Chalk to Dust-Mouse to Recycle Bin
Chalk to Dust--Mouse to Recycle Bin:
Traditional Class Goes Non-traditional
Mary Alice Moore
English 808
Dr. Michael Williamson
December 14. 2006
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Chalk to Dust-Mouse to Recycle Bin
Introduction
Days of Dust
“Who would like to erase the blackboard?” asked my second-grade teacher.
“Me, Sister! I’ll do it!” I shouted raising my hand high in the air.
“OK, Mary Alice, you can do it.” I smiled a smile of satisfaction making a mad dash for
the front of the room, clutching the eraser tightly as though I were hugging it, and I started
erasing that dreadful arithmetic assignment into oblivion that Sister had printed on the board
earlier in the day. Dust to ashes, ashes to dust. I remember that chalk dust smelling so good. I
loved erasing the blackboard so much that I regularly volunteered to stay after school to not
only to erase the board but also to wash it.
There was nothing better than returning home from school and hearing my mother say,
“Honey, you got chalk dust all over your uniform again.” Little did I know then that thirty
years later erasing a blackboard would take on another meaning.
I discovered this new meaning in my masters program when my Teaching Writing
class’s instructor proclaimed one night, “Next week we’re all going to the computer lab to learn
how to use the blackboard.” Some of us looked at her wondering if maybe she had ingested too
much toxic chalk dust—especially since there was a blackboard behind her. I looked around the
room at my classmates. Some nodded in agreement with the teacher while others looked
confused like me.
Remembering what my grandmother used to say, “There’s no such thing as a stupid
question, Dear. The only stupid question is the one you didn’t ask.”
I raised my hand. “Yes, Mary Alice,” said the teacher.
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I said, “Ah, what are you talking about?” I heard a few sighs of relief coming from the
classmates who were glad I was the one who had asked the dumb question.
Blackboard turned out to be a computer program that allows instructors to construct,
deliver, and manage web-based components for courses. It can be used to include online
elements to complement a traditional course, or an instructor can design a completely online
course with few or no face-to-face meetings (Blackboard). Blackboard allows for many
features using the computer to create them:

Course announcements

Asynchronous threaded discussion

Synchronous group chat, with or without tools such as white board, group web
browser, course browser, and more

