Guidelines
From PraxisWiki
General Guidelines for PraxisWiki Narratives:
The following paragraphs offer general guidelines for planning and organizing a narrative for contribution to the PraxisWiki. See the Contributing to PraxisWiki page for specific instructions on submitting narratives.
Description of the Tool: Narratives should always include basic descriptions of the tool or environment, including any information necessary for others to find and use it. For example, for a narrative about the use of particular web-editing software, the contributor would include information about the publisher, as well as the version of the software. For a narrative about the use of a digital environment such as Wikipedia (e.g., a narrative about using Wikipedia as part of a classroom writing assignment), the contributor would include a URL for the site, as well as a description of the interface.
Description of the Activity: Tool use narratives should also be as specific as possible regarding the activities surrounding the use of the tool or environment. Contributors will want to explain the composing process for which the tool was used. They will want to provide details about who engaged in these activities and the impact the use had on the final composition(s). Finally, they might want to consider comparisons of the use they are describing and other potential uses, or even other types of tools they might have (but didn’t) use to compose.
Contextual Considerations: Narrative contributors should provide readers with details regarding the contextual elements that have shaped the use of the tool or environment or have influenced the final composition. For example, in a narrative about the use of a particular software, it may be critical to include information about when and where users had access. In another example, in a narrative regarding the use of one or multiple blog spaces as writing environments for students, the contributor would want to discuss whether face-to-face activities affected the authors’ use of or writing in these spaces.
Additional Resources: Contributing authors should be sure to include information about resources they used when creating assignments, developing programs, or learning how to use software or hardware products. They should also attempt to note (where applicable) other hardware/software that might be used, particularly comparable recourses that can be accessed free of charge.
Multimedia: Our plan for the database is to allow contributors to include addenda for their narratives in the shape of image, sound, or multimedia files. Obviously, bandwidth and accessibility is an issue for our readers, so these files will need to saved in usable, cross-platform formats, and contributors should pay close attention to file size. We can also link to media stored on other sites.
Tagging & Keywords: Contributors should include a list of keywords they feel might be useful for other users who are searching the database for information.
Submitting Narratives: Contributors may query the editors at any time regarding submissions. They can send either completed narratives or brief summaries proposing narratives to the editors at kpraxis@technorhetoric.net.
