This is the third in a series of “Exit Interviews” of CWRL staffers. These interviews are intended to record the value of the lab to professional development. Vessela Valiavitcharska has accepted a job at the University of Maryland as an Assistant Professor and will defend her dissertation in Medieval Greek and Old Slavonic rhetoric in the summer

How long did you teach/staff in the lab? What roles did you fill?
Two years. I taught both 306 and Visual Rhetoric. I proctored and participated in o first the game development work group and then the visual rhetoric group.

How do you use technology in your courses?
I use it a lot in Visual Rhetoric. Almost everyday we look up some image online and analyze it. In 306, I used it less, but we did some in-class blogging and online peer review.

Has the lab affected your research in any way?
My specialty is Medieval Rhetoric, and believe it or not, technology is very important to my field. Since research materials are rare, we depend quite a bit on digital versions.

You’ve recently completed a successful academic job search. Did your CWRL experience play a large role in your job materials? Did you talk about teaching, service, or both?
I mentioned teaching in computer-assisted teaching in both my letter and CV, but that’s about it.

Did interviewers ask about the CWRL? What sorts of questions did they ask?
Not in the MLA interviews, but I did get informal questions about the lab during campus visits. One campus I visited didn’t have much in the way of computer resources, but thought that they would be integrating technology in the future. In answering questions about integrating technology into teaching rhetoric, I mentioned the video game the work group has been developing. They really liked the idea of the game, how it covers ethos, pathos, logos. One question they asked was “how do students respond to in-class technology?” Meaning, “Do you meet their expectations?” There’s this idea that students are so tech savvy that there’s nothing we can teach them.

I don’t think that’s exactly true though, do you? That students are that tech savvy?
Not at all. I think that’s the anxiety of faculty about a half-a-generation older than us.

Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for people just coming into the lab? Either in regard to teaching and/or staffing?
Work group projects are a great way of answering questions about technology use. You can answer pretty vague questions with detailed, knowledgeable responses. They will ask, because people are curious. We do impressive work here, so know what’s going on.