This example addresses OWI Principle 4: “Appropriate onsite composition theories, pedagogies, and strategies should be migrated and adapted to the online instructional environment.” More specifically, the practices suggested below relate to items 4.1 and 4.6 from the position statement: “When migrating from onsite modalities to the online environment, teachers should break their assignments, exercises, and activities into smaller units to increase opportunities for interaction between teacher and student” (4.1) and “Teachers should incorporate redundancy (e.g., reminders and repeated information) in the course’s organization. Such repetition acts like oral reminders in class” (4.6). I try to highlight here the ways in which my online practice is not just effective in and of itself, but how it derives in many ways from my onsite teaching practice.

Writing-to-Learn assignments are short response activities that encourage critical thinking and active learning. While writing-to-learn assignments must be connected to a course’s outcomes, these activities are low-stakes opportunities for students to engage with course content outside of high-stakes assignments. However, a writing prompt is not writing-to-learn just because it is low-stakes. Writing-to-learn prompts use writing as a tool for learning through activities that encourage students to explore ideas, refine thoughts, and apply new knowledge. This article will describe writing-to-learn activities from hybrid professional writing courses and online, asynchronous introductory composition courses. However, writing-to-lean can be used in any course, even courses outside of writing studies. This practice addresses OLI Principle 3, which states that when appropriate, “reading, alphabetic writing, and multimodal composition theories from traditional instructional settings” should “migrate and/or adapt” to online learning environments.

Using screenshots from our own courses, we demonstrate how Ally brought specific accessibility issues to our attention. We also discuss how this experience prompted us to consider the degree to which these changes increase the accessibility of these resources and what other considerations might be overlooked by the program. This practice addresses OLI Principle 1: "Online literacy instruction should be universally accessible and inclusive."

Writing on the Web builds on decades of traditional composition theory that suggests students learn more and become better writers by participating in the process of writing (Berlin; Britton; Murray). The waves of scholarship that brought this thinking to the forefront of composition studies, however, came at a time when composition studies only just started to wrestle with supporting digital writing (Holmes; Summerfield). While this activity builds on the aforementioned tradition in composition studies of encouraging students to develop writing skills and metacognition through the practice of writing, it presents a way to do that task in online environments. Contrary to the insistence of some pundits that modern students are “digital natives” whose computer skills are well beyond our own (Prensky), I find that a low-stakes activity like Writing on the Web helps students better understand how writing online differs from writing on a standard page in a word processor.

In an attempt to help all students access an online class and feel comfortable moving into the first module of the class, this example uses videos that are purposefully brief with each video aiming to accomplish a specific aspect of orienting students to a particular online class, preparing them to begin the work of the course in a confident manner. This effective practice takes the idea of the ‘Welcome Announcement’ and enhances it to be an overview of the course, a navigational guide, and an introduction to the instructor. Effective practice 10.1 stresses the importance of helping students become familiar with the design of the online course, and specifically, identifying the difference between public and private writing spaces and where assignments can be located and completed.

This practice, which addresses OWI Principle 1, is a strategy for managing student expectations for an online writing course prior to the start of the semester and early in the semester. Even if students are capable of doing the work, they might not be able or willing to put in the time required to succeed in a particular online course. The goal is to ensure that students who stay in the course understand how to succeed—or have time to withdraw from the course early enough to avoid receiving a low grade.

This example addresses OWI Principle 3: "Appropriate composition teaching/learning strategies should be developed for the unique features of the online instructional environment." The blog is a platform for ongoing conversation and reflection related to individual student research projects throughout a course. This in-practice example has been used in a community college setting in an online, primarily asynchronous, first-year composition course being delivered through Blackboard 9.1.

The activity explained below presents an innovative approach to the design and integration of collaborative writing projects using the Google Apps for Education online platform (OWI 4). The setting is a traditional, face-to-face high school English classroom in which students write in class simultaneously, each on separate devices, on shared Google Docs. In particular, I offer specific strategies for teaching students to write collaboratively in a variety of creative genres, including plays, poems, narrative essays, and speeches. While I taught the lessons in high school English classes, the strategies can be adapted for college composition, especially first-year writing courses. As illustrated in students’ writing samples, this approach can support students’ writing practices as students craft works that are cohesive in substance, structure, and style. In addition, integrating collaborative computer-mediated composition can encourage creativity, foster inquiry, and build a shared sense of community in the classroom as the digital dimension transforms the composing process (in accordance with OWI 11).

This practices supports OLI Principle 3. It focuses on integrating a variety of technologies for consistent feedback and telling students upfront how and with what technologies they will receive feedback.

