Keywords ESL/multilingual students, networked computers, computer labs, research study, student questionnaire Citation Information Type of Source: Book Article Authors: Andy Curtis, Tim Roskams Year of Publication: 2000 Title: "Language Learning…
Keywords technology, instructional use, administrative use, institutional use, research use Citation Information Type of Source: Book Article Author: Muriel Harris Year of Publication: 2000 Title: "Making Up Tomorrow’s Agenda and…
Keywords asynchronous, written feedback, accessibility, email, history, program description, starting an OWC, cost, staffing, data keeping, wcenter listserv Citation Information Type of Source: Book Article Author: Lady Falls Brown Year…
Keywords synchronous, MOO, metacognition, environmental interactivity, research study, content analysis Citation Information Type of Source: Book Article Author: Joel A. English Year of Publication: 2000 Title: "Putting the OO in…
It is our experience that tutors trained for face-to-face writing centers are not adequately prepared for the challenges they encounter working with online writing centers. The purpose of our article is to provide an overview—especially for administrators, developers, and tutors new to electronic tutoring environments—of the issues and considerations unique to online tutoring that training programs need to address.
As writing labs continue to branch out into cyberspace, questions abound as to the potential changing role of the writing lab, especially in its capacity online. Should the OWL (Online Writing Lab) act as a resource medium, providing users with a variety of writer-related tools (including handouts, interactive workshops, exercises, and additional links to more resources)? Or can it be a medium in which one conducts tutorials as well?
Even Hobson’s book, the most up-to-date on the subject of technology in the writing center, provides no detailed account of how synchronous tutorials have actually worked. An account of this type is sorely needed to open the discussion of its capabilities and limitations and to facilitate the progress of others interested in experimenting with this type of “virtual” tutorial.
In recent years historical inquiry has found a niche in writing center scholarship. Most of this history has addressed macro issues—such as the professionalization of writing centers (Riley 1994), global notions of center theory or practice (several in Landmark Essays 1995), the development of writing center organizations (Kinkead 1995), the nature of early centers (Carino 1995 “Early”), and models for historicizing the center (Healy “Temple,” Carino 1996).
Although the physical writing center at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) has allowed us to reach many students and instructors, we still believe that a writing center is a “place without walls”; it is an idea; it is a place for discussion, for seeking, for sharing, and should not depend on particular physical locations. We like the idea of being “wall-less” because it posits that what we do in a writing center represents a better way to write, and should occur anywhere writing occurs.
As someone who began teaching writing in Silicon Valley, CA, it seemed inevitable that instructional technology would interweave with my career, whether in the writing center or the classroom. My experiences, however, have made me skeptical about the relationship between writing centers and instructional technology, and this skepticism stems from what I have seen as several persistent and misguided ideas