Harry,
It's great that you have it in the rubric and the students have access to the rubric early in the course. Good job.
This is a component of the grading rubric and I usually identify it by poor word choice or spelling. Also, it is stated when the "class expectations" document is uploaded at the beginning of the class.
Kevin,
It's all good. You can be the "fly" any time. That's what these forums are all about - open discussions. You have substantial support for what you are saying. Maybe more will "let it go" as they read your post. Thanks!
I think I am going to be the fly in the ointment for this topic. Two things:
First, a growing body of research is demonstrating that texting is probably having precisely the opposite impact on our linguistic abilities that the last five years or so of jeremiads would suggest. It seems to be much like being bilingual or bi-dialectal, in that it may actually stimulate critical thinking abilities and professional environment writing.
Secondly, I have friends at the highest levels of corporate success, and texting language is fairly common in quite a few more environments than texting alone. It does seem to be largely limited to those environments that share a texting-like platform, but the style is growing and becoming more accepted in those digital environments. (These environments tend to be those that visually and structurally encourage brevity--like a chat box, for instance.)
I am not saying that we should allow texting on discussion boards or in assignments or other such places, but that our assumptions about it are being consistently shown to be incorrect. So maybe in an Adobe Connect chat, for instance, conversation between students shouldn't be a significant worry to us. On the contrary, if the ability to use "txt" helps students feel comfortable about communicating there, we should likely "let it go."
Kevin
Joseph,
Good job. We have to continue to explain the importance of professional language which does not include text messaging language. Thank you.
I think that letting students know that text language is ONLY acceptable for texting is important. We can deduct points from assignment scores. I also like to let students know that emails in a business or professional environment are as important as reports and other documents. They present their level of professionalism and can either detract or contribute to their image and the authority of any message. They need to become accustomed to proper writing techniques and language for any media and message format.
Amy,
Making sure students understand when, where and if they can use text language is an important thing to make clear right up front. Good point. Thanks.
Great question. There are setting in some programs that let you close the box or turn off their ability to post there. When given the chance, I turn it off or close it. If that is not an option, I will state this in the syllabus under expectations. I will also discuss this during the async session. If students do post there, i will ask them to state the question to open it up for discussion.
Shirley,
We learn from each other through these forums. I'm glad you found something you think you can incorporate into your class.
I think that is a wonderful idea. I am going to start using that technique.
Amanda Penningotn
Veronica and Monique,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. It's good to give examples of appropriate and inappropriate language and add the "professionalism" piece to the conversation. Thanks!
Hi Monique,
Texting is very popular among my students. I simply address text writing in my initial announcement. I try to provide examples of what is acceptable and what is not. Enforcing standards and creating boundaries have been very helpful as it pertains to alleviating text writing.
Sometime I may have to reinforce the standard for those students that are accustomed to text writing. I think that this should be enforced in every course in order to break the habit of texting in an academic environment.
Ron,
Good to know. And, it's good for the students to know as well. We have to make sure they know when we are "relaxed" and when we expect more professionalism. Nice job.
I am much more relaxed regarding chat during live sessions. In my case, since I am sharing my screen most of the time, the size of the chat window is very small so common acronyms can help me read them quickly. I do not accept them in discussion board posts or assignments of course.
Ron
Lyn,
Glad you find the information helpful. Thanks for the good examples. We can all relate to them and learn from them as well. Nice job.
This is very helpful. When the rules are clearly stated upfront and examples are provided, most students seem to understand what is expected of them. Participation points allow the student to verify they are doing this correctly.
When posting in the forums we use a 'talk show' approach. I explain it as follows:
"If you were on a talk show, you must always keep the audience (say 25 to 54 year olds) in mind, so they will continue to stay with you. You may introduce your audience to new ideas, words and definitions yet do not talk over their heads. "When in doubt, leave it out" is a good rule to follow, overall. Either that, or find a different way to say something. If you provide information that is new to the class, be sure to include more detail and vary your wording to make things a little easier for your reader (viewer, listener) to comprehend. Remember, as a 'talk show' personality, you are speaking to a large group of people that vary in demographic, social, economical, geographical and interests. Therefore, when talking to the 25 to 54 year old age group, you must provide a clear and concise manner of speaking to your ENTIRE group or they could easily 'change the channel' if they feel lost."
I use the example of the 50 year who may find it difficult to follow text speak and acronyms, so we do not use them and the 25 year old foreign exchange student who may find it difficult to follow along, if when writing a post, you place too much emphasis on verbiage. I also explain, it is important to give a deeper explanation of difficult terminology, especially if it is usual or has not yet been mentioned in the course. Capitalization and punctuation are important, as well. This helps your readers ( viewers or listeners) determine the 'flow' of what you are trying to say in a forum post.
Monique,
I simply as them to restate the question or comment in "full language" before we move on. I also give participation grades for these chats and when they use texting language, they do not receive participation points. Hope this is helpful.
