What Would Be Included In My Syllabus?

Throughout this semester, I have pondered how my current writing class syllabus would change for an online environment. I know how crucial a syllabus can be to any class environment. After all, it describes the expectations for any students in my class. Scott Warnock agrees with this assertion and emphasizes the importance of the syllabus as the first written communication that the students will have with the teacher. According to Warnock, “ written text will still likely be of primary importance in their understanding of what your course is about, how they will be evaluated, and what your expectations are for them” (38). So, in other words, that syllabus is what ultimately sets the tone for the rest of the semester within the course. So, with this in mind, I have decided what to include in my hypothetical online syllabus. These following elements are absolute must have in not just my online syllabus, but any online syllabus.

Office: I still plan on hosting office hours, even if my students live hours away. After all, office hours are crucial for any student to come in and ask questions. I also plan on hosting virtual office hours, so that I am available to my students in person and through Skype.

Email: In an online course, email is going to “be a primary mode of communication” (Warnock 40). A specialty in any of my syllabus is including a clause about proper email etiquette. I have seen so many informal emails that I have to say in my syllabus that I expect to be addressed in a proper way and not “Hey Dude!” I also plan on including a clause that any email sent by 10:30 PM will be answered the following day. That way, I do not have to spend late hours waiting on desperate emails from students who waited until the last minute to do their major research project.

Escape Clauses: Sometimes, in online courses, students can get easily disengaged and discouraged. After all, there is no one that is an “active” presence in the classroom, reminding them of important due dates. That is why, I will aim to include those key drop dates in the syllabus. That way, they do not have to go to the university website to find out when is the absolute latest that they can drop the course.

Rules for Incomplete or Late Assignments: I will have very clear deadlines for incomplete or late assignments. Although I will be a little bit more flexible as an online teacher versus a face to face teacher, I still want to stress to my students the importance of turning assignment in on time.

Skill Sets: I want to ensure that my students have as level of a playing field as possible. That is why I want to make sure that my students can operate Microsoft Word and are willing to become familiar with the University Library website in order to be able to succeed in my class. After all, knowing how to set up a document and do basic research is the foundation to any writing course.

Technology Excuses: I know, computers tend to “go to the big Apple Store in the sky” right before a major assignment is due. But, there has to be some sort of accountability. That is why I will not accept any late work due to not having Internet access or a computer. I come from the school of thought that if you are enrolled in an online course, you should have access to a computer or the Internet. If this is an issue, I would probably recommend that that student should probably drop.

Although the syllabi for online courses may require some clearer languages and higher technological expectations for students than the syllabi for face to face courses, the syllabi are basically the same thing. After all, the courses should have the same material. They are just taught on different medium. With this in mind, it does ease my mind a little bit

Comment Question: What are requirements in your hypothetical online syllabus?

Works Cited

Warnock, Scott. Teaching Writing Online: How and Why. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2009. Print.

To Skype, or not to Skype—that is the question

In any classroom environment, communication is extremely important. After all, if the teacher becomes checked out in the course, chances are that the students will too. The importance of communication increases when the class is online. After all, there is a high chance that the students and the teacher will never meet, given the circumstances. So, for the most part, face to face communication is entirely out of the question. So, the teacher has to think of many alternatives to ensure that students are not afraid to discuss something with their teacher.
   Many teachers will automatically reach for that device that seems to becoming another limb for everybody—the phone. I personally do not like talking on the phone partially because I feel that I am not communicating to the best of my abilities. These phone calls are to people that I know; I would hate to imagine talking to my students over the phone and having two sorts of pressure on me.
   That is why if I teach online writing classes, I plan on using Skype has become one of the main ways that people are communicating online. In fact, Skype has joined that illustrious group of websites that have had their name become a verb. Anyway, I plan on using Skype for the variety of communication tools that it uses. That includes:
•    Video chat
•    Text chat
•    Conference calls
•    Sharing of files and/or images
All of these tools are extremely useful for teaching writing online. I could use video or text chat to have virtual office hours with my students. If I need to meet with a specific group of students, I could always do a conference call with them. That way, we would be able to discuss the issue all at once. The sharing of files and images can become extremely beneficial when students are trying to revise projects but desperately need help with it. Skype is definitely a great tool to have for teaching any class online. Skype is also very easy to use for anyone who is familiar with working online. It has also has apps available on almost every major electronic device out there. What could possibly be wrong with it?
   Unfortunately, there are a few disadvantages to Skype. First of all, Skype has a paid version that students may feel pressured into buying. Even if the free version of Skype has the essential tools that I will need for my classroom, students may feel that they have to buy it in order to possibly impress me about their commitment to the class. Secondly, not all students have the same amount of Internet availability. Some may live on-campus, so they do not necessarily have to worry about going over on their Internet allotment. For other students, that is a high concern. I completely understand, because I am one of those students who have very limited Internet access at home. I also know what it is like to want to use those cool websites that absorbs all of the data in the Internet plan. These “cool websites” include Skype with its multitude of necessary tools to succeed in the online writing classroom. These two concerns can be extremely detrimental to an online student, but these obstacles are easily overcome. Just tell your students that they only need to get the free version of Skype for the purposes of this class, but if they want to buy a different version of Skype, that is their decision. Also, make sure reiterate to students that they are not required to use Skype at all times, but if they have questions, Skype is the gateway to getting an answer.
   Overall, Skype (in my opinion) is an extremely worthwhile tool to have in the teaching online arsenal. It is hard to ignore the many avenues of communication that Skype has paved since its creation. If you can only have one tool to have virtual office hours, Skype is the best bet.
Works Cited
Skype. Microsoft, 2015. Web. 24 April 2015

