Drake-Boyt, Elizabeth

CommonKnowledge

Pacific University
CommonKnowledge
Volume 11 (2011) Interface: The Journal of Education, Communityand Values
4-20-2011
Two Tin Cans and a String
Elizabeth Drake-Boyt
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Recommended Citation
Drake-Boyt, E. (2011). Two Tin Cans and a String. In J. Barlow (ed.). Interface: The Journal of Education, Community and Values (vol.
11. pp . 37-39). Forest Grove, OR: The Berglund Center for Internet Studies. (Original work published online 2011).
Two Tin Cans and a String
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This article is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/inter11/16
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Two!Tin!Cans!and!a!String!!
 
Elizabeth!DrakeXBoyt,!PhD!
Professor!of!English,!Pacific!University!
 
 If!the!fundamental!agreement!between!students!and!their!instructor!in!carrying!on!a!public!discourse!through!an!online!class!is!compared!to!two!tin!cans!and!a!string!between!them,!what!happens!when!one!of!the!two!ends!of!the!string!doesn’t!stay!connected?!If!either!the!instructor!or!the!student!fails!to!respond!across!the!Internet!in!a!timely!manner,!then!the!structure!of!continuity!and!cumulative!dialogueKbuilding!so!crucial!to!the!nuances!of!a!liberal!arts!class!falter.!While!the!failure!of!an!individual!student!to!respond!does!not!destroy!the!class!(I!call!such!students!“flatKliners”)!the!failure!of!the!online!instructor!to!respond!quickly!and!efficiently!certainly!can.!!At!the!beginning!of!every!semester!I!conduct!a!survey!in!all!my!online!classes!to!determine!the!extent!of!previous!experiences!my!students!have!had!with!this!kind!of!learning!format.!In!order!to!encourage!prompt!responses,!I!attach!a!small!extra!credit!point!incentive.!The!survey!helps!me!determine!how!many—and!specifically!who—brings!online!class!experiences!with!them!to!my!class.!And!it!also!helps!me!understand!what!those!experiences!have!been!like!for!them,!so!that!I!continually!update!my!methods,!materials,!themes,!and!assignments!accordingly.!!!Each!student!is!invited!to!briefly!explain!his!or!her!ideas!in!a!discussion!forum!designed!to!be!as!inviting!as!possible.!Titled!“Meet!and!Greet,”!the!forum!is!open!for!each!student!to!make!an!introductory!post!and!to!respond!to!posts!made!by!others!(“You’re!a!nurse?!I’m!a!nurse!too.!!.!.”).!This!not!only!allows!me!to!cheerfully!encourage!the!timid,!ease!the!worrier,!and!answer!specific!questions!about!how!my!class!will!be!handled,!but!supplies!a!comparable!interaction!students!would!have!in!an!onsite!class.!I!“listen!in”!as!they!get!acquainted,!an!important!step!toward!easing!an!initial!sense!of!isolation!and!separation.!After!all,!taking!an!online!class!is!daunting,!especially!if!this!is!the!student’s!first!attempt.!!!In!the!process!of!monitoring!threads!in!this!introductory!forum,!I!also!gather!a!general!idea!of!the!initial!tone!of!the!class,!assess!degrees!of!expertise!in!online!class!taking,!and!identify!students!in!terms!of!how!they!are!likely!to!react!to!varying!tasks:!who!may!take!a!leadership!role!in!a!group!presentation!project,!for!example,!who!is!apt!to!reassure!fellow!classmates,!or!who!is!apt!to!be!disturbed!or!challenged!by!controversial!areas,!and!how!comfortable!each!is!with!the!written!format!crucial!to!this!kind!of!study.!
!38!
Many!let!me!know!they!have!never!taken!an!online!class!before.!Others!have!done!some!learning!through!a!hybrid!class!in!which!lecture!is!onsite!while!assignments!are!accomplished!through!Blackboard.!About!half!to!two!thirds!of!each!of!my!classes!are!fairly!experienced!taking!classes!online.!In!particular,!I!find!that!experienced!online!class!takers!are!quite!frank!about!what!it!is!they!don’t!like!about!online!classes,!and!I!encourage!them!through!the!“Meet!and!Greet”!forum!to!clarify!why.!!!By!far!the!most!common!complaint!I’ve!heard!online!students!express!has!been!about!an!instructor’s!lack!of!communication!and!clarity;!both!for!the!class!as!a!whole!and!for!the!individual!student!asking!for!greater!details.!Students!explain!the!trouble!with!statements!such!as:!“The!teacher!I!had!didn’t!answer!my!questions.”!“I!did!the!assignments,!but!I!never!knew!if!I!did!them!right!or!not.”!“The!instructor!didn’t!respond.”!