26.4: A Sense of Place - The Techno Expression Environment

“I desire to speak somewhere without bounds; like a man in a waking moment, to men in their waking moments; for I am convinced that I cannot exaggerate enough even to lay the foundation of a true expression”. – Thoreau (1906)

The Pros and Cons of a Technology-Mediated Environment

The type, or types, of media that you require students to use to express themselves can change the results that you get from students. We co-teach a hybrid class about distance education, where five of the ten class meetings are conducted online. The first classroom meeting is face-to-face. At this meeting, we ask students to use pastel pencils and construction paper to draw a symbolic representation of how they see the educational process. At the same meeting we use a focused listing activity, first asking students to list five to seven characteristics of the best course they ever took, and then to compare those lists with a neighbour to find similarities. We go through these two exercises back-to-back. It is always interesting to see how they yield some similar results, confirming what the students think, and some different results, perhaps due to the fact that the students are using a different part of their brains. The same is true for you. Provided that your students have equal access and ability to use various media applications, you can ask your students to use different methods to express their ideas.

Constant advances in technology give students more options for communication and collaboration than they had even two or three years ago. For the symbolic representation and focused listing activities described above, we ask the face-to-face students to use art supplies, pen, and paper. We would use several technologies to do the same exercises online: an art program, like KidPix or Photoshop, a word-processing program or an online reflection space, and an environment to display the results, like Angel or Moodle. Web 2.0 brings new possibilities for expression within educational contexts. According to Wikipedia, the term Web 2.0 “refers to a second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information online (para. 1)”. Weblogger Richard McManus defines “Web 2.0” as “The Web as Platform”. No matter how you slice it, technology has changed to make it possible for the everyman to interact with the entire globe, using just a computer with an Internet connection and browser.

While this newfound power has many people excited, there are some who see a downside. “Basically, ideological lines run thusly: Web 2.0 either empowers the individual and provides an outlet for the ‘voice of the voiceless’; or it elevates the amateur to the detriment of professionalism, expertise and clarity” (Wikipedia, n.d., para. 17). It is ironic that the Wikipedia entry for Web 2.0 contains this discussion, since many educators require secondary sources when students use information from Wikipedia to support arguments. For example, “Alan Liu, a professor of English at the University of California at Santa Barbara, adopted a policy that Wikipedia ‘is not appropriate as the primary or sole reference for anything that is central to an argument, complex, or controversial’ “ (Jaschik, 2007, para. 8). Dr. Liu is not alone in his hesitation to trust a communitybuilt resource as a primary reference for an argument. Since anyone can edit Wikipedia, anyone could add false or unverified information that students might accept as the truth.

In the world of education, we do not always have to be so esoteric. Yes, we need to make sure that research data is valid, reliable, and unbiased. In fact, I tell my students that they should question every source: published or unpublished, print or digital, peer-reviewed or not. However, when asking our students to participate in learning activities, our goal is to level the playing field so that everyone can participate equally. With Web 2.0 technologies, such as weblogs, wikis, and really simple syndication (RSS), students can share reflections to which others can reply, collaborate on projects over distance, and publish media broadcasts (e.g., podcasts) to which other people may subscribe. We will get into the tools used for techno expression right after a section on setting boundaries. In other words, define the rules before you provide the tools.

Create a Safe Place for Techno Expression by Setting and Enforcing Boundaries

Before the class begins, define any conventions that you, your department, or college, and even your school or university have related to student behaviour in the online environment. Use your syllabus to document these conventions. Start by stating your own expectations and having students brainstorm norms that they’d like. You can augment those rules with those of your department or college, such as link to a student code of conduct, or those of your campus, such as a link to an acceptable use policy (AUP). University first-year experience (FYE) courses and new student orientations are a good place to start this type of conversation from the institutional perspective.

Some instructors just refer to one of the many Netiquette (Internet etiquette), definitions on the Web. Common Netiquette rules include “Think before you post,” “Remember the human,” and “Remember: your future employer may be reading.” Even if students are not motivated by the other rules, this last rule may be more true than students think. An article in the Washington Times (Palank, 2006) discusses the perils of students expressing themselves too freely on social networking sites and other publicly accessible areas online. Using your syllabus to tell students your expectations about their behaviour is the first step to successful expression.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Here is a syllabus section about student responsibilities in the online environment that includes a sentence about Netiquette.

Student Responsibilities in Online Environment (Moodle) We will be using Moodle as the primary method to communicate class-related messages. You are responsible for making sure that the correct email address is attached to your Moodle username, both at the beginning of the term and if you change your email address. We will use the “Core Rules of Netiquette” as guidelines for online interaction (see http://www.albion.com/netiquette/core rules.html).

Starting with a common framework like Netiquette does not mean that students cannot express themselves freely. Techno expression and students’ rights go hand in hand. While you do not need to concern yourself with student expression on private websites or personal space on social networking sites, we are starting to see these spaces intersect with education and even the courts. In “Education tips from Indiana University” (http://news info.iu.edu/tips/page/normal/2316.html), the campus media relations office raises issues related to student expression and the law, citing a student who “bashes her teacher on a private blog” as an example of something that might initiate disciplinary action at a school. The First Amendment Center posted an article about student expression in K–12 public schools (http://www.first amendmentcenter.org/speech/studentexpression/overview .aspx), but many of these ideas definitely translate to the higher education environment as well. Overall, you do not need to go overboard. If you let students know the boundaries, then they will usually respect them.

When the time comes to facilitate student interactions, the key is to maintain a safe environment for everyone to share. Keep in mind that students may not know that they have done or said something offensive. In one example, a student may post a message in All Caps—using only capital letters—to encourage someone. Internet protocol, however, equates All Caps to shouting, which many consider rude. In another example, a student may take advantage of a listserv used by a large class by sending an inappropriate email, such as an advertisement for a friend’s concert or a relative’s business. A good rule of thumb is to contact the student by email to let them know what words or practice they should change in the future. Remind them to look at the syllabus and include a statement about what will happen if they do it again. Make sure that the students know your ultimate goal is to create a safe environment for them to express themselves.