPress (weblog/personal publishing application)

Design applications & languages

• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe Dreamweaver
• Adobe Fireworks
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Pagemaker
• Adobe Photoshop
• Better Markup Language (BML)
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
• HTML/xHTML/XML
• Microsoft FrontPage
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Publisher
• Microsoft Word

Operating systems

• Linux (Red Hat, Slackware)
• Macintosh (OS 8, 9, and 10)
• Windows (95, 98, 2000, XP)

References

Dr. David Blakesley, Professor of English
Department of English
500 Oval Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47906
blakesle@purdue.edu
Phone: (765) 494-3772
Fax: (765) 494-3780

Dr. Linda Bergmann, Director, Purdue Writing Lab and Associate Professor of English
Department of English
500 Oval Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47906
lbergmann@sla.purdue.edu
Phone: (765) 496-2814
Fax: (765) 494-3780

Dr. Muriel (Mickey) Harris, Founding Director, Purdue Writing Lab and Professor Emerita of English
Department of English
500 Oval Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47906
mickey@purdue.edu
Phone: (765) 494-3723
Fax: (765) 494-3780

Dr. Jeanne Laurel, Chair of the Department of English, Associate Professor of English
Department of English
PO Box 2035
Niagara University NY 14109-2035
jlaurel@niagara.edu
Phone: (716) 286-8628
Fax: (716) 286-8038

Dr. Patricia Sullivan, Director, Rhetoric and Composition Program, Professor of English
Department of English
500 Oval Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47906
psulliva@purdue.edu
Phone: (765) 497-1432
Fax: (765) 494-3780

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