Post #7 - Bethanny
I have mixed feelings regarding online tutoring. On the one hand, I do see that online tutoring is quite beneficial for those who don't have the resources (time, transport, etc) to make an appointment in person. Sometimes, the writing center also gets full during the hours that the person is available and they have to opt for online tutoring. However, I also am not so convinced with the effectiveness of online tutoring because there's a lot of grey area. How much feedback is too much feedback in online tutoring? Do the students care about our feedback at all? Face-to-face sessions require us to meet our tutor/student in person and we are pushed even more to respect their time and effort. One thing that I did find interesting in "Tutoring in the Information Age" is the idea of having standard feedback at the ready and personalize for students. I never thought of that, and it does seem useful.
I do note that online tutoring may be suitable in extreme situations, like the times we are in now. With COVID-19, universities are encouraging different methods of teaching and learning through online platforms. So, it will be interesting to see how things unfold.
I do note that online tutoring may be suitable in extreme situations, like the times we are in now. With COVID-19, universities are encouraging different methods of teaching and learning through online platforms. So, it will be interesting to see how things unfold.
I have very similar mixed feelings about online tutoring as Bethany (and pretty much everyone else, it seems).
ReplyDeleteI did it for the first time yesterday, and it did seem to allow me to give fuller and, frankly, harsher (in a good way, not in mean way) feedback, but also, per many of these comments, I could neither ask a student for clarification nor give proper clarification myself. As a very visual (and frequently animated) learner and teacher, it was weird not to be able to talk through my critiques with wild gesturing and engagement with facial expressions. However, this is far from a new observation in any realm of digital communication, and I still see it's benefits (per Bethany's point about covid-19, and hers and others points about students who, for whatever reason, are unable to come in for in-person tutoring), so really I guess this comment isn't offering anything particularly useful. I don't love online tutoring, but I certainly think it's a necessary and good part of the work of the writing center.
-Ashlyn