Transform Conversation into Writing
I have never
realized that every piece of discussion that I post on the forum for my ENG 704
online class can be called as a piece of writing until I read the Chapter 8 Conversation: Online, Course “Talk” Can
Become Writing in the book Teaching
Writing Online by Scott Warnock. In this chapter, he mentions that the use
of asynchronous message boards can facilitate student communication. Combined
his opinions with my experience of ENG 704 class, I can get the conclusion that
online conversation can be transformed into writing by its original features
and being properly handled by teachers.
Discussion
boards for an online writing class not only offers the efficient sharing of
writing, but also opportunities for improving writing by students themselves.
In a face-to-face classroom, the conversation is synchronous which means there
are some limits of it: First of all, not every student can participate in
discussion for the limitation of time and space in an onsite classroom.
However, as expressed by Scott, “The online discussion boards are asynchronous
that open environment with more equitable participation (70).”
Moreover, for some students who are too shy to
speak in front of people, discussion boards might be an ideal choice for them
to express their ideas freely. Also, if it is a fast-paced chatting setting,
some students can’t respond in time for lack of language ability or being
distracted. However, that issue won’t happen in discussion boards where they can
compose thoughtful, probing contributions with reflective time (70). Take
myself for example, when I was sitting in the classroom which is full of native
speaker, I dared not to express myself because I was afraid they might laugh at
my nonstandard spoken English. When I was writing my discussion thoughts for
ENG 704, I was passionate and willing to share thoughts with my classmates
because I could revise my post many times before posting to make sure what I
said was proper. In the process, my confidence in English learning got enhanced
because of enough chances of expression through discussion boards.
As
a teacher for online writing class, it is not easy to deal with the discussion
board and inspire students’ passion in keeping using it. Before initiating the
discussion, Scott suggests that the teacher should make sure their instructions
and expectations are clear and detailed (79). Some students don’t contribute to
the discussion not for they don’t want to, but for they don’t know how to
respond. Clear-cut guidelines are important for online discussion. If I am the
teacher, after the first time I post guidelines for discussion, I don’t get as
many responses as I expect. I will try communicating with my students to see
whether they are confused about the guidelines, and revise it accordingly.
The role teacher plays in discussion
board will influence how much he or she can get from students’ discussion.
Scott has clearly stated that an online facilitator should be reminded of the
purpose of any composition is to illuminate the thoughts of students, rather
than craft a position that puts them on center stage (73). During the online
discussion, what teacher needs to do is to clarify and extend the thinking of
students. With the help of teacher, students’ pieces of discussion can be
developed into good writing.
As Scott points out that, “although teacher
doesn’t need to be the center of discussion, they need to be involved with
students’ asynchronous conversations (75).” The appropriate level of
involvement is hard to control in the discussion board for online writing teacher. Both too much and too
little involvement can lead students to shut down in another way. Like in ENG
704, at the very beginning of semester, my instructor Dr. Cadle would raise a
question for us to start the discussion. Later, she gave the opportunity to us.
Students can start a thread for each module if they have questions after
reading. Although Dr. Cadle may not respond to each post, she would respond to
some post to state her position and initiate more discussion. The way that Dr.
Cadle handle with the discussion board is a good example for me to learn, which
is not overzealous about responding, but also let students feel that she is
always with us in the process.
At the beginning of taking online
writing class, students behave like a kid because they don’t know how to follow
teacher’s steps. At this stage, teacher should pay close attention to students’
responses for discussion. Later, when students get used to the pace, teacher
can give more freedom to students’ discussion, and be an assistant on students’
way to develop thoughts into discussion post, or even writing.
Works Cited:
Warnock, Scott. Teaching Writing Online. NCTE: Illinois. 2009. Print.
