Study Guide #7: OWL Response Training and Practice

Readings:

Clark, Chap. 8 "Working with Computers in the Writing Center"
St. Martin's, Apperson-Williams, "The Anxieties of Distance: Online Tutors Reflect"
St. Martin's, Cooper, Bui, and Riker, "Protocols and Process in Online Tutoring"

First, be sure to do the reading for this week on online tutoring. The reading will help you to complete this week's Study Guide task.

In this Study Guide you will try to bring all of the readings together and translate them into online practice.

To prepare to compose a response to this essay as an OWL tutor, complete the following tasks:

Follow the OWL Training steps below:

Step 1

Read the Introduction to the OWL, the Response Format, and the "Best Practices" to get a general idea about OWL responding:

Introduction to the OWL: Responding to Drafts

Online Writing Lab Response Format

Writing Tutor "Best Practices" Checklist This Checklist is designed for face-to-face tutoring, but some of the practices are applicable for online tutoring.

Step 2

Tutor Observations

Read the Student Essays and the Tutor OWL responses below. Complete a Tutor Observation for each of the paper/responses. (On-campus students are required to observe 4 tutor sessions and to write four tutor observations. Since this is impossible for online students, you will instead "observe" these three online tutoring sessions--links below.)

Complete the Tutor Observation after reading the models below. Read the Tutor Observations and Reflections Guide for Online Students for how to complete Tutor Observations. Post your Tutor Observations to Digital Drop Box.

OWL Model Draft #1

OWL Model Response #1

OWL Model Draft #2

OWL Model Response #2

OWL Model Draft and Response #3

OWL Practice

Now you try one. Compose a response to the draft that you will find on the link below. Use the same format that you observed in the models. Just do your best. Post your practice response to Discussion Board.

OWL Practice Draft "Reality TV"

Directions for Completing the Above OWL Practice ("Reality TV")

Now that you have completed online tutor observations, this week you will practice OWL responding by responding to Practice #2 on the OWL Training Page: "Reality TV" by Daniel Baxter.

Pretend that you have received this draft in your email, fowarded to you from the OWL manager. Respond to the draft as an OWL tutor, using the format you have learned. Post your response on Discussion Board #7.

Procedures Review:

1) Read the information which the writer has supplied in the submission form to find any information you might find helpful for responding.

2) Copy and paste the draft into your own word processing program.

3) Compose a response, using the OWL format. If you are referring to certain sentences in the student's draft, copy and paste the sentences into your response.

4) Proofread your response for error.

5) Post your response on Discussion Board #7 and discuss your experiences responding to the draft and respond to others' responses.

___________________

If this had been a "real" draft (one I actually forwarded to you from the OWL), you would do the following--which you do not do now--

1) Copy your response and go back the email that was fowarded to you from the OWL. Click on Forward. Never click on Reply.

2) Paste your response above the student's submission.

3) Copy and paste the student's email out of the their submission form into the TO: student email

4) Be sure to copy the response to writelab@eou.edu--

CC: writelab@eou.edu

5) Send your response.

6) Check to see if the writer requested a Blue Slip. If so, find the Blue Slip form on the OWL, copy it into an email, complete, and send to the student's email address with a copy to writelab@eou.edu.

Important: Check to be sure the email was not bounced back to you. If it was, there is a problem with the email addresses. Check them. Resend. Sometimes a student types in an incorrect email address into the form. Let me know if there are problems.

Discussion Board #7