Assignment Overview
Students began with a series of email messages that informed them
of their tasks (Appendix B).
1. Review handouts on website.
2.
Read the
email from instructor and classmates.
3.
Post message to class.
4.
Complete
questions for series of instructor posed questions.
5.
Share
possible topics for assignments.
6.
Post a writer's plan, including
thesis and two paragraphs to the group.
7.
Write a first draft and post to
group.
8.
Give feedback on all of the peer
essays.
9.
Respond to a reading in the text
and post to class
10. Write and
post a second draft.
11. Give
feedback on second drafts.
12. Write and
post final draft.
With these
instructions, students have entered the world of the online first-year composition.
Initially when they enrolled the class, they were given the name of their teacher and a
link to his "WWW" site where necessary information was housed. They were told to
find the assignments and begin posting to the discussion board. In addition, before the
actual start date of the class, students received a friendly letter from Dr. Sutherland
introducing the class and instructing them to pick up a copy of the handbook. They were to
read through the syllabus, check their email daily, and the instructor advised,
The most important advice
I can give you is to not be a "lurker." A lurker is one who receives and reads
email but fails to respond or send email to the class or to the instructor. In an online
class, you don't exist if you lurk. The only way we'll know
you're "there" is through your email messages.
Immediately, problems arose as both computers and students often
don’t perform the way teachers would like them to. Of the 835 messages in the class,
257 of them were about the first lesson.
Difficulties in Interpretation of
Assignments. Of the nine participants in this study, only one, Carl, who was the most
confident in the class according to his entrance survey and who displayed high writing
skills, did not report problems. Students who were less confident about their writing
abilities had many more difficulties. Melinda started the class this way. She indicated on
the entrance survey that her skills in reading and her comfort with using new technologies
were high, yet she was one of the first who had difficulties understanding the text
included in the class webpage. She also admitted to having trouble with the technology of
the class, and she sent a missive to the entire class, "I’m extremely
confused." An hour later, she wrote, "What are we suppose to be working on now?
Which schedule should we follow? Why I am I getting funny mail from unix?" Another
student, Sue, admitted on the entrance survey that her reading and writing skills were
average and that her comfort with new technologies challenged her. She, too, began the
class with frustration.
Hello everyone! I am
pretty frustrated and confused. I don’t know why but I’m not receiving any of
the email assignments; also, I don’t even know what we are supposed to be doing. I
think I’m late in turning my assignments in, though. Is any one else experiencing
these problems? I’m not sure what to do.
Later, she wrote, after a reply from both
the instructor and other students, "I don’t even know what we are supposed to be
doing."
Reading and Understanding Online
Text. The next encountered problem was in the area of reading and understanding
online text. Here again, the more sophisticated students had minor difficulties; however,
less skilled students had many.
Cassandra, a person who displayed little confidence in her reading
and writing skills, reported in a personal email to the researcher, "I panicked in
completing the various tasks relating to the first assignment," and her discourse in
the class echoed this. Despite the numerous documents posted and sent by the instructor,
she wrote,
I definitely need help
uploading my draft in order to e-mail it to the class. Would Jon please help? I log in
from home. I use a Macintosh Power PC, system 7.5. A software called Microsoft Works
version 4 comes with the computer. It has a bit of word processing, communications,
spreadsheet and database. If this is not adequate for uploading, I will log in from
campus.
Sue also had trouble deciphering the information provided by the
instructor for success in the class. She wrote, "I did get the tips on
uploading/downloading but I am still unsure how to do it. I don’t mean to bother any
one." Melinda echoed her; she wrote later the same day, "Do we have to attatch
our RD to an email message or can we send it in the body of the message."
Of course, Dr. Sutherland sent more instructions to help these
students. His instructions carefully detailed what they were to do. However, he neglected
to differentiate between Mac machines and PCs in his message, apparently because the
differences were evident to him. Later he received the following from Sue,
I notice that on your
downloading email peer comments, downloading and uploading how to tips, you explain the
information from MACS only. Can you explain how to download email peer comments, download
and upload information on IBM? I’ll be using computers in K. or I. labs.
This produced seven messages from Dr.
Sutherland in which he responded to Sue's question specifically, and again in great
detail, wrote explicit directions for uploading/downloading on either Macs or PCs. Shortly
afterwards, Robert, a young man who felt he wrote and read well without any real
corresponding evidence, sent the following, "I am not too sure how to send my rough
draft from the PC computers in the lab to your address."
