Online Learning and Academic Support Centers: How Synchronous Support Opportunities Affect Graduate Students’ Interactions with the Content (2016)

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This study analyzed the effects of live academic support sessions on online graduate students’ interaction with the course content. This was accomplished through qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. In-depth interviews with eight purposely selected online graduate students provided the textual data.

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Beyond the Lore: A Research-Based Case for Asynchronous Online Writing Tutoring (2014) [Dissertation]

Asynchronous online tutoring is a highly contested form of writing tutoring. Critics of asynchronous online tutoring argue that it is ineffective, running contrary to traditional notions of what writing tutoring should look like and how it should be practiced. Supporters of asynchronous online tutoring advocate for its inclusion in the tutoring canon, suggesting that it should be one of many formats available to students.

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Interactions on the Online Writing Center: Students’ Perspectives (2014)

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This research explores the current state of online writing centers by analyzing the contributions of scholars, tutors, and students to the pedagogical practices of online peer tutoring. The study examines three areas of online peer synchronous tutoring from students' perspectives: a) students' experiences, b) students' revision processes, and c) sound practices for online tutoring.

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Making a Connection: Studying the Uses of Needs Analysis in Asynchronous Writing Tutoring (2013)

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In an attempt to organise a model that can be used for improving needs analysis efforts, this dissertation concludes that writing centres can benefit by: (1) using custom online asynchronous platforms; (2) collecting more and varied information; (3) using reports educationally; and (4) effectively training and positioning tutors to conduct needs analysis.

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Remote Tutoring – A Choice for Deaf College Students: An Action Study (2011)

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  • Post published:January 1, 2011
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Today's deaf college students are expected to succeed academically despite language and learning challenges (Paul, 2009). As a support service, the benefits of tutoring have been well documented; however, research using remote tutoring with deaf college students is lacking. This Action Research study examined the activities (actions and interactions) that occurred during twenty-two remote-tutoring sessions with nine deaf students in my English class.

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Human-Computer Interface Design for Online Tutoring: Visual Rhetoric, Pedagogy, and Writing Center Websites (2010)

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  • Post published:January 1, 2010
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This dissertation examines the theory and praxis of taking an expanded concept of the human-computer interface (HCI) and working with the resulting concept to design a writing center website that facilitates online tutoring while fostering a conversational approach for online tutoring sessions.

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Distance Learning Technologies and Writing Center Conferences: A Comparative Analysis of Two Methods of Delivering Consultations at a Distance (2008)

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This project investigates two tools for providing online writing center consultations, both of which incorporate an audio link and application sharing. Its methodologically diverse design examines the scope, content, and structure of one-to-one writing center conferences across two synchronous delivery tools and compares them with f2f sessions conducted by the same consultants.

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Students and Online Writing Labs (OWLs): Challenges, Learning Strategies and Attributes of High Quality OWLs (2007)

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The purpose of the study was to examine the writing problems of collegiate students, the challenges they encountered when using an online writing lab (OWL) to address these writing problems and the learning strategies employed to address both challenges in the context of an OWL. Lastly, the study examined the attributes a high quality OWL from the perspective of students who use OWLs.

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Technology and the Role of Peer Tutors: How Writing Center Tutors Perceive the Experience of Online Tutoring (2005)

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  • Post published:January 1, 2005
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This study began with the premise that the perceptions of peer tutors of their tutoring experiences, especially those experiences in the online tutoring environment, are a valuable resource. To tap this resource, this study asked tutors to reflect on their perceptions of the online tutoring environment, their perceptions of their own tutoring in the online tutoring environment, and their perceptions of any changes they felt necessary to accommodate the online tutoring environment.

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