This practice includes a sequence of discussion assignments developed to build academic community and develop academic literacies among first-year college students, a practice called orchestrated asynchronous discussion. To address the challenges of building class community and developing academic literacies, this practice takes advantage of the unique interactive and transactional features of asynchronous discussion (in accordance with CCCC OWI Principle 3), features that allow instructors to introduce students to new literacy practices in a social context and incremental manner, a process of gradual attunement, as suggested in current writings on literacy pedagogy (in accordance with CCCC OWI Principle 4). At the same time, orchestrated discussion builds community (CCCC OWI Principle 11) among participants by encouraging purposeful direct engagement with each other's postings.

The teaching approach outlined here combines short, small-group synchronous online class meetings with asynchronous activities in order to deliver dense content while encouraging student engagement and participation. This approach was originally employed in an upper-level Rhetoric course that started as a f2f course in Spring 2020 but moved online due to COVID-19. As remote instruction continues for Fall 2020, this article will explain how a dual approach to remote instruction can be carried out for content-heavy courses across the disciplines. The practice addresses OWI Principle 1 and OWI Principle 4.

The Provoker is a contradictory voice on the course discussions who challenges students with hyperbolic and oftentimes outrageous positions. Teachers who use discussion boards as dialogue platforms in their courses as regular practice can add a Provoker thread. The goal is to help students develop arguments using evidence, logic, and rhetorical skill—instead of succumbing to hostile discourse; indeed, a key strategy of Provoker threads is to help students practice civilized, respectful digital discourse.

This example demonstrates how to create screencast videos for feedback, which helps online writing faculty to indicate specific needs for revision within student assignments, discuss possible approaches for revising, display assignment rubrics to specify criteria that are and are not being met, direct writers to online resources, and give “voiced” affirmations to developing writers. The example provided here addresses OWI Principle 3: "Appropriate composition teaching/learning strategies should be developed for the unique features of the online instructional environment."

I have used think-aloud protocols in 300-level research writing in the disciplines courses, 100-level face-to-face first-year writing courses, and an online, asynchronous first year-writing course. The online course, English 102: Intermediate College Writing, was delivered at a four-year, public research university through the institution’s LMS (Blackboard). Think-aloud protocols, however, can be used in a variety of other courses, such as business and technical writing courses. Think-aloud protocols can also be used by instructors in other disciplines to help make tacit knowledge and practices explicit for students.

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 1, No. 1

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 1, No. 1

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 1, No. 1

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 1, No. 1

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 1, No. 1

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 1

​Global online access has increased rapidly in the last decade, and online education has become increasingly international as a result. The challenge for writing instructors becomes addressing this new educational environment to offer effective education to globally distributed student in online classes. The four plenary speakers at the 2018 inaugural GSOLE conference discussed this context and presented ideas and opinions on this topic. This editorial is a summary of that conversation.

Keywords: global, international, challenges, potentials, strategies, projection

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 1

Best practices in online writing instruction (OWI) have been a concern for more than a decade, yet students’ voices have not played a major role in OWI research projects to date. This article reports on the data from a U.S.-based national online student survey conducted in 2017. When viewed comprehensively, survey data revealed students valued instructor expertise and feedback; however, they did not know how the work in online writing courses helped them improve their writing.

Keywords: Online writing instruction (OWI), student voices, survey research, online writing courses (OWCs), hybrid, fully online

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 1

Best practices in online writing instruction (OWI) have been developed and refined for more than a decade. A recent report on student perception of online writing courses (OWCs) revealed an overlooked yet crucial component of OWI—the need to move from what content should be included in an OWC and toward why it should be included to how to improve pedagogical practices in OWCs. We propose purposeful pedagogy-driven course design as a framework that emphasizes the role of the teacher in making connections across pedagogical activities to center course design on student learning.

Keywords: online writing instruction (OWI), student voices, pedagogy, online writing courses (OWCs), purposeful pedagogy-driven course design

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 1

Best practices in online writing instruction (OWI) have been developed and refined for more than a decade. A recent report on student perception of online writing courses (OWCs) revealed an overlooked yet crucial component of OWI—the need to move from what content should be included in an OWC and toward why it should be included to how to improve pedagogical practices in OWCs. We propose purposeful pedagogy-driven course design as a framework that emphasizes the role of the teacher in making connections across pedagogical activities to center course design on student learning.

Keywords: online writing instruction (OWI), student voices, pedagogy, online writing courses (OWCs), purposeful pedagogy-driven course design

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

Guest Editors' Introduction to the Issue

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

This article discusses the process that the University of Maryland Writing Center went through as it developed and later implemented asynchronous online tutoring, specifically the questions we struggled with while we considered adopting an asynchronous platform and method of advice delivery, as well as how we would train and schedule tutors for this new modality. The article reflects on the options and possibilities we didn’t choose but might work in other contexts, and the effectiveness of the approach we currently take, ultimately offering a heuristic: questions that administrators of other writing centers of varying sizes and types can consider to help them implement or update their own asynchronous online tutoring service.

