Often, at the beginning of the semester, when I'm familiarizing my students with the texts we'll use regularly during class, I assign reading responses. FYI: I use A Writer's Resource by Maimon, Yancey and Peritz as well as They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff.
These reading responses are at minimum 1 page long and at maximum 2 pages. Simply, they act as proof for me to ascertain that they have in fact done the reading. I ask them to include a short summary of what they read and then a segment on their reaction to their content. I tell them I don't care what that reaction is, even if it's "Uncle Jim told me about thesis statements because he's an English professor..." Just so that I know if I must expound on this topic in lecture, or have 97% of my students already learned this technique?
Many students ask me why they have to do this. I tell them it's proof for me. An honest answer, but the problem is that it is just for me. There is no outside audience. I think a more effective way to assign what I do on an almost weekly basis for the first 9 weeks of the semester would be to have them blog and explain the reading as though someone who has no idea what they're talking about, is reading it.
It would force them to be more specific and theoretically cut back on the 2nd person used. They know I know what they're explaining, so less effort gets put into it.
As for technological barriers, and I know all about those, hahaha...
I would work into my schedule at least one full class day to explain the modes and mediums I would expect them to use. In addition, this day would include time set aside for everyone to bring in their personal computers (or share if they don't have one) to set up their accounts.
In a first-year composition class like 101, at WSU, I don't forsee access as an issue. Students typically live in dorms which have computer labs, or they have the AML which they already pay a fee for, so they may as well use it for classroom work.
The major barrier I predict would be a problem is actually me reading them on a regular basis. The physicality of a pile of papers in my folder is a way for me to remember that "oh yes, I do have papers to look over and return." Online spaces, unless I write it into my schedule, are great space savers, but don't act as physical reminders. Crap, I might have to be responsible and timely in my comments. Just kidding.
In her article "Teaching With Wiki's..." Rebecca Lundin introduces the idea of online authority and expand the idea of new media composition. After reading that, I almost think it would be best for the students if I forced myself to schedule regular readings, simply because working with a new medium as a regular tool opens students up to a new format and a vast potential audience. I wish my 101 teacher had done this... I might not fear technology as a learning tool so much...
- Online authority places the responsibility on the shoulders of the students to get the work done. An online schedule, placed at the beginning of the semester, allows students to get the work done on their own schedules (I know I've done these blogs at 1am before...).
- Lowe and Williams introduce the idea of a narrowing gap that blogs cause between students' private and public writing. It might allow different thoughts about the definition of writing to be brought up in physical class discussion.
My students didn't think that Facebook posts and those "25 things about me" were writing, or that text messages had educational value. Maybe they think they same things about blogs. I might try this next semester. Maybe. Scaaaaary.
