Assignment Three Overview

The tasks were varied and many for this assignment:

1.     Choose a topic, post it and respond to everyone's topic.

2.     Read three chapters in the text.

3.     Write a scenario, post and respond to peer scenarios.

4.     Write three paragraphs of pro argument, post and respond to peers.

5.     Write three paragraphs, post, and respond.

6.     Write a first draft, post and respond.

7.     Write a second draft, post and respond.

8.     Write and post a final draft.

Online Technologies

At this point in the class, one would assume the mechanism of delivery should be unseen. Yet, as the class began the most ambitious projects thus far, many problems arose.

    Difficulties in Interpretation of Assignments. Since argument is the most complex assignment given to first-year composition students, questions should be raised by them, especially those who are lower skilled (Hayes & Brandt, 1992). Thus it is not surprising that immediately after receiving the assignment, Sue wrote, "This paper seems pretty difficult. I am having trouble undrstanding." She followed this with a list of twelve questions, ranging from questions about the topic to questions of vocabulary. Monica then stated, "I had the same problems with Sue." In response, the teacher sent another message through to the class. In it, he made use of bullets and white space to help students understand what he wanted from them. After that, he received no more questions.

    Reading and Understanding Online Text. Monica had trouble reading and understanding the assignment. She wrote, "After I read the desription for the writing assignment #3, it is more confusing then I thought…the information have to current. I am wondering what year or date do you mean by current?" Her verbalization of this and other students' comments led the instructor to write, "My guess is that many of you aren't reading my comments and responses to individuals. Please go back and read all the messages I've sent to individuals in class." Since the instructor was new to this type of instruction, it is not surprising that it had taken him this long to understand that some students have difficulty with reading and understanding online text.

    "Etalk" Versus Rhetoric. In another first for the instructor, he began to become more informal in some of his messages to his students, as indicated by using lower case letters when addressing them, and when signing his name as evidenced in messages such as this, "julie, this is an excellent topic. there are a number of outrageous proposals for you to consider; here are a few…j."

   Problems of Unstructured Time and the "Newness". Some students still had difficulties with having the discipline required of an online student. Robert, knowing of his own predilection, wrote, "hi everyone, i know, late as usual. The lab is going to close soon so here is my topic." Steve did not make excuses when he quipped, "You guys, I'm sorry for turning my paper in so late. No excuses here. Just a VERY bad week. Mahalo." Sue also had difficulties, "My scenario which was dated for March 6 was sent to the class incomplete. I couldn't finish it before the lab closed. I just turned in whatever I had." Students were quite aware when the computer labs were opened and closed; thus, this showed poor planning on their parts.

   Method of Delivery: Technology. The largest problem area was in the technology of the class. Again and again, students had trouble with email, with being pushed offline, and with email not arriving when and how it was supposed to. Steve, in response to numerous complaints from others, wanted to know who else had trouble with reading his email,

I would like to know, if all of you have the same problem with my e-mail. If so, I will switch to another e-mail software. The one I am currently using is capable of supporting [HTML] codes therefore enableing me to go to links and attributes to the INTERNET or WWW directly from my e-mail. Please send me your input, then I will either make a switch, or get information to you on how to decipher my gibberish.

The responses were immediate. Carl responded,

YEAH, DUDE, I CAN'T READ YOUR E-MAIL WORTH #@#^%*!? TO READ IT AT ALL I HAVE TO FIRST REPLY AND INCLUDE YOU MESSAGE . . . EVEN AFTER THAT, IT'S FULL OF ALL THESE nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; !!! It pretty much kinda sucks . . . TRY SENDING YOURSELF A E-MAIL THAT YOU ACCESS ON CAMPUS . . . SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FROM THERE . . . ALL I KNOW IS THAT IT DON'T WORK FOR ME. THANKS FOR ASKIN

Steve took action. "Hey class, is this any better. I from my current e-mail browser to Eudora Light version 3. something or other. Let me know if this makes a difference." He also took charge when a possible virus surfaced, sending the following to the group, "Fwd: fwd: Re: VIRUS ALERT -Reply - Forwarded (fwd)." This message detailed what the virus was and what solutions the students should take to protect themselves.

