By Santi Elbow
The Writing Center will be implementing WCOnline in the Fall 2020 semester. Deb Kruse-Field, the Writing Center director, has worked with the Technology Assistance Center to start testing WCOnline this spring while shifting to online tutoring during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ever since I started in this position back in August, I’ve wanted to get an online Writing Center going,” she said. “While I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances, I see this as a time for us to pilot all kinds of new ways of tutoring online.”
Currently, Kruse-Field and some writing tutors are testing the software so it will be efficient for the fall. “Each school uses WCOnline differently,” Kruse-Field said, “and I’m just beginning to understand all of the different ways we can use the tool at Edgewood to reach more students and continue to improve our writing tutor practices.”
The software would make tracking the Writing Center’s services much smoother, said Kruse-Field. The Writing Center, when campus is open, uses a paper sign-in sheet.
With WCOnline, “We can collect data, such as how many English 110 students are coming to the Writing Center? What was their experience like? What do we need to be thinking about in our tutoring practices?” she said. Different components can be added to the WCOnline sign-in, as well, such as students’ pronouns.
Online tutoring during Spring 2020
This spring semester, the Writing Center has been functioning through an email system. Students can submit papers to the Center’s email, writingcenter@edgewood.edu, and a tutor will provide feedback within 48 hours. Students can work with the same tutor as much as they would like to. It is also possible to request a virtual live meeting, said Kruse-Field.
“I’ve been reaching out to various faculty and staff members to see what their students need, and I’ve been connecting with other writing centers and looking at the research literature about how to work with different kinds of writers online,” she said. “It’s all a work-in-progress for sure.”
Writing tutors meet with Kruse-Field once a week via WebEx to discuss their online tutoring experiences and other projects for the Writing Center. She said the tutors are adjusting well.
Rae Howe, a senior tutor, said she misses face-to-face time with students. “But it still is really fulfilling to be present for the students and to feel like they don’t have to be alone in the writing process,” she added.
Kruse-Field said that the biggest challenge the Writing Center is facing during this time of solely online tutoring is creating relationships between students and tutors.
“While I really love face-to-face tutoring,” she said, “eventually, I believe that online writing tutoring will give so many more people access to the Writing Center.”
Math Lab
Tutoring sessions with the Math Lab take place over WebEx, said tutor Kyle Fredrickson. There is a link to the WebEx on the home page of the Math Lab website: https://lss.edgewood.edu/Student-Resources/Math-Lab.
“People can still just drop in and ask questions and we can use Google Chrome to make a whiteboard and blackboard,” Fredrickson said. “The students also have the ability to share their screen so we can see their documents.”
For those who do not have webcams or cameras, the Math Lab can also be reached by calling 415-655-0002 or Toll Free +1-855-797-9485.
Students who are shy may be more likely to use tutoring services if they’re online, Fredrickson said. Another benefit of the online platform is that tutoring sessions can be done from anywhere as long as there is internet access.
Challenges that Math Lab staff have faced, according to Fredrickson, include getting the word out to students, technological issues with video and audio, and accommodating for people without internet access. “It’s definitely been difficult,” he said, “but we’re making do.”
Doug Wandersee, Edgewood’s academic success coordinator, said that technology makes it harder to exchange information between faculty, students and tutors than it is through face-to-face interaction.
“I do think the technology can do everything we can do. We can bring in whiteboards, we can bring in tutors, and we can do equations,” he said. “It is just a little less natural because it is not as efficient, but I think we are doing a good job.”
The Math Lab’s hours are now 10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Friday. The website also lists hours for tutoring services for physics and chemistry.
Wandersee said the Math Lab will continue to provide online services once face-to-face sessions are allowed again. “The Math Lab is a physical space for the most part where students can come to,” he said.
“However, we have a creative side to use some online options to better reach students who are off campus or sick and don’t have the same times as us. If it is a better medium for someone, then we can make accommodations for specific uses.”
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