Online quizzes and surveys, with automated grading and statistics capacity

Course assignment and documents areas

Course-related external links

Online file sharing

Timed release of quizzes and other course materials

Student rosters, e-mail, and online gradebook

Group project areas (Blackboard)
Our professor lectured us about the features of Blackboard and how the world is
advancing technologically and how our futures as writing teachers will include using technology,
and so we better learn how not to be afraid of it. In other words: Get used to it. Therefore, the
following week, we went off to the computer lab. A nice computer nerd gave us individual help
setting up our Blackboard accounts. We obtained secret passwords to log in to the Blackboard
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site, thus learning how to participate in an online class. We practiced and improved, but there
were a few rough spots along the way. “Ah, Mr. Computer Guy, I need you! The Blackboard
erased my assignment. Oh my God! Where did it all go? It’s gone,” I anxiously screeched—a
blank white screen staring back at me.
As Mr. Computer Guy leaned in closely (a little too closely) over my shoulder and
clicked away on the computer’s mouse, he said accusingly, “What did you do?”
I said, “All I did was click on the mouse.”
“Yeah, but what did you click on?” was his answer.
I said, “I don’t know.” “
Maybe you put it in the recycle bin,” he said.
“I don’t think so,” I said. It wasn’t there.
“Well, it’s gone. Start over,” was all Mr. Computer Guy had to say. I wished I had an
eraser to throw at him.
Days of Technology
I ended up liking Blackboard, though. What started as my participating in a Blackboard
assignment for school led to a part-time job that found me advising papers for students who
attended a university that offers mostly online courses—University of Maryland University
College (UMUC). And that position led to a full-time one coordinating UMUC’s Effective
Writing Center (EWC), which is entirely an online writing center. When I started my current
PhD program, I relinquished my full-time position and went back to part-time work for the
EWC. I now coordinate the EWC Fridays through Sundays, and so it seems only natural that
the next step in my online life should be teaching classes online. I anticipate this while working
on my dissertation; the convenience of working from home will give me the much-needed
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freedom to work on my dissertation. There are many techniques teachers and students use
interacting online—enough to fill up a dissertation. With that in mind, I am taking this
opportunity to research only some of the ways that teachers and students can effectively
interact in an online classroom environment.
Traditional Interaction Versus Non-traditional
In the traditional classroom, student interactions take place face-to-face (f2f) between
the instructor and the other classmates. Much of the student interaction/socialization takes place
before the start of class; that’s the time when students chat with each other about their
assignments, their life outside of school, and discuss their feelings regarding their instructor.
The students develop their relationships further walking to and from class together. Students
develop a relationship with the instructor during class time by responding to the teacher’s
questions and taking part in class discussions. Students also feel free to approach the instructor
after class if they have an issue they would like the instructor to address privately, which might
lead to them making an appointment for a f2f conference during the instructor’s office hours.
These meetings might be held in the instructor’s private office, or if the instructor is one of
those laid-back people, the meeting might be held in the campus coffee shop. These f2f
meetings are when a relationship between teacher and student develop and strengthens.
Students and instructors take comfort in reading each other’s body language and listening to the
tones of each other’s voices. Takimoto-Makarczyk notes: “In the traditional setting, the
instructor is physically present with all the learners and can receive immediate feedback
through visual or verbal cues” (n.d.). The instructor is the one in control in the traditional
setting Students think of the instructor as an “expert” in his or her field, and the instructor is
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used to being in that position. So, how does this all change in the online environment when
there is no physicality present?
Instructor Perspective
The first thing that changes in the online environment involves the instructor. The
teacher has to learn to relinquish control—the control that was second nature to him or her in
the traditional setting. According to Palloff and Pratt, “Instructors need to be willing to give up
control and allow learners to take charge of the learning process” (Palloff & Pratt, 2005). The
word “willing” is pivotal in understanding this concept. Giving up control is hard; this does not
come easily to a traditional teacher, but if an online class is to succeed, the instructor has to
give up that control. The difference between traditional teaching and online teaching is that in
the online class, the teacher’s role changes from that of teaching (control) to that of facilitating
(guide). Online, the instructor guides the learning process while in the traditional classroom the
instructor dictates the learning process. Online, the instructor becomes more of a coach than a
teacher. Collins and Berge, who provide tips on facilitating, believe that as a facilitator or
coach the instructor is responsible for keeping discussions on track, contributing special
knowledge and insights, weaving together various discussion threads and course components,
and maintaining group harmony (Collins & Berge, 2001).
Many educators think that the kind of community that is formed through interactions in
the traditional setting cannot be formed in the online environment. While the online
environment is different, research has shown that it is not as different as those unconvinced
educators believe. The same interaction that is necessary for a traditional classroom to function
can take place in the online classroom as well; the exception being that the online student now
has more responsibility in his or her own learning. According to Palloff and Pratt, “The
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instructor’s responsibility is to set the tone and begin the development of the learning
community; the ball must then be thrown to the learners” (Palloff & Pratt, 2005). Some would
say that the traditional teacher has the same responsibility, and they do have that responsibility
to a certain extent; however, the online instructor needs to take his or her responsibility that
was fostered in the traditional setting a few steps further. In simpler terms, instructors need to
think outside of their traditional teaching comfort zones. Thinking of the online instructor’s role
as akin to being a community leader and/or managing a neighborhood condominium
association can help keep this new role in focus. The teaching role changes from one of
individualism, one-on-one, f2f methodology/pedagogy to one of all-encompassing, managerial
and putting the community as a whole first methodology/pedagogy. Below is a chart that
clarifies these changes more clearly.
Changing Instructor and Student Roles
Changing Instructor Roles
Changing Student Roles
From oracle and lecturer to consultant, guide,