"Etalk"
Versus Rhetoric. Another area that concerns educators is that email,
newsgroups, and chat groups promote an informal type of writing that make it more
difficult for beginning students to recognize the formality of the writing class. However,
in this first lesson, only one student's messages displayed any of the characteristics
found in "etalk," the informal language of the Net. Steve, the most computer
savvy of the group, a young man who has great confidence in his reading and writing
ability, often sent messages that bordered on the informal. One of the first messages he
wrote offered his help to others in the class, giving himself a nickname that we would
rarely find in the typical academic classroom. He stated,
I am also willing to help
whomever I can with any problems or instruction they can or can't understand about
computers (not English mind you). Anyways my doors are open, I know everybody has busy
schedules but if it's for the sake of a more computer knowledgable class, who am I to
prevent you education. (grinz) King Wise-A** (but helpful when needed).
Later in response to a classmate who had reminded Steve of their
previous acquaintance, he wrote, using the terminology often found in many chat groups,
Just
can’t for the life of me, figure out what you look like . . . (grinz). Anyways you
coded your E-mail, HTML . . . hehehe, most of these guys are using some goofy e-mail
software like "Pine" and they gonna get some screwy looking e-mail . . .
(grinz).
Of note, however, is that it was not
uncommon for the use of lower or upper case letters in messages of urgency in email. For
example, Rhonda, one of the higher skilled students in the class wrote, "i don’t
know if you ever recieved this message." And Dr. Sutherland answering a student
concern, wrote, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF THIS MESSAGE. IF YOU DON’T, I’LL
ASSUME YOU NEVER GOT IT!"
Problems of Unstructured Time and the
"Newness". Some students seemed to have trouble coming to terms with the
discipline inherent in working at one's own pace on someone else's clock. Many students
felt the pressure of turning in things "on time," but again, those who were less
skilled had the most difficulty. Sue wrote,
I haven’t come to see
you at your office because I have had so many things that happened unexpectedly. I know
that’s no excuse, though. I’m sorry I haven’t been acknowledging your
messages. I didn’t know that I was supposed to. The messages that I have not been
receiving is all of your assignments; that was the reason why I got more frustrated and
mixed up.
One student, who chose not to partake in
the study, constantly sent messages to the class apologizing for his lateness and his
disorganization.
Method of Delivery: Technology.
The largest generator of messages was the actual technology of the class. Every student
wrote at least one message regarding computers and how they were working or not working.
No matter the level of skill, students had trouble with the method of delivery of the
class. Monica, a low skilled student, who struggled with her second language, had the most
problems. She noted,
For
me, I don’t know do any of you received my mail. I been sending about 8 mails for the
last three days. One of them is my first draft of beauty, and some disscusion to the other
students. I did not received anything from my side, so I am not sure should I send it
again.
As more time for completion of tasks was
required of her, she told the class, "I need to use about an hour to get into my
Email system, instead just 4 to 5 minutes in summer vacation." When the amount of
email she received started to become unmanageable, she asked her instructor,
Since
we finish essay #1, can we delete all the mails that we recieved that with close
relationship with essay #1? Or we have to wait until we tell us the grade of the first
essay first? My files is just full of mails that is related to essay #1.
Later as she gained more control, a message
to the class stated,
By
the way, when I logon at home yesterday night around 10:30pm, I heard a very interesting
messages from the answering machines. They said you only can logon from 10:00am to 4:30pm,
do you heard that messages before. Is that mean we only can logon from 10:00 to 4:30 only,
the other time we have to use the on campus computer?
Sue also started with great anxiety, "I did not received
anything from my side, so I am not sure should I send it again." To the class, she
wrote,
I
just wanted to know if any one of you have received a message from "The
Postmaster". I don’t know how it got onto my account, and I don’t know what
it is. If anybody knows what I’m talking about, could you let me know?
In a direct message to Steve sent to the
entire class, she requested,
I
really need help with the computer; I know how to do word processing, email, and some
other things, but when it comes to uploading, downloading, internet, netscape, and
printing out the work, I have no clue as to what I’m doing. Do you use the computers
in the I. computer lab? I use the computers there, and it always crashes. Today I
was just about to log in when the computers crashed again; now I’m up here at the K.
lab.