Robert's email problem was different; he received a message from the computer services, "Hi Robert, There were some errors in the alias e100-l, so your mail got bounced to us. The problem has been fixed, you might want to resend the message to the group." So was Rhonda's, "OH S – T . . . . THE COPY PASTE FUNCTION DOESN'T CATCH QUOTATION MARKS! SORRY! I WILL FIX THAT BEFORE I TURN IN MY FD." Sue also didn't know some of the commands necessary to operate her email efficiently, "I don't know how to save info when I'm in the email mode."

Another concern was with down time. Rachel wrote, "I tried to send my paper on Tuesday, but we had a major power outage. I have had problems with this computer all day." Cassandra advised, "I am sorry that my comments come today rather than yesterday. It is because I did my howework at home and was unable to get through to unix server." She restated in the next email, "I apologise for the delay for the same reason as given in my previous message." Of the 30 messages about online technology (of 167 in this section), only one commented upon a positive aspect. Melinda ventured, "I searched the net and found a group of schools where there is no "structure" and everything is run democratically," as finding this information aided her in her search for an argument topic.

 Process: Writing and Pedagogy

Because of the difficulty of the assignment, the least skilled students should have had more problems than the more skilled students in discovering topics for this papers (Elbow, 1988; Emig, 1979; White, 1985), and that was the case for this assignment. However, what was interesting to note is only Cassandra and Carl seemed to handle the project without much trouble. All of the rest struggled. First they struggled with brainstorming and then with attitude.

Monica fluctuated between various topics and ideas, from smoking, same sex marriage, teachers and gambling; she finally settled on gambling, but the effort was painful. A message submitted to the class, "I don't think I can send in my draft by tonight, because I don't have a clue what I am going to write. I am sure I will try to send it in by Saturday. Sorry for the delay :-(."

Sue suffered the same pangs. She, too, had trouble developing a topic. "I'm still not sure what I should write about. I'm considering understanding and being aware of people's disabilities, or closing down bars, strip clubs to prevent fights and deaths. HELP!!!!!" Dr. Sutherland intervened at this point,

Sue, two excellent subjects. To address the problem of under employment for those with disabilities, you could propose that all private and public sector organizations be forced to hire people with disabilities -- no exceptions. The second idea is a good one. To address the problem of violence that's associated with bars and nightclubs, you could propose that all of them be closed.

Fifteen minutes later, Sue wrote, "Now I'm thinking about littering. Because that bothers me very much. What do you guys think?" Twenty minutes after that, without any more impetus from an outside source, she amended, "I've decided to do my topic on violence that's associated with bars, nightclubs." Here we see someone someone in the throes of the process of the reflexive mode. The teacher must have realized his extensive comments might interfere with her writing processes as he wrote, "I think I'm 'talking too much.' I'd better step aside and give your classmates a chance to give you feedback. Class?"

Rhonda had the same dilemma; she couldn't settle on a topic. First, she wrote, "For assignment #3, I am going to write about the problem of nuclear activity in the Pacific," and when it came time to write her scenario, she said, "Well, i really couldn't do the scenario assignment on time. No way jose!!! So, now i will just freewrite for you and tell you what i think. This assignment doesn't make much sense to me, but i'll try."

Julie had the same trouble; she telegraphed to the class in her email, "I think I'll do my paper on teenage pregnancy or drugs and alcohol that affect teens. Is one or the other a good topic? Help!" Even though the teacher had made the decision to not "talk too much," she received a long message from him,

julie, this is an excellent topic. there are a number of outrageous proposals for you to consider; here are a few:

1.     any teen who uses drugs or alcohol during her pregnancy will immediately be sent to a special hospital-jail where she can be monitored for the rest of her pregnancy

2.     the guilty teen mother will be forced to carry a large sign announcing that she was caught taking drugs/alcohol during pregnancy, and she must be out on the street during the busiest traffic hours and in shopping malls

    I'm sure the class can think of some other wild ideas.

Julie's next message indicated the problem still existed, "Everyone: I won't be able to email you my scenario #3 probably by Sunday. I'll try to get it in as soon as I can. I really don't know what to talk about or how to write it yet."