and resource provider
From passive receptacles for hand-me-down
knowledge to constructors of their own
knowledge
Teachers become expert questioners, rather
than providers of answers
Students become complex problem-solvers
rather than just memorizers of facts
Teachers become designers of learning student
experiences rather than just providers of
content
Teachers provide only the initial structure to
student work, encouraging increasing selfdirection
Teacher presents multiple perspectives on
topics, emphasizing the salient points
Students see topics from multiple
perspectives
From a solitary teacher to a member of a
learning team (reduces isolation sometimes
Students refine their own questions and
search for their own answers
Students work as group members on more
collaborative/cooperative assignments ; group
interaction significantly increased
Increased multi-cultural awareness
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experienced by teachers)
From teacher having total autonomy to
activities that can be broadly assessed
From total control of the teaching environment
to sharing with the student as fellow learner
Students work toward fluency with the same
tools as professionals in their field
More emphasis on students as autonomous,
independent, self-motivated managers of their
own time and learning process
More emphasis on sensitivity to student
Discussion of students’ own work in the
learning styles
classroom
Teacher-learner power structures erode
Emphasis on knowledge use rather than only
observation of the teacher’s expert
performance or just learning to "pass the test"
Emphasis on acquiring learning strategies
(both individually and collaboratively)
Access to resources is significantly expanded
Figure 1: This chart shows changing roles between instructor and student (Collins & Berge,
2001).
The points made with this chart are interesting because, as the chart asserts, “Teachers become
expert questioners, rather than providers of answers” (Collins & Berge, 2001). In the traditional
classroom, the instructor is the one who normally answers the questions that the students posit.
In the online classroom, this method of teaching is reversed: “The instructor contributes their
special knowledge and insights and uses questions and probes for student responses that focus
discussions on critical concepts, principles and skills” (2001).
Another significant point from the chart above is the need for the teacher to become a
team member in the online classroom community: “From a solitary teacher to a member of a
learning team (reduces isolation sometimes experienced by teacher” (2001).It is easier to feel
isolated in the online environment than it is in the traditional classroom. The way to alleviate
this isolation is to create a sense of “presence” to the students. However, how can one be
“present” in a virtual environment? According to Stone and Chapman from North Carolina
State University, researchers Picciano and Wheeler have found that:
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Instructor presence in the online classroom requires careful planning and foresight, at
the earliest stages of course development. The research on distance learning suggests
that the students need more support and feedback from their instructor than would be
required in a face-to-face course, since time and space separate them from the instructor
and their classmates. ( qtd. in Stone & Chapman, 2006)
With that said, when and how does an online instructor make his presence known? Common
sense dictates that the instructor makes his or her presence known immediately. This can be
done by using the many components that the online classroom program/software allows. These
components can take the form of personal discussion folders, live chat, personalized email,
audio/video, regular updates and feedback, group discussion and private places. (Woods &
Ebersole, 2003). As previously stated, the instructor sets the tone for the classroom. The first
step in setting this tone is for the instructor to create a private space in the classroom where the
students can “talk” about themselves, a place where they can introduce themselves and get to
know each other. Adjunct Professor Jerald Levine of UMUC does this by creating three topics
in his WebTycho, which is similar to the Blackboard interface:
My training for online teaching very effectively moved me in the direction of
community building, particularly through use of three topics I continue to use in my
“Getting Started” conference: Introduce Yourself, Name the Cyberbar, and Course
Expectations. In my Introduce Yourself topic, I ask my students what they liked to be
called—other than “Dude” or “Girlfriend” so as to avoid confusing one another … I ask
them to share some biographical information with all of us, and to respond to three
classmates’ bios. I respond to the students as well, addressing them by the names they
prefer and finding some small but unique point of connection to each. (Levine, 2004)
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It is important to take notice of how Levine sets the tone for his class. Levine sets up a
friendly, welcoming atmosphere by using humor. Humor is a very important tool to use when
communicating online. It relaxes the students and can create a much-needed camaraderie with
each other. Unlike the traditional classroom, geographical distance can lead to a lack of
solidarity among class members. Palloff and Pratt agree that seeing humor in text and laughing
at ourselves online is another way for the online participants to bond with each other, But when
using humor, they assert that one has to be careful: “The issue online is that humorous
comments may be misinterpreted due to the absence of visual cues. Consequently care in the
wording of a humorous comment, the use of emoticons … or bracketing the emotion involved,
such as [just teasing here] can help recipients of the message understand the intent” (2005).
Student Perspective
The number one factor that concerns students in an online class is how well and how the
instructor will make his or her presence known to the student. Will the instructor be readily
available to answer their questions and “listen” to their concerns? How immediate will the
instructor’s responses be? Immediacy on the part of the instructor responding to student
inquiries is crucial for making the student feel acknowledged and validated. Since online class
information is written in text form instead of verbally spoken as done in traditional settings
instructor responses need to be sent (emailed/posted) swiftly and explained thoroughly. Debra
D. Kuhl of the University of Arkansas credits Dewar with asserting that online instructors
should maintain office hours each week, encouraging interaction and communication with
students, and that instructors should incorporate the use of chat rooms that allow real-time
conversation; these rooms allow for instantaneous feedback and, clarification of concepts
(Kuhl, 2002). Also, most studies suggest that in order for the student to feel “heard” by the
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instructor, instructors should respond to all emails from students within 48 hours; although,
Woods and Ebersole disagree slightly, “As a rule of thumb, we suggest responding within 24
hours” (2003).
Online learning is not for everyone. It takes an independent, disciplined person who is
able to motivate themselves to work alone. Palloff and Pratt state that there are five
characteristics that an online learner should possess in order to successfully complete an online
course:

Openness: Willingness to be open about personal details, of his or her life, work,
and other educational experiences. Sharing this information can be encouraged by
the instructor early on through the posting of introductions and bios.

Flexibility and Humor: Going with the flow of an online course, not being rattled
when things go wrong, and even facing the minor crises with humor help to keep the
sense of community moving.

Honesty: The ability to be honest in an online course needs to be modeled first by
the instructor, and then others will feel comfortable in following suit. When students
become equally concerned about the development of a learning community and are
willing to jump into the fray in a professional way, their honesty is seen as
something in service of community development.

Willingness to Take Responsibility for Community Formation: Honesty is closely
related to this. Students should be willing to take responsibility for community
formation.

Willingness to Work Collaboratively: Collaboration is one of the key features of the
learning community. Participation in an online course is not the same as
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collaboration. By asking students at the beginning of a course to share their learning
goals for the course, the instructor creates an atmosphere where collaboration can
flourish. (2005)
Conclusion
Before I conclude this paper, I think it is important to talk about an important aspect of
online learning interaction that tends to get overlooked: technology. Both the instructor and the
student need to be comfortable working with technology with the instructor more so than the
student. The student will look to the instructor to know how to “fix’ technological problems
that occur in the classroom. According to Collins and Berge:
The instructor must first find themselves comfortable and proficient with the technology
and then must ensure that participants are comfortable with the system and the software
that the conference is using. The ultimate technical goal for the instructor is to make the
technology transparent. (2001)
I like that word, “transparent.” My Blackboard experience during my master’s program made
technology appear more transparent. I was more comfortable with computers after my
Blackboard experience. Before my encounter with a Blackboard online classroom, I never
would have even attempted to be part of one. My initial fears and apprehensions were
alleviated by others in the class who were more computer literate than I was at the time. I did
not know it then, but Blackboard was preparing me for my current position working at the
EWC. At the EWC, we use WebTycho classrooms. We have utilized all the components and
tips that I have spelled out in this paper. We get to know each other in a private space that was
set up for us to “hang out” in, and we have monthly synchronous chats so that we can “talk,”
and we have a bulletin board where we can “pick up” our messages. Some of us have even
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become friends, and every once in a while we leave the cyber world behind and slip back in to
the real world. We pick up our landline or cell phones so that we can hear each other’s voices.
And every once in while I find a greeting card made out of real paper in my snail mail mailbox
from a virtual co-worker. It’s a nice feeling to find a card made of authentic paper in my real
mailbox instead of an e-greeting in my email mailbox. And the feeling is made even sweeter
when I see that the paper card traveled all the way from Michigan to Pennsylvania. I can’t
remember if I ever had a “traditional’ co-worker ever actually mail me a card; they probably
just handed it to me at the office. The online world has become much more “natural” to me
during the last five years. If someone had told me back in second grade that the blackboards
and the people that make up the traditional classrooms would be taking field trips to the virtual
world toting their blackboards with them, I never would have believed them. I like this virtual
world, and accept that it is here to stay. I admit that I need to learn more about technology, and
look forward to doing just that. Nevertheless, I still miss cracking those erasers together and
watching the chalk turn into transparent dust. And nothing can compare to hearing Sister say,
“Job well done, Mary Alice.”
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References
Blackboard. Retrieved December 9, 2006, from http://www.edtech.neu.edu/blackboard/
Collins, M., & Berge, Z. (2001, October). Facilitating Interaction in Computer Mediated Online
Courses. Retrieved December 9, 2006, from
http://www.emoderators.com/moderators/flcc.html
Kuhl, D. D. (2002). Investigating Online Learning Communities (Rep.). Arkansas: University of
Arkansas. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED475750)
Levine, J. E. (2004, May/June). Building a Sense of Community in the WebTycho Classroom.
DE Oracle @ UMUC. Retrieved December 10, 2006, from
http://polaris.umuc.edu/de/ezine/features/may_june_2004/community.htm
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). The Role and Responsibility of the Learner in the Online
Classroom. 19th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning. Retrieved
December 8, 2006, from
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/03_24.pdf
Stone, S. J., & Chapman, D. D. (2006). Instructor Presence in the Online Classroom (Rep.).
Columbus, Ohio: Online Submission, Paper presented at the Academy of Human
Resource Development International Conference. (ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No. ED492845)
Takimoto-Makarczyk, K. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Eductional Technology: Online Interaction.
Retrieved December 9, 2006, from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/interact/index.htm
Woods, R., & Ebersole, S. (2003). Becoming a "Communal Architect" in the Online Classroom Integrating Cognitive and Affective Learning for Maximum Effect in Web-Based
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Learning. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, VI. Retrieved December
10, 2006, from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring61/woods61.htm