Still later, she wrote, "I hope you
get this. Let me know if you didn’t." And again, "The messages that I have
not been receiving is all of your assignments; that was the reason why I got more
frustrated and mixed up."
Julie, who stated that she is average in her reading and writing
abilities, had many difficulties in going "online." At one point, she sent four
copies of the same message to the class. In response to Dr. Sutherland's questioning of
this, she stated, "Mr. S.: Sorry about the four copies. I thought it didn’t go
through. I forgot to put my name, date, class, and rd1 on the first one. Sorry!"
Other students whose skills were higher presented less anxiety.
Rhonda, a young woman who felt quite confident in her writing and reading ability, stated,
"i don’t know if you ever recieved this message! i assume you didn’t,
because i didn’t get a reply!" Carl displayed less anxiety in his missive,
"Similar problems here . . . I tried most of last night (Wed.) and most of today.
Amazing I made it in- I thought of posting through the browser but now I’m running
late." Cassandra also seemed to take the machine problems in stride, "I typed in
the wrong address (careless!) when forwarding the above comments." Later, she told
the class,
My apologies that my RD#1
will arrive late tonight because just as I finished typing the message, I got bad news on
the screen: 'problems killing text' and everything stalled. I log on again and the entire
RD#1 message has disappeared.
Steve, the computer wizard, had other concerns. At one point, he told the class,
"I upgraded my entire system, from a 486 66Mhz to a 586 133Mhz, and changed most all
my software also. Terrible excuse I know, but I wasn’t able to logon."
As noted earlier, Emig (1971) posits two different ways students
talk about their writing processes, reflexive and extensive. When Steve wrote, "I
usually start by blurting things out on a page with my pen and paper. Or more often when I
have access to it, I 'JAM' on my computer," he is in the reflexive mode because audience is not his concern,
writing is. There were very few messages, however, that dealt with either. Monica
discussed her processes more than any of the other students. Her comments in the
reflective mode had to do with the organization of writing. "I think is better to
plan a paper before sitting down to write it," and,
I believe that because you
will forget the smallest deatil that you think of. Sometime I think of something good, but
when I want to drop it down on a piece of paper, I forgot what I want to write down.
However, she tended to dwell more in the
extensive mode. Since she was the second language learner in the group, it was not
surprising that she was overly conscious of her grammar problems. She wrote, "That is
my first Draft, I knew I have a lot of Grammer problems." Rhonda wrote, "I GET
AN IDEA FOR A PAPER WHEN I AM OCCUPIED WITH SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES THINKING ABOUT THE
PAPE." In the reflexive mode, she expresses her lack of rhetorical knowledge and of
her own writing deficiencies, she noted, "I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE A THESIS
FOR THIS PAPER," and "So, i guess i am having a little trouble. Any more
suggestions?" Moving from the reflective to the extensive, she, too, expressed an
anxiety about grammar, "CAN I WRITE IN THE PRESENT TENSE LIKE THIS???"
Robert displayed the reflective mode when he wrote, "After I
have the outline I start to write my only rough draft. Then I will fix up any mistakes I
see on the rough draft, then write my final paper." Melinda also approached
Assignment One in the reflective mode, "I'm finaly brave enough to choose a subject.
Once I send this there is no going back." She also requested help with her writing
processes, "I know a thesis is suppose to be less than the following so I need
everybody's help to pare it down and help make it clear." Then later, as her task
drew to completion, she told the group, "So this is it. If I feel this much
seperation anxiety with a review draft think how bad I'll feel with the FD." Her
extensive comments were not concerned about grammar, rather they focused on the persona of
the writer, "Is the thesis suppose to be part of the paper or is it separate? Who am
I suppose to be this for? Someone who has a musical background or just anybody?"
Cassandra started in a more confident, reflective mode, echoing her
self-image, "I will describe the shape and color of an egg. I will concentrate on the
'what' and the 'when'. I do not think that the 'where', 'who', and 'why' are relevant to
meeting the objective of my essay." Her knowledge of her writing processes are quite
apparent, "I feel strongly feel that we must write what is relevant to the topic. I
spend a lot of time weeding my draft paragraphs and often I end up with only a few, short
paragraphs." Sue is another student who shows her confidence in her reflexive mode:
Planning
a paper gives the writer an opportunity to express their feelings and emotions in an
informal manner. It helps to write down a whole range of ideas and scan the information
that is important, or not important, before writing the actual paper.