Steve, too, had much turmoil with the assignment. He told the class, "Hey gang. Wassup again. My subject is something along the lines of gang violence, and what a concerned society can do to rid themselves of over zealous, testosterone filled, adolescence." His confidence is displayed here, but later on he wrote, when submitting his last draft late, "I am losing my focus on all things, including my passion for writing. I promise to be re-motivated and re-focused before the start of the next assignment." None of the messages between his preceding one and this one gave insight to this loss of trust in his writing processes. However, if we recall that Steve's skill does not match his self-assessment, then that may inform his loss of confidence, especially when he received this personal message via the class discussion board from his instructor.

Keep your arguments separate from the scenario. State your 3 pro arguments and develop them in separate paragraphs. State your 3 con arguments and develop them in separarte parags. Finally, rebut the 3 con arguments. Each rebuttal can be attached to its con argument.

This list of tasks to do may have seemed just too overwhelming to a fledging writer. Attempting to address Steve's distress, Carl wrote, enlarging upon his own reflexive mode,

Here's what I do when faced with a writing assignment . . . (IT MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU, BUT YOU COULD CONSIDER IT . . .) What I try to do-wheather it is a Philosophy, History or English paper, is to figure out what the assignment is first and foremost. It is soooeasy to get off on a tangent and miss the boat, so to speak. The second thing, is to TRY to find some aspect of the assignment that interests you; gets your blood boiling, or reminds you of something you feel passionately. It's not easy. But if you try to write before you have a good subject, uou'll be desperate for words; counting the pages, and trying to find the largest FONT for your paper just to fill space. Asking for help is your strongest asset, in my opinion. Just take it easy on yourself, think of something fun, and freewrite awhile. It'll come.

After reading Steve's attempt at the assignment, Carl understood the dilemma: we can't write well what we don't understand.

 Product: Assignments

Not surprisingly, many students did not complete all of these tasks. In fact, only four managed to complete a final draft: Carl finished his on time --Melinda, Steve and Rhonda turned them in late. While everyone did post a topic, a scenario, and a response to the readings, no one read and responded to all of the numerous postings.

Indeed this was a problem as indicated by Dr. Sutherland's reprimand, titled, "Class Please Read." He told students that they needed to read every message from him, "Thus, from now on, please read all the messages that I send -- even if it's not addressed to you."

From that point on, each message he sent to a student was labeled, PLEASE READ. In addition, in a message a few days later, he again reprimanded them, attempting to push them into responding more. "Some of you have remained silent. I hope it's not because you don't value your classmates' suggestions. The quality of RD3 will tell us how effective peer comments have been."

It was also during this time period that Dr. Sutherland returned their first graded papers. When he did so, he included two different handouts which explained the scoring system and grading policies (Appendix C).

Communication

Communication activity was low during Assignment Three, implying students were so busy with their tasks that they had difficulties with staying in touch with each other. An added complexity was midterm. Many students had to prepare for exams and papers in other classes. Julie stated, "Sorry, I won't be able to email my FD3 yet, I'll give it until tomorrow night. I've been soooooo tied up with midterms!" Rhonda wrote,

It all started on Wednesday. I studied for a mid-term until 4 a.m. Thursday morning. I had class all day. Then I had a Student Congress meeting. Then my body shut down. I slept until 9 a.m. on Friday. Then I finished my paper for History. Then I worked until 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Now it's Saturday, almost 4 p.m. I have to be to work by 5:30. I have had problems with this computer all day. There is no way that I can finish my FD3 by midnight, because I won't get off work until 1 again. And I work tomorrow morning. So, my paper will be late. I do have some very good ideas about it, though. Just give me a few more days.

Carl had the most messages when it came to communicating with the class. After responding to drafts and topics, he would add quips, "Time for my Geritol; have a nice day," and "Ho! Time for my prozak. Carl:-) (lil'old joke @ the prozak)." He was the only one who seemed to be able to cope with the assignment, which is not surprising since he was the highest skilled writer in the class. While the class discussion suffered, feedback did not.