How Do You Solve A Problem Like "New Media Texts"?

 

I will admit it; I am still struggling to feel comfortable incorporating 21st century literacies in my seated writing classroom. I am trying though to get over my fears about this “new-fangled” idea.  After all, my two previous experiences with “new media texts” in my seated courses went well enough. But, I am so used to the “old school” ways of receiving and transmitting information that I may be biased against these new texts and, as a result, may not give enough thought to how these texts could be a great asset in my teaching.
However, I need to get used to the “new ways” that my students and other composition teachers are using. After all, according to Cynthia L. Selfe, “teachers of composition may be paying increased attention to new media texts because students are doing so-and their enthusiasm about reading/viewing/interacting and composing/designing/authoring such imaginative texts percolates through the substrata of composition, in direct contrast to students’ laissez faire attitudes towards more conventional texts” (44). Going back to my blogs on my students’ reactions to my use of Serial and Survivor in the composition classroom, I can see how this is absolutely true. Indeed, the conversations about these two texts were easily the best class conversations I had this semester. After all, as Selfe points out in “Students Who Teach Us”, “new media literacies may play an important role in indentify formation, the exercise of power, and the negation of new social roles” (Selfe 51). So, if I am able to effectively use “new media texts”, I can actually ensure that my students are able to grow and develop not only as critical thinkers and writers, but as people and citizens of the world as well. That idea is such an intense pressure to put on my shoulders, but I must be able to embrace it since I am a teacher.
So, how do I use “new media texts” effectively? Luckily, Selfe gives so much good advice about this for the uninitiated and tentative composition teacher. Her first step is to recognize the “whole range of literacies that students bring to the classroom” (Selfe 57). So, in order to be an effective composition teacher, I need to realize that my students have acquired their knowledge of “new media texts” in different environments. For example, some of my hypothetical have always grown up with a computer and a pathway to the Internet in their homes, while others still may not own a computer or an iPad. Recognizing this element is crucial in the composition classroom because it automatically disrupts any assumptions I (or any teacher) may have about the classwide understanding of “new media texts”.
Now, how do all of these ideas about using “new media texts” translate to teaching Writing I (a.k.a the writing class that everybody has to take)? Obviously, some of the assignments that Selfe herself recommends don’t neatly translate to teaching the basics of academic writing, but the principles can be addressed through individual activities. For example, one of the weekly journals can be a literacy narrative that only addresses their written literacy but their technological literacy as well. Another example of using “new media texts” is not doing just written texts as “reading” homework but using TEDTalks or other podcasts as the homework for that week. A suggestion that I have tried as a class activity is having my students watch a particular Youtube video (a particular favorite of my students is this one due to the humor and ease of language) and then having them do an argument analysis to figure out the video’s claim, reasons, and foundations. If you have any suggestions to help someone who admittedly a little scared of using “new media texts” in her classroom, please let me know. As of right now, it is a slow but necessary transition into using this technology. After all, I do not want to be the teacher that is left behind and still talking about Friendster and MySpace while my students are on their (hypothetical) hoverboards.
Works Cited
Green, Hank. “How to Name a Baby Properly.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 2 March
2011. Web. 29 March 2015.
Selfe, Cynthia L. “Students Who Teach Us.” Writing New Media. Eds. Anne Frances Wysocki, et al. Logan, Utah: Utah State UP, 2004. 43-66.