When she moved to the extensive, her
confidence remains, "Sentence fragments are generally easy to understand. Although, I
do have a difficult time with dependent clause's. I tend to write fragments. Another one
is the prepositional phrase's. They both seem quite similar." Julie was another
participant who had very definite ideas about her topic. Her extensive comment is quite
plain; "I have decided on the subject of rocking a baby to sleep. It shows a lot of
different behavior and attitude towards rocking a baby to sleep." Later she in the reflexive mode, she noted,
I
get my plan from brainstorming when I'm in a quiet area. I sort of develop the step by
step process when I'm in a library, at home in my room, or actually, eating or listening
to music. I don't normally follow the steps in the textbook. Outlines is out. I don't
follow it. I just write a lot of notes and put them together.
Of the students who chose to participate in the study, these were the only ones who
discussed their processes in any detail. However, that does not mean the others were not
involved as indicated by the homework turned in.
Students had varying degrees of success in this area. Six of the
nine were consistent in submitting their work in a timely manner and meeting the deadlines
of the course. Others weren't as constant. Robert, who came into the situation late,
seemed to flounder throughout. He wrote three weeks into the semester,
hi,
you guys probably don't remember me, but yes I'm in this class. Sorry I haven't been
posting responses to all of your thesis statements, descriptive paragraphs, and whatever
else we had to do . . . . I've been going crazy making up work for all my other class
because I missed the first week of classes . . . You'll be hearing from me more from now
on ( I hope)
Another student, Steve also had his own problems with turning in assignments. During
the first assignment, he wrote a total of nineteen messages; of those, eight were in
response to peers; four regarded online technology; thus, only six were completed
assignments. Rhonda also had some problems. During the same period, she wrote a total of
twelve messages, eight in response to others with the remainder addressing the
assignments.
A few students began talking with one another right away. Of the
nine participants, Monica was the most forthcoming. From the first, she attempted to
engage others; she wrote, "Please give me some ment on my writing. Thank You."
Moreover, she chatted with the other students in an informal manner without prompting,
"I been starting on my first draft for about a week now, here is a copy of it."
In addition, she responded to comments others made, "For me I always having hard time
to write thesis statement also." She shared information about her personal life,
"Sorry for the late reply, I been sick for the last week." Of the twenty-three
messages she wrote for Assignment One, twelve of them were attempts at communicating with
her classmates. Despite being the only second-language learner in the class, she
continually attempted to communicate with her peers.
Steve also attempted to bridge the gap with messages that
transcended the assignments. When the glut of email seemed to overwhelm the class, he
wrote a message offering a way to cope with the deluge, "Hey guys, recently, in the
effort to minimize all the zillions of e-mail we've been receiving, I've been
"reply"-ing to the e-mail's (assignments) directed at
"E100i-L@Houd.Edu" to the person rather than back to the rest of the
"classroom" (grinz)." He called upon the other students to help Monica
write a better thesis, "Class, can you help Monica rephrase this thesis so that it's
as smooth as the spaghetti she's preparing?" He also asked about classroom etiquette,
"Hehe kewl, I wonder if we gonna get busted for speaking the blemmished tongue, in
ENG class . . . (poke) Da Boy Cruisa." He asked for help, telling his classmates, he
would reciprocate, "However I am finished with my RD and am anxiously waiting for
responses on it. I will get to work on reading yours in a bit."
Rhonda, too, joined in later. When others offered her feedback, she
thanked them in a informal manner, "Tanks fo da reply to my subject." Later when
one student shared a personal problem, Rhonda wrote, "Jerramon (that's "good
luck" in Marshallese)." Sue went beyond and began asking questions; she
requested, "Let me know if you have any time to help me." "Is any one else
experiencing these problems? I'm not sure what to do." "If you don't mind me
asking, do you have a baby?"
However, Julie's only comment was in response to Sue, "Yes, I
do have a child, she's five years old. I do have some experience in rocking a baby to
sleep. At the time, it was difficult, but fun! It gives me a good feeling when I'm close
to her." Robert, after a message telling the class he had missed the first week
shared,
I've
been hella busy with all my other subjects(taking 18 credits) and have only posted by
subject for paper #1, and that's all i've done so far. hehehehehe :-) I'm going to try and
finish everything that was due up until today and post all of them tomorrow. Hope I can do
it!! MAN!!! I'm gonna be staying home on a friday working on english.
