Online English Tutoring

This semester, online tutoring has really taken off. Several instructors promoted the service, so we ended up getting a little overwhelmed before major deadlines. Several additional tutors were trained in the program, which helped lessen the load a bit. Next semester, I hope to recruit a few more.

Online Tutoring Plans for This Semester

I'm still promoting online tutoring.  A couple of instructors have actually approached me about it, so that's progress.  I'm hoping to do a brief presentation on the EWL and our "new" online tutoring at the adjunct orientation for Comp I and II as well as the English cluster meeting.  Still on hold about that.

This semester in addition to my hours in the lab, I'll be teaching two developmental English classes, taking two classes of my own (Emerson and Thoreau and Theorizing Science Fiction), and working as a graduate assistant at FAU.  I am hoping to train a few more tutors on AskOnline and step back from the online tutoring project a little bit.  If I'm the only one promoting this resource and tutoring via this resource, it is not really an EWL project but my project.  For it to be a useful resource, it needs to be a resource of the entire lab not just one person.  

Twitter

Twitter is just plain fun. I recently set up an account, and although I rarely post, I've really enjoyed following some of my favorite people such as Neil Gaiman and Felicia Day. In an effort to be more informed about developments in new media, I've also been following RWW and Henry Jenkins (author of Convergence Culture).

Online Tutor Training

Well, I've announced the training for online tutoring in the lab, and several have already expressed an interest. Two have completed the first training session. I've also completed the paper trail so that the two tutors who helped with the pilot also receive credit for their training.

Multimedia presentation

I am almost finished creating the independent training program for Tutoring English Online. I created a multimedia presentation using Audacity, PowerPoint, and Soft Chalk. The process seems cumbersome. I think I can do the whole process using Garage Band on my Mac. Not counting the creation of the original Power Point, it has taken me a week and a half to complete this presentation.

1. I attended training for putting voice to Power Point using Audacity and Soft Chalk on the 17th.
2. I checked the lab for computers with this software and found nothing.
3. Since I do not have administrative rights to the computer I had to ask my supervisor to send a ticket to IT to install all the software.
4. It was quickly installed by the next day.
5. I spent 2 - 3 hours experimenting and recording my voice with Audacity and modifying my Power Point only to realize I was missing a plug-in to convert the Audacity file to an mp3 file. (In all fairness, I was told this plug-in was needed during my training session.)
6. I had to request an additional ticket from my supervisor to IT.
7. We had a 3-day weekend.
8. LAME (seriously, that's what it's called) was installed when I came in this morning.
9. I spent an additional 2 hours editing the Power Point and converting the aup files to mp3 files, and converting my Power Point file into jpg files.
10. I then put all this stuff into a very basic looking webpage in SoftChalk because I got tired of playing with everything.

Simple is good.

AskOnline summer update

This summer we opened up online tutoring to all instructors of Comp I and Comp II with the stipulation that they complete a brief form regarding each major writing assignment they assign their students. So far we have received one from an instructor I've spoken with in person. I've come to the conclusion that while many things work well online, extra initiative is needed from all participants. Instructors are much more willing to put forth the extra effort needed to recommend the program to their students if I've spoken with them in person (and often). This is the first full week of classes, so I hope to see some submissions later this week. Meanwhile this week we will be conducting most of our English Prep, EAP, and Strategies orientations in the lab.
I have 2 professional development workshops to attend this week, one on social networking through ning and the other on adding voice to Power Points in Lesson Builder. I'm also finalizing the tutor training for the rest of the tutors. Very little of the training will require the tutors to meet with me, so they can work at their own pace. I hope to have this completed and in place by Wednesday.

Convergence Culture Review

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Dr. Henry Jenkins was a surprisingly fun read.  From grassroots politics vs. big-moneyed campaigns to transmedia storytelling and consumer participation, this book covers everything. I'm really excited about future possibilities.  Everything from Obama's grassroots campaign led by tech savvy volunteers to Joss Whedon's reaction of Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog to the writer's strike is affected by the convergence culture.  Yet, as often happens with books addressing trends in technology, this book published in 2006 is already out of date as it does not address media so monumental as Twitter and its instant effect on news.  See today's NPR story about Twitter: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103221268

PBCC - Web 2.0

The SLC now has a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1349720750

CEA Conference 2009

March 26-28, I attended the College English Association Conference, which was my first conference as a presenter. The theme of this year's conference was Design, and over 600 presenters explored this topic.  Various speakers presented their pedagogy, specific assignments and strategies, methods for optimizing classroom and online spaces, and their experiences - both negative and positive - in adopting the newest trends in education.  I presented alongside three PBCC professors on a panel addressing Design and the Community College Classroom.  We presented at 8 am on the first day of the conference, so attendance was low, but the audience was enthusiastic and interested in our topics.  My presentation focused on the English Writing Lab's use of AskOnline with Comp I and II.  I specifically focused on the college’s increased offerings of alternative methods of instruction, the need for online academic assistance, the opportunities and challenges presented by online tutoring, the necessity of extensive planning before adopting new technology, the reason for choosing the program AskOnline, PBCC’s use of the program by various SLC labs since 2005, our current usage, and our tentative plans for future use of the program.  

AskOnline

Funding for the CEA conference has been approved, so we presenters are beginning to make preparations. Since my work with AskOnline at this campus is fairly new, part of my preparation will be documenting the use of the program. Last semester was only preparation such as the web page content, tutor training, partnership with a faculty member, etc. This semester is our actual trial. I've been very concerned about the usage of the site. My work in this program at a different campus did not produce much response, yet another campus had an overwhelming response. It's very difficult to predict. I'm optimistic, however, because our first student request was submitted today, and we have not even announced it to our trial group yet. I'm scheduled to meet with the class next week. This student stumbled upon us while working with math. The math lab has been using the program for maybe 3 years now, and they've been quite successful.