“I!didn’t!get!much!out!of!the!class!because!I!was!confused!about!the!deadlines.”!In!other!words,!the!instructor!may!have!been!holding!the!tin!can,!but!somehow!let!the!string!drop.!!By!and!large,!students!indicated!that!poor!online!instructors!simply!didn’t!seem!to!care!enough!to!keep!the!class!going.!My!question!is:!why!would!an!instructor!teach!any!class!he!or!she!is!unwilling!or!unable!to!maintain—online!or!onsite?!There!might!be!several!answers.!A!few!years!ago,!I!questioned!an!adjunct!professor!hired!to!teach!a!couple!of!online!English!classes!through!Maryland!University.!This!was!no!flyKbyKnight,!getKyourKdegreeKquick!outfit!by!any!means,!but!this!professor!treated!it!as!if!it!were.!He!clearly!wasn’t!happy!taking!the!job!in!the!first!place,!and!made!it!clear!to!me!he!was!only!doing!it!to!enhance!his!meager!income.!It!was!also!clear!he!felt!that!teaching!online!classes!was!demeaning;!that!it!wasn’t!“real”!teaching!but!more!a!matter!of!mechanically!going!through!the!motions!in!a!way!that!served!only!the!craft!and!not!the!art!of!teaching.!Even!though!the!University!of!Maryland!is!an!accredited!academic!institution!in!good!standing;!his!involvement!with!it!was!less!desirable!than!if!he!had!been!hired!to!teach!the!same!class!onsite.!His!approach!was!to!do!as!little!as!possible!to!“just!run!the!class”!until!something!better!came!along.!I!felt!sorry!for!his!students.!.!.!!!It!is!true!that!the!prestige!of!teaching!an!online!class!is!minimal!if!the!professor!desires!to!“step!up”!from!teaching!masses!of!undergraduate!students!their!required!courses!into!mentoring!graduate!students!in!resonating!research!fields.!On!the!other!hand,!there!are!many!different!kinds!of!professors,!some!of!whom!don’t!worry!about!that!angle!and!are!simply!willing!and!able!to!teach!anyone—freshmen,!grandmothers,!ESL!students,!and!assorted!others,!traditional!or!nonKtraditional,!degreeKseeking!or!not.!1!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!I!have!had!at!least!four!babies!born!to!online!students!while!taking!my!class,!and!one!student’s!pet!parrot!“took”!the!course!with!him,!commenting!on!the!images!viewed!through!lectures!with!
! ! 39!
!Another!possible!issue!with!teaching!online!classes!is!the!perception!that!the!authority!of!expertise!in!an!academic!field!held!by!the!professor!is!undermined.!It!is!true!that!onsite!classes!permit!the!instructor!more!leeway!to!improvise!in!the!moment;!online!lectures!must!be!clearly!focused!on!topic!with!little!room!for!digressions!or!meanderings.!2!However,!a!professor!secure!in!his!or!her!expertise!and!academic!standing!would!not!find!this!a!threatening!condition.!If!the!point!is!to!support!students!in!selfKdirected!study,!to!mentor,!foster,!facilitate,!or!otherwise!share!an!interest!in!the!course!material,!then!this!can!be!accomplished!as!well!online!as!onsite.!So!a!good!online!instructor!is!one!accepting!of!the!forum!in!the!first!place,!and!one!dedicated!foremost!to!serve!the!diversity!of!students!in!the!class.!!!Certainly,!placing!an!instructor!in!a!class!assumes!a!desire!to!teach!it,!just!as!placing!a!student!in!a!class!assumes!a!willingness!to!put!forward!the!effort!to!successfully!complete!it.!Everyone!has!different!talents!and!strengths,!and!this!is!especially!true!in!the!academic!professions.!The!strength!of!an!institution!of!learning!depends!upon!the!ability!of!its!administration!to!fit!instructors!to!classes!the!way!Mozart!likened!an!aria!“to!fit!a!singer!like!a!wellKcut!suit!of!clothes.”!Just!as!it!would!be!foolish!to!ask!an!elementary!school!teacher!to!teach!graduate!university!students,!so!it!would!be!foolish!to!ask!a!professor!who!has!a!low!opinion!of!online!classes!to!teach!them.!! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!favor!or!disfavor.!This!kind!of!interaction!with!students!binds!them!with!the!instructor!under!the!common!denominator!of!being!human!beings!above!all!other!diverse!conditions.!2!Discussion!boards!and!individual!emails!do!permit!digressions;!however,!it!is!the!option!of!students!to!read!or!ignore!them,!as!may!be!appropriate.!In!an!onsite!class,!everyone!is!“captive”!to!the!digression,!and!a!common!complaint!of!onsite!students!is!that!the!professor!“rambles”.!


Two Tin Cans and a String

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