In this first assignment, students were told to read and comment on
peer thesis statements and descriptive paragraphs. The directions stated, "As
reviewer, your task is to encourage and help each other develop vivid, life-like
descriptions to make comments about one another's topics, then later about each other's
first drafts."
When looking at the feedback in the first assignment, the comments
made by peers were tentative, relying heavily upon corrective comments, ones that concern
surface errors, rather than revision comments, which focus on content (Emig, 1971). In
terms of number of messages, this category had the second highest amount. Students
commented upon each other's work, and they also responded to comments made to them. For
example, Monica, after reading comments by two class members, wrote,
Seems you really get into
my subject seriously, I am sure you guys will learn how to cook Spaghetti after my essay
is done. Because I have to give out the process and the taste of that product. I am sure I
will do a good job on that.
Monica, despite being one of the least
skilled of the students, offered the most comments. Most of her remarks showed she grasped
the purpose of a peer's topic. She told one, "That is very good to have a plan for
the essay, and your plan is a very good one too." To another, she offered advice,
"That is very good. If it have any converation provide, be sure to included in the
paper." To a third, she offered encouragement, "That was a very good start, I
hope your freewriting working for you." Monica was the only student who responded to
each topic presented by her peers.
Julie, another of the weaker skilled students, was also active in
offering comments to her peers. She told Cassandra, "I think that is a unique idea!
The beauty of eggs is different. Your essay should be interesting to read." Julie
took a different track than Monica. Monica summarized, conversely, Julie related the
peer's topic to herself in some manner:
It's
pretty interesting remembering your dreams. I remember certain dreams that I've had. It's
weird though how that happens. You think the dream was something that would be real or it
happened already? I'm just stoked about it. How did you feel about it?
To another peer, she responded,
Actually
I like the idea of playing the piano than your first subject. I played the piano for
almost five years and it's a joy to listen to beautiful music. Playing the piano can make
it seem beautiful in many different ways, not just the music, but the rhythm, actual play,
and the look of it.
Others were more general. Cassandra,
despite being one of the better writers in the class, offered general comments like,
"I think it is a very good topic," and attempting to offer revision comments,
she stated, "For the WHY part, how about exploring why you and other people like to
run." Sue was the only other student who offered any comment on peer plans. But hers,
too, were inexact. "I think that is such a sweet and beautiful subject to write your
paper on."
When it came time for student's to comment upon each other's
drafts, they still seemed hesitant as evidenced by Julie's remark, "Rhonda, I love
the story about your home. The title fits right into your story. I really can't find
anything wrong with your paper. I think it's great!" In another message, she wrote,
"Sue, I'm responding to your rough draft paper on Following the Path of Freedom. In
my opinion, I think your paper is wonderful! The title fits exactly right onto your paper.
I wouldn't change anything in your thesis. I love it!"
That's not to say there wasn't an attempt to help; for example,
when Julie wanted to help Monica, her comments were corrective, dealing with a title
change, rather than focusing on problems of organization, content or focus. She wrote,
The beauty of cooking in
your rough draft is pretty good. You talked about the steps in cooking a particular dish.
If you talk about a particular dish, you should change your title to pertaining to that.
If your title is cooking, it should be all ways of cooking or talk about more than one
type of way to cook a certain dish. I don't know, just putting in my two sense!
When she tried to address the problems in Steve's writing, she
seemed almost inarticulate. She knew problems existed, yet she did not have the
terminology yet to express what she meant,
Your
rough draft seemed pretty confusing to me. Is it about rollerblading? Well, I assumed it
is. I think for your first paragraph you should eliminate some sentences that deals with
saying everything else is beautiful. Talk about more on rollerblading as your own. Focus
on the subject as is. The rest of your paper is excellent. Don't forget your title!
Monica, taking the lead of Dr. Sutherland, who had told student's
he would insert his comments in capital letters wrote, "YOUR THESIS IS VERY CLEAR, IT
CAN TELL ME WHAT I WILL EXPECT THE ASPECTS AND BENEFITS IN YOUR PAPER. ALSO IT TALK ABOUT
YOUR INTER-FEELING," and "YOUR DESCRIPTION OF YOUR CLOTHING IS VERY CLEAR, I CAN
SEE THE WAY YOU DRESS AND HOW MUCH YOU ENJOY RUNNING." Again Monica relied upon a
summary of sorts to show that she had read and comprehended the piece. To another student,
she wrote, "YOU TRIED TO TELL US THE WAY YOU START TO RUN, THAT IS VERY INTERSTING TO
KNOW;" however, she neglected to elaborate upon why she used the word
"tried." To another student, Monica did offer some direction; she wrote, "I
READ THROUGH YOUR WHOLE ESSAY, BUT YOU DIDN'T WRITE THE [THESIS] THAT IS REQUESTED IN THE
8-POINT CHECKLIST FOR RDs AND FDs. PLEASE REMEMBER ADD ON THAT BEFORE YOU TURN IN YOUR
FINAL DRAFT." Here at least the receptor of the feedback has something to work with.
