In The Spotlight: Stone Writing Center

Welcome to Viking News’ In the Spotlight, a Q&A series highlighting how Del Mar College departments, programs, and offices are using technology and innovation to enhance services, strengthen partnerships, and improve student success.

Each post “spotlights” a different author sharing – in their own words – how these advancements shape their work and benefit our Viking community.  

CENTER REP: MARY LUTTRELL

SWC Online Coordinator
Stone Writing Center Learning Resources

Q: How are advancements in technology and platforms changing how your area delivers services or instruction?

A: Supporting student access to our services requires perennial adapting. The Stone Writing Center (SWC) is always seeking new technology that enhances our instruction and connects us to students. While the SWC also utilizes familiar software, including word processors, Canvas, and internet browsers, we recognize that the way students use these technologies has changed, especially since the pandemic and with increased usage of mobile devices. With the help of Patricia Jones in IT, we recently redesigned the SWC homepage. Because students primarily access content on their phones, we created material with a mobile-first approach to ensure seamless navigation. Our goal is to help students quickly find what they need and discover valuable resources they might not have known were available to them. We are committed to ensuring students feel as welcomed in our digital spaces as they do at our on-campus locations.
 

Q: What is the most impactful innovation you’ve implemented, and what problem did it solve?

A: The SWC’s early adoption of online instruction has been our most impactful innovation. In 1995, the SWC piloted online instruction for dual-credit labs before Del Mar College was online. By 2015, the center established online tutoring via Canvas while honing our process to ensure that tutors spend about half-an-hour on detailed, written tutorials. Our accessible platform and efficiency positioned us to provide roughly 13,700 tutorials during campus closure due to the pandemic, offering uninterrupted writing instruction.

Because our center is homegrown, our writing instruction is carefully tailored to DMC’s student population. The SWC recently initiated an in-house developmental education program to more deeply understand and better serve the writing needs of students in dev-ed courses. We’ve found that a notable percentage of students visiting SWC Online are among this population, and we are proud that our online instruction plays a positive role in their academic journeys and experience of campus community.
 

Q: How has this innovation improved student success?

A: Our unique use of Canvas for asynchronous online writing tutoring ensures students can submit their writing for feedback 24/7, allowing us to stay open even during holiday breaks, including Spring Break and Thanksgiving. The submission process takes no more than five minutes, which helps us remain accessible to students with a busy schedule. Moreover, students can submit multiple drafts of their work through Canvas, as often as needed, which honors the recursive and collaborative nature of the revision process via an easy-to-use, student-friendly platform.
 

Q: How has technology helped you build or strengthen partnerships with employers, schools, or other organizations, and how do these connections support the region’s workforce and economic growth? 

A: Our writing tutoring, both online and on-campus, is available to high school students enrolled in Dual Credit and Early College courses through DMC, contributing to the college’s supportive relationship with Corpus Christi and the surrounding community. When students in local high schools use our services, we have an opportunity to further their instruction on college-level writing and career readiness. When students have the resources to successfully acquire college credits early—and potentially graduate college early—the likelihood that they’ll contribute to the region’s innovating sectors increases.

Meanwhile, our workshop program is open to all DMC courses, including hybrid and online classes. We collaborate with Nurse Education and Physical Therapist Assistant faculty to offer field-tailored workshops on professional documents, such as resumes and cover letters. The SWC also provided workshops on README files for Computer Science students. We are always excited to help foster the professionalization of our students!
 

 Q: Looking ahead, what advancements do you foresee impacting your area, and what new skills will DMC graduates need?

A: Given the rapid development we’ve witnessed with various emerging technologies, [ranging] from artificial intelligence to biotechnology, DMC graduates will need to be equipped with the skill of lifelong learning—the ability to not only teach themselves but also discern where to focus their skill-building. Other cognitive strengths, including critical thinking and adaptability, will also serve them in the ever-evolving landscapes of their chosen industries. Writing center andragogy emphasizes student agency and independence, and while we may not be able to teach students about technology that will be relevant in five years, the time students spend with us in the SWC fosters their ownership of their choices and intellectual contributions. Ultimately, we want DMC students to know their voices (in writing or otherwise) to belong in the conversations of tomorrow.
 

Q: If talking to a prospective student, what are the top benefits or opportunities you’d highlight about your program or service?

A: The SWC is a friendly, warm environment staffed with caring, skilled tutors and instructors who are happy to provide feedback on any type of writing assignment at any point in the writing process. We assist students with all writing concerns, no matter how big or small. Our staff prioritizes students’ comfort with sharing their writing because we understand how nerve-wracking it can be to ask for writing help, regardless of skill level! We also foster students’ confidence in their ability to improve their writing with practice, ultimately becoming more independent writers. While writing is often associated with communication with an audience, it is also a profound vehicle for the writer’s own thinking. When our students apply themselves to writing, they nourish their very cognition.

Additional information

Program Location: Second Floor, Willilam F. White, Jr. Library, Heritage Campus 101 Baldwin Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX 78404
Web link: delmar.edu/offices/swc/index.html
Phone: 361-698-1364
Email: swc@delmar.edu