Online Teaching on the Brain

I ran out of journals that I had brought home with me, but after a quick jaunt to campus today, I’m back in business.  I’m going to get right to it since there’s still a ton of work to do for my online class, and since I’ve got online classes on the brain, here’s another article to add to that stack:

Stine, Linda. “Basically Unheard: Developmental Writers and the Conversation on Online Learning.”

TETYC 38.2 (2010): 132-148. Print.

This is a timely article because there have been recent talks in our department about whether or not Basic Writing should be offered online.  Most people tend to immediately shake their head—BW students need a lot of one-on-one attention, and they already have a lot of obstacles working against them.  And, BW students tend to not be as tech savvy, so tossing them into a fully online course seems like a cruel trick.  Even though the majority of our faculty are leery about having online BW classes, there does seem to be a need (or rather a desire) from students, and some faculty support that—if students want to sign up for an online class, they should have the option.  My interest in both teaching online and teaching basic writing has left me puzzled; I can’t say whether or not it’s a good idea.  I see technology being the biggest barrier (as it is for most online students) and motivation as the next biggest (as it often is for BW students—mostly traditionally aged ones).

Stine brings up a solid point early on in her article—there isn’t all that much scholarship or discussion out there about this issue.  The little there is, she notes, doesn’t seem to describe her students who are mostly non-traditional.  She pulls scholarship from Adult Learning Theory and Online Learning Theory to come to some basic concerns about how and why adult learners (who are basic writers) would benefit and/or falter in an online environment.  Some of the usual suspects she mentions are technology issues, academic skill level issues, and issues in persistence.  She also describes, though, the affective dimension of learning, which would of course come back to the discussion of community.  Stine writes, “Establishing this sense of community when students are interacting from different locations and at different times is perhaps the online basic writing teacher’s most important, and most difficult, task” (138).  This is not a new sentiment when it comes to teaching writing—online or face-to-face.  What I’ve yet to really hear much about, on the other hand, is how to go about establishing this community.  At Computers and Writing, Jill and I went to one presentation that focused on the necessity of community, and they described a graduate-level, synchronous class—these students would be highly motivated, might likely already know each other from their program, and were meeting synchronously.  Like Stine, I felt that scenario did not represent our students (let alone BW ones). 

I really want to dig further into the idea of building community in online classes, but I doubt it’s something I’ll accomplish before I start teaching next week.  Also, my pessimistic self already doubts the possibility of developing a strong community in five weeks anyhow (online or face-to-face). 

Before I forget to mention, though, I do think I’m leaning towards thinking that offering online BW classes is not a good idea.  Stine mentioned something I hadn’t yet considered:

In the online environment, students encounter added opportunity for error.  Even speaking becomes a high-risk situation when it occurs online in the form of writing, with the ever-present possibility of being silenced by equipment failure or by misunderstanding resulting from feedback both delayed and limited by the constraints of the written word. (139)

That makes total sense—where would the low-risk situations be in an online class for developmental writers?  Good, good question.  Ultimately, I think even though students may want to take this class online, it’s not likely the best way to actually suit their needs.  As the Stones would say:

You can't always get what you want 

But if you try sometimes you might find

you get what you need

Song stuck in your head now?  Mine too. 

Okay, that’s enough for tonight!  More tomorrow…

mk