From Monica's advice, the author knew that the thesis must be rewritten to adhere to the
guidelines provided by the instructor.
Other participants were not quite as explicit. Rhonda tended to
give comments that were so non-specific that they might have been less than helpful. She
wrote, "I think that you have a good idea," and "As far as your subject
goes, it is beautiful," and to another, "I really like yours, too." Not
once did she offer revision comments which would aid another writer in improving a draft.
While Chris, the best writer in the class, offered some revision
remarks, even those were at times indefinite, "Perhaps you could relate the emotions
and dedication required in a violin to that of a relationship. Perhaps your music could be
of some therapy to you now." However, he did insert comments throughout each person's
draft, commenting upon ideas and organization. Following Dr. Sutherland's lead, he wrote a
general comment at the beginning of the draft, "JUST PASSING THROUGH AND I THOUGHT
I'D PUT IN MY COMMENTS, " then in the body of the text itself, he embedded his
comments. The remarks usually contained the questions; for example in Steve's essay, Carl
asked, "(WHEN HER MOM COOLLY EXPLAINED SOMETHING, WAS SHE UPSET, OR
NONCHALANT?)" This type of revision feedback
allowed Steve to go back to his draft and add the missing information.
However, the type of comments that Robert offered could be
considered almost counter-productive as it focused on the corrective, those surface
aspects of the draft, rather than on the content. Robert, in one of the few attempts made
at offering feedback, responded to Monica's draft with, "I'M PUTTING SENTENCES WITH
GRAMMAR ERRORS OR THAT ARE UNCLEAR TO ME IN PARENTHESES." Sue, too, relied upon the
obvious; "Your paper shows your friendship with Carole to be very important. I liked
your paper, because you went into it very good. Look over your paper again for grammar
errors."
Melinda, as well, gave unclear direction; she wrote, "When I
first glanced at your first paragraph I thought 'what in the world is he talkiing
about?'" She must have felt how inadequate the efforts of the group were. She told
the class, "A friend came over last night and went over the paper with me. He made
some really good comments. At least I. school has taught him how to think."
This brings us to the other side of the dichotomy: receiving feedback. "However I
am finished with my RD and am anxiously waiting for responses on it. I will get to work on
reading yours in a bit," Steve wrote. Monica, requested, "Please give any last
suggestion to me ASAP," and Sue, queried more succinctly, "Any
suggestions?" In this first assignment, however, few members asked for feedback.
White (1985) writes, "A major part of schooling must be to
socialize young people into their culture by teaching them its accepted truths, history,
myths, rituals, crafts and manners" (p. 11). Moreover, students need to be taught how
to relate to one another, especially in terms of those who come from different cultures
(Burke, 1969; Smith, 1992; White, 1985).
Monica was the first to offer encouragement to others in the class; she almost seemed
to be a cheerleader, so to speak. Her comments were varied and many. She wrote some type
of encouraging word to everyone; for instance, she wrote, "I believe this will be a
very beautiful paper after you finish" to "I hope everything work out for
you" to "I KNEW YOU WILL DO ALLOT BETTER FOR THE OTHER PAPERS. GOOD LUCK!!"
Steve is the only other student who offered support to others; he told one
non-participant, "BRAVO!!! Awesome subject."
During the first part of class, students shared information about
themselves in small increments. Most of these revelations were non-invasive, having to do
with details about their physical existence. Steve in response to a draft of Robert's
wrote,
I
can't run to save my life. But like Robert I am a wheel lover, or skate-lover. I've skated
K. several times with my sister in the wee hours of the morning, and could really relate
to the getting up to going down phase and transitions of the run you took us on.
