justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Does the quality of your writing

reflect your level of intelligence?

I have always asked that question of my college students through the years, while teaching business writing courses in traditional classroom settings. My course is now online and it seems the only way I currently have of “assessing” their competency and relative “intelligence” is through the over 75 written assignments they submit, and their responses to 17 discussion board topics.

Online instruction is a major change for me. From public school children as young as first grade, to adults in corporate America, to traditional and non-traditional students in institutions of higher learning, I’ve taught face-to-face for over five decades.

As I first began my efforts to impart wisdom and skill online, I immediately noticed the “absence of presence” (to coin a phrase) - the lack of non-verbal communication. Missing are the overt and subtle pronunciation differences, the accents, and the intonation in my students’ speech that accompanies the actual words – the presence that rises above what I can only read on a page.

All this means a great deal to me, especially as I consider the tsunami of online courses now available. More importantly, my face-to-face teaching opportunities are gradually morphing into the online format, as I remain committed to the profession, accepting more responsibility for facilitating the education of even more students in the months and years ahead.

I love to teach. I’m confident I’ll get better at doing it the online way. I’ll add, in some way, to the simple, encouraging comments I make on each written assignment. I want each of my students to experience the joy I’ve experienced when a thought clicks as the words come together. I will strive to provide just the right feedback that influences change, or growth, or an “ah-ha!” moment for each.

That is part of the return on my investment as a teacher.