Responding to Online Students - How Do We Tell Them They've Made a Mistake?

Unlike my other three posts that address the E-Cultures and Digital Learning MOOC I'm participating in, this post is more practical in nature, and is a reflection on something that happened this week in the online course I'm teaching. I welcome feedback (criticism and otherwise) to this situation.

This semester, I'm teaching a cross-listed (not only graduate and undergraduate, but also interdisciplinary) course on race, gender, and professional and technical writing. The course covers not only race and gender theory but also technical writing theory - which for many of my students is new, and like many theoretical undertakings can be difficult to maneuver.

Technological Dystopias and Education

This week's main post addressed the dystopia of technology: the ways in which it can take over our lives; our willingness to worship it regardless of the negative consequences to ourselves, our environment, or other people; and its ability to dictate what types of information we get.

Dystopic Technology

This week's readings and videos have encouraged us to consider the dystopic and utopic aspects of technology. The three videos below Bendito Machine III, New Media, and Inbox provide two very different instances of technology.

Introduction to E-Learning and Digital Cultures MOOC

Like many in the composition field (and many others who are not), I recently enrolled in my first MOOC (massive open online course): E-learning and Digital Cultures.

My motivations: Many of you might be asking "Why take an online course in the middle of a semester when you have your own work to do?" As a faculty member in English, I teach one online course every semester in professional and technical writing, yet I have not had the opportunity to take an online course until now. I want to see what it is like to learn online, to not see my fellow students and teachers in a classroom, to be detached, physically, from the learning community but at the same time connected with them.