Kairotic Design: Building Flexible Networks for Online Composition

• Intro
• Design Process
• Instructor Perspectives
• Student Perspectives
• Implications
• References

• Intro
  • Premises
  • English111
  • Methods
• Design Process
  • Starting Assumptions and Assets
  • Dissonances
  • Space Decisions
  • Kairotic Design
• Instructor Perspectives
  • Making Space Work (Lance)
  • Making Space for Collaboration (Renea)
  • Party Time at Burke's Place (Ryan)
• Student Perspectives
  • Initial Nervousness and Uncertainty
  • Interacting Online
  • Agency in the Timing of Learning Activities
  • Challenges
• Implications
  • Principles of Online Course Design
  • Rethinking Traditional Writing Instruction
• References

Challenges

Even though many students enrolled in both the summer and fall sections reported liking the online course, some students expressed reservations about online learning. While 67 percent of the summer students reported that they liked taking the class online, 44 percent said they found it "more stressful" than taking a traditional class. This may be, however, because the students were also taking the course in a compressed timeframe (six weeks instead of fifteen). Even though these pilot courses were overall quite successful, what aspects challenged students? And what might be done to make the online writing class "less stressful?"

Changing the Google Hangouts

Although students in both the focus group and surveys commented that the Google Hangouts were a positive aspect of the class, several students still had ideas about improving this component. We mentioned earlier how Kelly felt the hangouts were sometimes awkward. Other students echoed this sentiment in their survey responses. One student, from the same section as Kelly, reported that "class interactions and short amounts of time are really the only things that did not work well for me. . . I also did not interact with my classmates too much. This is probably because everyone seemed shy and did not talk. If there is any way to fix this in future classes then that would be fantastic!" Echoing this concern, a student from the fall section said, "I suggest maybe changing the synchronous hangouts a bit. They felt a little awkward most of the time. Maybe have the students take turns answering questions rather than waiting for everyone to answer the question. . . Interaction between class mates could be encouraged more."

Mediating Technological Difficulties

Students also expressed concerns about the technological requirements of the course. Because of the use of Google Hangouts, students were informed before enrolling that a robust Internet connection would be required, but some students were still concerned about being able to connect and struggled because of this issue.

Brandon stated that he often had to go to his grandparents' house to participate in Google Hangouts because the Internet at his home did not support the software well: "Before we had a new fiber optic system, it was not exactly the fastest so when I needed to get online for the Google Hangouts it was so hard to actually get there. . . I think the hardest thing is [to] make sure you have a good internet to support the online setting." Although Brandon’s access problems were solved with the purchase of a new system, many students do not have such options because technological access continues to be unevenly distributed as a result of persistent race, class, and gender inequality (Banks 2006; Moran 1999). Although we found that synchronous video chats were conducive to student learning, we remain concerned that our privileging of bandwidth-intensive technology may have inadvertently excluded some students from taking and succeeding in the course. As we continue to refine our online English 111 sections, we seek to employ a universal design approach (Dolmage 2005) that accounts for differential levels of access by providing more flexible choices for digital interaction and collaboration.