A commonplace book is an old practice of collecting quotes from a variety of different texts, but rather than simply copying them down, the owner of the commonplace place book organizes them under headings. The owner of the commonplace book also enters their own thoughts about those quotes. The commonplace author can also integrate clippings and other artifacts into the book as well. What happens is that over time, the commonplace book begins to tell a story of its own. Themes begin to arise and connections begin to be made. When viewed wholistically, the commonplace book becomes something new and leads its author to new understandings.
I believe that digital insiders do this already in some form. Blogs, wikis, vlogs, webpages are all sites where digital authors collect bits of material and assemble them in ways that make sense to them. Taken together those bits and pieces form something new.
My idea is to take what digital insiders are already doing and use that way of thinking to work toward the development of academic writing. I want my students to be successful creators of multiple texts in multiple worlds. I’m seeing the digital commonplace book as a place to start.
I’m beginning to use my blog as a place to collect ideas from various texts and discussions. I then use categories as a way to organize them in ways that make sense to me. And I’ll see where it goes.