In an earlier message, we had learned, that
he was, "willing to help whomever I can with any problems or instruction they can or
can't understand about computers (not English mind you)," and that his, "doors
are open." Moreover, his informal manner, and use of colloquial expressions, i.e.,
"(grinz)" and "King Wise-A**," showed that he was quite comfortable
with both the class and himself. In addition, this comfort was evidenced in his writing
survey where he noted he was a good writer who felt at ease writing. In response to the
question that asked if he communicated well with others, he wrote, "*Yes.* That is
one of my main objectives through writing over the computer. That is to get my message
across, and or with feeling."
Others were not as confident and their revelations were tentative
in nature. Rhonda wrote, "In my opinion, music is beautiful, and violins are
beautiful." Later, as she struggled with her topic, she noted,
The
place was Oregon. I was depressed by the weather, and the events in my life. My world was
so dark and cold. I was trying so hard to fall asleep, but it wasn't happening. I turned
on some music, and, as my eyes began to close, I had this dream which was more like a
vision. It was so beautiful, and so inspiring.
Later, in an essay that grew from this
experience, she mentioned her mother, a shawl from her grandmother, a Honda Accord, a gift
from her father, and an auntie who gave her an electric blanket. She had left home so that
she could find more financial stability, ending with "I must have been crazy."
Monica, in one of her first messages, began letting others know who
she was; "Maybe I am not a runner. All I know is how to play tennis and
basketball," which she signs with the enigmatic, "Love . . . Monica."
One of Monica's next messages was in response to Steve's offer of
help. She responded, "I am not very profience in Internet yet. One of the reasons is
Internet is a totally new system to me. My first language is not English, but I am sure I
can understand English. How can I contact you expect sending E-mail to you?" In her
first essay, we learn more about Monica:
Carol
(my best friend) is 23 years old, a hard working girl, and always loves to learn how to
cook; therefore, she enjoys watched me to cook and the way I taught her how to flip the
eggs completely over in the pan and cut a thin slice ham. Carol and I always having lunch
together after I tutor her about the word processing programs on Saturday morning….
Last week Saturday, she came by my house after playing a exciting tennis game in M. Park
with my best tennis coach and I.
She cooked, tutored her friend in
word processing, and played tennis with a coach. She also watched sports; "I want to
watch the Baseball Game! (My God, they are bad this season)." She also felt quite
comfortable about divulging information about her physical and mental health; she
confided, "Sorry for the late reply, I been sick for the last week. So I don't feel
like writing and think for a while." Moreover, she revealed that she sought help for
her writing weakness, "Please correct some of them, but I still will go to LAC find a
tutor correct my paper."
Others in the class were not as
forthcoming as Monica. Robert who didn't start participating in the class until half way
through the first assignment wrote, "i'm hella stressing!!!!!!!" One of the
youngest members of the class at eighteen, his entrance survey indicated that he had
confidence in his writing abilities but felt no overwhelming need to communicate with
others in the class. His intermittent participation seemed to echo this.
Melinda, another eighteen-year old, participated in a less than
sufficient manner. In the beginning of the class, she wrote, "I'm finaly brave enough
to choose a subject. Once I send this there is no going back." She revealed little
other than she took piano lessons, and that she "quit for a while in 7th
grade because my old piano teacher quit to persue a career as an opera singer." She
was involved in yoga and suffered much anxiety about writing, as evidenced in this
message, "So this is it. If I feel this much seperation anxiety with a review draft
think how bad I'll feel with the FD."
Sue acknowledged she lacked confidence. Her revelations tended to
be of an emotional nature. "I feel a little better knowing that I'm not the only one
receiving these messages (from the post office). I'm thinking of dropping this class; but,
if I learn how to do these things then I probably won't." She wrote in one of her
first messages, "I'm sorry I haven't been acknowledging your messages."
Julie acknowledged she "played the piano for almost five years
and it's a joy to listen to beautiful music," had a "child, she's five years
old," and a "husband who works for a printing corporation as a pressman, who is
20 years old, stands 5'7" tall, big physique, weighing about 190."
Carl, a self-initiated learner, offered bare facts: he worked, and
had a wife, "I'm running late to pick up J. (My beautiful wife) I'll try again after
midnight. (I work tonight)." In a later message, he discussed his son and the
neighborhood where he lived.
Cassandra, the other older member of the class, also was slow in disclosure. All that
we learned from Cassandra during the first assignment was that she was married, had one
child, liked to read and hearkened from Hong Kong. "I am the mother of a teenager,
and the wife of a British gentleman."
