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

Interacting Online

Instructors were also key in helping students learn to interact with each other. A number of the technologies we integrated into the course were unfamiliar to students, particularly synchronous video discussions held in Google Hangouts. Alexa provides an apt picture of the awkward silences and stares of those first Google Hangouts:

Nobody wanted to say anything. The professor was like the big screen at the top and then we had nine or ten people at the bottom, and it was really awkward because you could see each other and where you were and what you were doing. Some people were eating during class—it was kind of awkward. But if no one would talk, [our instructor] would be like, "All right, we're gonna start at the left of the screen and move right and everyone say something." Like, it'd be nonsense but everyone had to say something. And once we got over that initial "Okay, we're all staring at each other and we really don't know each other and this is awkward," it actually started to be really helpful because [our instructor] would say something and then someone would have a question, and then like "Building off of that, I have this question" or "I have this suggestion to that question," so we'd often answer each others' questions rather than having her answer everything for us or give us guidance.

Because Alexa's instructor helped students learn to talk—say something, about anything—they were able to develop more robust synchronous discussions spaces. Brandon's instructor also helped students get over their initial awkwardness online, as Brandon explained, "[In the first hangouts] no one wanted to say anything and the professor pretty much had to lead the conversation, but once he broke through the awkwardness, it's, like, everyone just sort of discussing topics and throwing around ideas, so everyone as a whole could build onto better ideas." But some students in other sections felt that their Google Hangouts never quite got over feeling awkward, and they commented in surveys that they wished more students had participated in the Google Hangouts. Kelly reflected that she wished her instructor had done more to make students speak in Google Hangouts and to teach them how to interact in online video discussions; she felt the hangouts were still useful, but she wishes hers had been even more interactive where more students spoke. (She also noted that her Google Hangouts time was in the early morning and perhaps students weren't awake yet.)

Overall, after they got over their initial nervousness and uncertainty, students found the Google Hangouts to be productive and helpful learning spaces and in the surveys when asked what they found most beneficial to their learning, the Google Hangouts were mentioned most often, with more than 50 percent of students including it in their list of what worked well for them throughout the class. Students' primary recommendation for instructors planning to teach online in the future was summed up in this survey comment: "At this point, I think more Google Hangouts are an excellent idea. They give the feeling of being more connected with peers and teacher." In the summer, eighteen students (90 percent) who took the final survey said they agreed or strongly agreed that video chats were helpful to their learning, while twelve students in the fall (83 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that small-group, synchronous meetings were helpful.

The Benefits of Interacting Online: Connecting Visually, Verbally, Textually

In both interviews and surveys, one of the most positive experiences students reported about online learning was their ability to interact with and to get to know their peers in ways that many (although certainly not all) felt was more robust than what they have experienced in traditional classrooms. As numerous students noted in focus group interviews and survey responses:

• I'm a transfer student, so I'm actually an incoming junior. I had already taken an ENG/art kinda combo class at my other school but this class I feel like actually taught me how to write, and there was actually more interaction online through the Google Hangouts than there was in my actual classroom... now I actually recognize their [online classmates'] faces from the Google Hangouts, I'm like "Hey!"  I feel like the course that we took in English, I know more people in that class than I know in pretty much any other class that I’m taking right now. It's weird! Like, I felt like I knew them better even though they weren't actually sitting next to me. (Alexa, interview)

• I like that we had to attend Google Hangouts in groups because this actually helped me to socialize with some of my classmates. I would have never even attempted to talk or video chat with these people if it weren’t for the Google Hangouts. (Survey response)

• I also liked the class video chats because it gave us a chance to come together as a community. (Survey response)

• I think that the synchronous sessions were very helpful because it feels like everyone is in the same room. (Survey response)

• I feel like I know the, knew the students a little better than the students in my current classes simply because I got online and I saw their names. Like every day I saw their names and then I started putting it with their faces, and I was reading their stuff...] So in other classes here you're just, you're just there in class, for like an hour or two. And then you're leaving. (Kelly, interview)

But it wasn't just getting to see and talk with classmates that helped students feel connected; they also appreciated being able to read (and reread) each others' work.

When asked what she found most memorable or most appreciated about the class, Alexa said, "Being able to read each other's work: [In other classes...] you don't get to read all the pieces of work." For Brandon, "the blog was the most memorable because you could always go see what the other students had written." One survey respondent shared this perspective, writing: 'I really liked using the Blogger posts. At first, I didn't really see the point in using the blogs, but after the first few weeks, I really enjoyed writing posts and commenting on classmates' blogs." Another student said in the final course survey, "I enjoyed the various blog assignments because it gave me an opportunity to see what my classmates were thinking and doing." Students appreciated being able to read each others' projects and their reflections on their projects as well.