Keywords: access, asynchronous, delivery, logistics. platforms, scheduling, tutor training

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

Athens State University recently launched several online graduate degrees that feature substantial amounts of writing. The Writing Center at Athens State University has had to meet the challenges of online program growth through altering its consulting practices and creating new services specifically for online graduate students. Our project reviews literature related to graduate tutoring both onsite and online, and we use this research to alter our approach to working with online graduate students.

Keywords: Online writing instruction, graduate students, writing centers, online degree programs, academic support

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

The Ohio State University's Writing Center has implemented three models of asynchronous online support with varying degrees of success: two-step asynchronous consultations, one-step drop-off consultations, and the Online Accountability Writing Group. After conducting assessment, the researchers found that less structure led to higher levels of engagement, as evidenced by increased participation and retention. Our study fills a gap in the research in that it shares findings from one-on-one and group asynchronous online support.

Keywords: asynchronous, online, drop-off, live-chat, remote, in-Person, face-to-face, consultations, tutorials

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

This article details the process of designing a method for asynchronous Online Writing Tutoring (OWT) in the institutional context of a community college. By designing an online submission system in Google Suite, we are able to adapt to the changing needs of our students, instructors, and staff. This article examines how Google Suite presents an exciting option for free, bespoke Online Writing Lab administration.

Keywords: OWL, online writing lab, OWT, online writing tutoring, Google Suite, Google Docs, Google Form, online submission, asynchronous, feedback

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

This article presents findings from a study conducted at a large research institution that analyzed ten asynchronous online writing consultations in two different formats (in-text and end comment) and survey/interview data from tutors as well as students who received both kinds of feedback. Findings indicate that different formats impact the kinds of feedback tutors provide: compared with end comments, in-text comments were more frequent; focused on the sentence-level; and included more rewrites, questions, observations, and rule-based feedback.

Keywords: asynchronous, online writing center, tutoring, feedback, revision

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

If tutors’ work is to engage writers in learning, it is essential to know what tutoring techniques and strategies they use to structure learning. Drawing upon previous work on the tutoring strategies of instruction, scaffolding, and motivation within in-person writing tutorials (Mackiewicz & Thompson, 2014; 2015), this study analyzes ten transcripts from asynchronous screencast tutorials to determine how and to what extent writing tutors use instruction, scaffolding, and motivation in an online setting.

Keywords: online writing tutoring, screencasting, asynchronous, tutoring strategies, scaffolding, motivation, instruction, tutor discourse

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

​This article presents results from a survey of volunteer tutors who provided feedback to clients on in-process papers that clients shared with the PSG. The PSG is a group of Japan-based educators who provide writing support to novice and experienced academic writers through an online writing lab. The survey revealed tutors' views of the PSG, its advantages and challenges. Findings illuminated tutors' motivations, foci of feedback for writers, and challenges of peer-readership through online collaboration.

Keywords: academic writing, asynchronous collaboration, online collaboration, OWCs, OWLs, peer support, reflective practices, tutor motivations, tutor experiences, writing support

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

The Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model can be applied to tutor training in online writing centers to help tutors develop the skills required to meet individual student learning needs. A new approach to online feedback and online tutor training is necessary to leverage the affordances of digital technologies to provide high-quality feedback that meets the needs of online learners.

Keywords: online writing centers, online writing instruction, TPACK, online tutoring, graduate writing, tutor training, asynchronous feedback

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 2, No. 2

This article describes a replicable process for developing a reference manual of model asynchronous written responses to errors in the writing of multilingual writers for the purpose of tutor training and development. Written feedback practices informed by applied linguistics research and the specific context of each writing center are emphasized in the manual design. Recent literature on peer tutor training as it concerns multilingual writers is reviewed, and more robust preparation for tutors to work productively with writers on language learning needs is recommended.

Keywords: writing centers, writing center administration, tutor training, tutor development, multilingual writers, ESL writing, second language writing, written corrective feedback, asynchronous tutoring

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 3, No. 1

The growth of online courses across public and private non-profit higher education institutions (Seaman, Allen, & Seaman, 2018) establish the need for empirically-based pedagogy to guide instruction in this unique context. Interactions between instructors and students are important for the success of an online course, but online courses are often criticized for a lack of instructor-student interactions. Integrating feedback in online courses provides an opportunity for instructor-student interactions and to foster student learning. This study examines an ecology of feedback to understand how students perceived feedback, what feedback instructors gave, and how technologies mediated this feedback in an online course in the disciplines. Findings suggest feedback variations occurred over the term in three ways: student perceptions of the feedback, types of feedback instructors provided, and technologies used to provide feedback.

