If You Build It, They Will Come: Two Approaches to Supporting Students

Dr. Lisa McNeal: Director of eLearning at the College of Coastal Georgia

Dr. Jennifer P. Gray: Professor of English and Writing Center Director at the College of Coastal Georgia Introduction and Background The College shifted to remote instruction in March 2020. We needed to provide online tutoring and writing coaching. We had two weeks to prepare and educate the entire campus community. What about you? We decided to use existing resources (D2L, Collaborate, email): ● Rationale ● Familiar tools ● New training protocols Technical Work: Adding Muscle to the Skeleton

● The bones were already in place.

● Prior to the pandemic, most tutoring and coaching occurred F2F.

● The Writing Center coaches did not conduct any online coaching sessions.

● A few of the ATTIC tutors attended training sessions on Collaborate, but they were not actively using Collaborate for tutoring sessions. D2L already sites existed: Writing Center sample Collaborate offerings: Writing Center example Training Student Workers: Writing Center ● Quick turnaround time ● Group training but with an individual feel ● Expect weaknesses ● Staff meetings ● Observations ● Schedules Training Student Workers: The ATTIC ● Group training session ○ 44 student workers ○ Variety of disciplines ● “Trial by fire” ● Collaborate ○ Learning curve ○ Bandwidth issues Communicating to the Campus

Let’s look at the news posts on the homepage of D2L. Screenshots Screenshots Communicating to Students: Welcome Message on the ATTIC’s D2l Site ATTIC Procedures for the ATTIC’s online tutoring offerings:

● Students logged into the ATTIC online course and went to a tutor’s session or the default course room. ● Gary acted as a concierge and directed students to a breakout room or a tutor’s room (session). ● This process was labor intensive for Gary and hard to navigate for some students. ● We made revisions prior to Fall 2021. Variety: Directions from the Writing Center

● Great Technology Access ● Email-Only Access ● Limited or No Internet Access Lessons Learned: eLearning, ATTIC, Writing Center eLearning

● Slow down and find joy in the simple things. ● Be transparent and vulnerable when communicating. ● Embrace older technologies, such as texting, emailing, and talking on the phone. ATTIC

● Make the tutoring as easy to access as possible. The fewer mouse clicks the better. ● Meet the students where they are: in person, online, or a combination of both. ● Value working relationships build on trust, respect, and complementary skill sets. Writing Center:

● Be open to training opportunities, even if you think you don’t need them. ● Find the strength in each student worker and cater services based on that strength. Current Situation eLearning

● Our approach has been strategic and project oriented. We have focused on working slowly and thoughtfully toward our goals rather than putting out fires and closing help desk tickets. ● We have completed professional development for staff and faculty and implemented six integrations.

ATTIC

● The focus will be on face-to-face sessions in multiple locations, although online options will be available. ● The staff are looking forward to “returning to normal.”

Writing Center

● Variety was key, resulting in more sessions and more return visits during COVID then before. ● Going forward, we are retaining all four options: face-to-face, Collaborate, email, and telephone sessions. Conclusion: Avoid the Shiny Object ● The best option may be right in front of you. ● Shiny and new is not necessarily better (and may be quite costly). ○ What about you? Did you buy shiny objects? ● New technology adds to the stress of training and implementation. ○ Using something you already have can decrease stress in an already stressful time. Conclusion: Slow Down and Look Around ● Instead of constantly looking for the newest thing, we suggest a slower pace. ● Slow down: “[A]ct with purpose, taking the time for deliberation, reflection, and dialogue, cultivating emotional and intellectual resilience” (Berg & Seeber). ● Resilience helps us find the best solution. ● Collaboration between different offices is crucial. ● Book studies: Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes and The Slow Professor. Questions?

Thank you for attending our session.

For more sample documents and information, please take a look at our conference paper, which is published in the conference proceedings.

You may download a copy of this presentation from this site: https://tinyurl.com/Jekyll21 Suggested References

Bailey, E. T. (2016). The sound of a wild snail eating. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Berg, M., & Seeber, B. K. (2017). The slow professor: Challenging the culture of speed in the academy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Bowen, J. (2017). Teaching naked techniques: A practical guide to designing better courses. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.

Cognitive Wrappers. http://teachingnaked.com/cognitive-wrappers/

Darby, F., & Lang, J. M. (2019). Small teaching online: Applying learning science in online classes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gagne, R. M., Wagerm W., Golas, K. C., & Keller, J. M. (2005). Principles of instructional design. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Slow Food USA. (2018). Manifesto. https://www.slowfoodusa.org.

United States Department of the Treasury. (2021). The Treasury Department is delivering COVID-19 relief for all Americans. https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares