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

Initial Nervousness and Uncertainty

As to be expected with entry into a new learning environment, students reported feeling initially nervous and uncertain about the design of the online courses. Some were worried about the technology, others about if and how they would interact with classmates and the instructor, and others about the workload of an online course (particularly those taking the six-week-long summer course). But in a matter of a few days or within the first week or two, students began to feel more comfortable. As Brandon explained: "I really considered dropping it [the course] toward the beginning because it was kind of nerve racking that everything was online. I'm not that familiar with blogging, and so when the first week passed, it's, like, 'Okay, I can get the hang of this, I can do this.'"

The ability to contact and interact with their instructors in those first few days was key to helping dispel student nervousness. Students appreciated how their instructors were available via email, text, and video chat to answer questions and to help them navigate the online interfaces. Alexa appreciated her instructor's availability because "if you're struggling, too, you're not, like, 'I have to do this by myself.' You could always email them or go to office hours [held in Google Hangouts]." Like her peers, Kelly felt that her instructor "was always at his email. So he was really easy to get a hold of.'  And Brandon remarked that

it seemed like the professor was always online... you e-mail him at, you know, nine in the morning, and fifteen minutes later, he sends you another email answering your question. And it's like "wow" I mean, are they really this dedicated to staying online? But it was really nice you never really felt in the dark, you know. It always felt like you were—I guess, in a larger sense, like someone was guiding you through it. And he had no set office hours, so you could always send him like a link for Google+ if you had questions, and very soon he would open that up [call a hangout] and you would be talking to him, answering your questions, so that was very nice.

Note a recurring refrain of always—"always email," "always at his email," "always online." This may be because of the incredible time and dedication Lance, Renea, and Ryan devoted to their classes, but even with that they were not available 24/7 (we set high goals for ourselves as instructors at Miami, but not that high!); however, perhaps because all of their interactions were online with their instructors, students may have felt that, like the connectivity of a good Internet connection, they were always connected to their instructors.  And, in fact, in an end-of-course survey, 86.7 percent (summer only), 50 percent (fall only), 66.7 percent (combined) of students who took the survey (N=24) reported feeling connected or very connected to their instructor. As one student in the fall section reported in the survey, "I really enjoyed 'hangouts' with my professor because it made me feel closer to him."