Originally published as part of Research in Online Literacy Education, Vol. 3, No. 1

To learn to work as editors, students must develop a diverse set of practical and metacognitive skills that far exceed proofreading strategies; however, teaching these is challenging because, as Tuffield (2015) and Johanson (2006) note, editing is a largely invisible practice. This challenge is amplified in an online context, where students work remotely and asynchronously, further concealing the labour involved in producing an edited text—and further amplified in the large, low-touch classes characteristic of Australian writing programs. In this paper, we assess the development and implementation of a vocationally-focussed editing class at an online university in Australia, and argue that by foregrounding metacognition and reflection while working with “live” texts (Dunbar 2017), instructors can effectively support the development of editing skills in large classes. However, implementing regular, low-stakes learning activities and focussing on metacognition challenged students’ existing study practices, while the learning management system (LMS) did not always support such pedagogical strategies. We offer potential solutions—including managing student expectations, offering flexible timelines, and working against the grain of the LMS—for other instructors developing editing classes intended to support diverse students in large online courses.

This article reflects on a year-long collaborative effort among a diverse group of tenure-line faculty, long-term lecturers, and contingent instructors to develop a comprehensive policy for online writing instruction within one department. The process, completed just months before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, guided both our sudden transition online and our return to a new balance of in-person, hybrid, and online offerings. This article offers insights on crafting an online policy that balances pedagogical and disciplinary concerns with issues of inclusive student access, equitable faculty workload and professional development, and departmental identity.

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

The continual evolution of technology has presented difficulties in how teachers, librarians, and practitioners analyze and understand communication in the digital age. The following reviews examine work that attempts to investigate technology through a range of literacies—literacies that can help us better understand technology and use it more critically.

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 1 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 1, no. 2 (2018).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 2, no. 1 (2019).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 2, no. 1 (2019).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 2, no. 1 (2019).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 2, no. 1 (2019).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 2, no. 1 (2019).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

This review was originally published in Research in Online Literacy, vol. 3, no. 1 (2020).

Team projects are always difficult to supervise, but online courses present unique challenges: The instructor has limited opportunity for real-time observations of and interactions with student teams, as they collaborate virtually in digital spaces. Still, virtual collaboration is an important skillset to develop, given that distributed teams are becoming more common in the workplace. Team projects in online courses create—for both instructors and students—a double burden of working with subject content and developing successful strategies for virtual communication and work processes (Paretti et al., 2007, p. 331). I encourage a layered approach to teamwork through my efforts to scaffold—to structure—team projects in online writing courses. Students have ongoing scheduled check-ins with me, which they can use as a starting point for their more detailed team schedule. These check-ins include at least one synchronous meeting and a combination of individual and team assignments that build towards the final deliverables.

"In Staying Online: How to Navigate Digital Higher Education (2022), Robert Ubell delves into the complexities of sustaining online education at U.S. college campuses. A companion book to his 2017 Going Online: Perspectives on Digital Learning, which traced the trajectory from traditional to online teaching, this new volume offers a retrospective on how colleges and universities arrived where they are now in the area and era of online learning. An important overlay in Ubell’s discussion is the impact of the pandemic when teaching online became a necessity not a choice as everyone, everywhere suddenly became an online instructor in Spring 2020. Bolstered by convincing evidence from experts and experience, Ubell invites us to think about our place in and our individual contribution to the holistic landscape of digital higher education. . . . "

"Teaching Writing in the Twenty-First Century by Beth L. Hewett, Tiffany Bourelle, and Scott Warnock is at once a refresher on rhet/comp scholarship and a primer on teaching writing in all contexts. It is not a book about how to teach writing online. Instead, the authors assert from the opening pages that the pervasiveness of digitality has made digital instruction in writing “a natural part of [the] twenty-first century teaching environment not a specialty area . . . to address or ignore” (p. 4). This is a book that should be read by long-time, experienced teachers of writing as well as novices, and particularly by graduate students preparing to enter the world of writing studies pedagogy. . . . "

"The last two and a half years have shown academics that we cannot simply continue with business as usual. In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic made clear that the ability to pivot, to teach online or hybrid, and to teach online literacies are among the most pressing needs of academic institutions. Into this breech, Tiffany Bourelle, Beth L. Hewett, and Scott Warnock have stepped, offering Administering Writing Programs in the Twenty-First Century. This book is a companion volume to Teaching Writing in the Twenty-First Century, in which the authors make constant references to this administration volume, clearly underscoring the “companion” nature of the books."