Feedback

During Assignment Three students made some progress from correctness to revision comments. For example, when Monica submitted her ideas a request for help, "If gambling is suddenly legalized, there are many problems such as economic, social, family, environments, and traffic problems that could arise. Please give me any feedback that is this a good area to start with," many offered advice and suggestions which helped her make decisions about her topic. Carl suggested, "Since gambling is already legal but-beleive me-there's a ton of it here already, but illegal, you could try a outregeous proposal to have anyone caught gambling EXECUTED." Monica responded,

Carl gave me a very good idea how to develop my paper. She talk about the state which can gambling, and talk about the effect on that. I only went to Moscow gambled once, but I think write about Las Vegas is more fun for this topic. I will compare Las Vegas has Casino to here which is banned on gambling. This morning I read the newspaper, at home, they have a propsal to built a casino. I am looking forward into this idea more deeply.

Other members, too, offered words of advice that led to revision, rather than surface error correction. Rhonda seemed to actually become inspired by Monica's topic, providing evidence for her,

I totally agree with you on this subject!!! It is very upseting to see gambling coming here. For another example, I will tell you about the Marshall Islands. They legalized gambling. And now, do you know what has happened??? A company in South Korea wants to build 2 casino/resorts in M. These places are very small. Some are only 1 or 2 blocks wide, and they are only about one foot above sea level. There are about 20 atolls in M. One of the atolls is Mi. So, the South Korean Company, and an American business man, Jerry Kramer, wants to move all of the M. residents to a new home and use the land for a casino. It is really sickening. Another idea that I have on this subject is: Many times a state will legalize gambling in order to make money to support education and other good causes. I think it's really sick to be teaching our kids that you have to be a gambling fool to go to school. In other words, they should not have to use "wicked" money to keep our kids in school. Good subject!

Since both Carl and Rhonda offered such excellent feedback, Sue's corrective comments seemed shallow in comparison, "IS YOUR PLAN IMPLEMENTED IN HONG KONG? CHECK GRAMMAR. MAYBE YOU SHOULD START OFF YOUR FIRST SENTENCE, IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH, WITH DIFFERENT WORDS. I LEARNED FROM MY ENG 22 CLASS, TO NEVER START A SENTENCE WITH 'IT.'" Despite the productive feedback, Monica still had difficulty with the assignment and as noted did not turn in a final draft.

Steve also received some valuable feedback. While Monica offered, "Your Thesis statement is very effective  . . . point out what is your argument will be to get rid of the gang members," Rhonda added,

Many gangs develop because children do not have secure families. I don't think that the answer is to beat them up. But I definetely agree that they should be stopped. I have alw3ays wondered what would happen if they were completely ignored. How can a gang have any effect when it is not recognized by anyone? I think this would only work with the kids, though. I mean, kids are pretty easy to persuade. So, if they were given something better to do, and were not recognized or feared as a gang, they would not have a gang. Adult gangs are more dangerous and cannot be ignored, though. They probably just need to get knocked off. But the question there is, "Who is the judge? Who gets to do the beating? And how will the punisher win?" One thing you might want to consider, or discuss, is the fact that gangs are so prevelent in European and American societies BECAUSE we have no strong cultural or religious rites of passage. In other words, adolescents in America have an incredibly difficult time understanding how to become an adult, because there are no set guidelines! Great topic!!!

Carl, adding a lightness to the process, suggested,

I think your subject is really interesting. You could impliment people who would ID a gang member and take "them out". First you could "rough them up a bit", or possibly remove fingers for each violation or force them into 'Gang de-tox" and brainwash them or perform some small lobodomy and give them manual labor jobs in farm areas of northern Canada . . . :-) Seriously, fixing the problem with your "extreme measures" will be fun to read about.

Of course, he, too, received nonspecific feedback; Julie suggested, "I think it's a good idea to write about gang violence. It seems like it's starting up everywhere now. This one should be interesting."

Steve, however, resorted to corrective comments rather than revisionist feedback when he wrote,

I enjoyed this paper. It did seem a bit long, but I got the gist of it. I think you have a great topic, a great solution, and hopfully a great grade for this paper . . .. I don't think it would hurt this paper at all, if you pruned it just a tad bit though. Well, just another thought.

Encouragement

Whereas the depth of feedback had increased, the suggestions and words of encouragement decreased; when Steve vocalized his trouble, only Carl offered any help, "Asking for help is your strongest asset, in my opinion." Other than that occasion, students were reticent.

Revelation

Write to Jan -- jan@js.spokane.wa.us

Last Updated 10/20/01

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