Education for a Digital World Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around Globe, 2008a

26 – Techno Expression
will help if you choose meaningful assignments, define
the expectations, and provide examples of good work.
Example of techno expression rationale
“Why are we keeping a blog?
Blogging gives us a unique opportunity to think
about both the way in which electronic rhetoric transforms
written discourse as well as e-rhetoric’s innovative
relationship to both private and public communication.
In addition, keeping a blog allows you to use writing to
explore issues related to digital culture, to sharpen your
analytical skills, and to participate in a larger community
conversation about the impact of technology on our
lives” (Alfano, 2005, para. 3).
PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS
There are a number of ways that you can help students—before,
during, and after the assignment. Before,
the assignment, write clear instructions, including information
about your policies on academic integrity and
plagiarism. Provide examples of prior students’ work.
If this is the first group to do this type of assignment,
go through the assignment yourself to create a model of
what you consider to be good work. Let students know
what could happen to their work if someone else were
able to change it.
Example of techno expression guidelines for wikis
“REMEMBER: The work you submit is recorded and
logged. Do not get mad if someone else edits your content
for you, that’s the entire point of this exercise. Topics
should not be ‘sat upon’ with tags such as ‘DO NOT
EDIT THIS PAGE’. All topics are open to constructive
addition by any member of this space. Also, keep in
mind that you can always edit a page back to its previous
state by clicking on the history link, clicking on the old
page, and hitting the ‘revert’ link at the top” (Jones and
Benick, 2006, para. 17).
Post rubrics or grading criteria ahead of time so students
know what is important and how they will be
evaluated. Include one or more criteria related to originality
or expression (see Figure 26.1).
Evaluation
Criteria
Student
Expression
Figure 26.1
3 2 1
Student clearly
states how the
course material
relates to his or
her life, including
how he or she
feels about it
Student states
how the course
material relates
to his or her life,
but does not
include his or her
feelings about it
Student does not
show how the
course material
relates to his or
her life
During the assignment, watch for “flaming,” that is,
angry or inflammatory messages (http://www.computer
user.com/resources/dictionary/definition.html?lookup=
6608) in forums and chats. Keep an eye on how students
are expressing themselves, and provide guidance if it
seems appropriate to do so. Be sure to point out positive
examples. In wikis, watch for students deleting other
students’ work without permission. While it is okay for
students to edit each other’s work, there are protocols
for deleting. One student nominates a section for deletion
and another person in the group—preferably the
author—actually deletes it once there is a rough consensus.
After the assignment, use evaluation criteria such as
the one shown in Figure 26.1. Include comments about
how you think the students can improve.
ACKNOWLEDGE STUDENT VIEWS
It is not enough to just create an assignment that gives
students a chance to give their opinions. For this to be a
part of the learning process, we need to acknowledge the
students’ points of view and provide feedback. If workload
is a factor, then try acknowledging just one or two
ideas in the face-to-face setting. You can choose these at
random, or you can pick the ideas that have generated
the most discussion. The point is to let the students
know that you are aware of their work and that you
value their opinions.
Summary
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy
in creative expression and knowledge”. – Einstein
(n.d.)
In this chapter, we have answered the questions “Who
does what to whom, when, where, how, and why?” as
they relate to techno expression. The concept of student
expression is not new, but the online teaching and
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