Distance Education and Writing
In composition there are hundreds if not thousands of textbooks, handbooks, guides, software programs, and services aimed at helping students to understand the writing process and how to create a finished product. Now that there is distance education, many of these products have been transferred into an online version, so they can be more accessible to the online learning community. The community that they served in print form, however, can sometimes be very different from the community served online. The demographics of the online learning environment has changed and does not, necessarily, reflect the traditional on-campus classroom. There is often greater diversity in race, age, gender, and ability online. Online classes bring together students from a wide range of abilities. Some students are not at the level to understand the course materials, have little experience with writing, do not understand how to navigate online, or are financial unable to purchase course materials. Access is always an issue in education. When designing a course, the instructor wants students to be able to utilize the course material and any resources available. There are always instances where students may not be able to understand or afford the course material and resources. In a distance education course, the instructor is less capable of connecting with the student to aid in them in acquiring necessary materials. In the instance where materials are available online, they should be utilized. Writing can be a difficult subject to teach at a distance, getting students to understand the recursive nature of the writing process, crafting a finished product, and constructing knowledge is complicated even in face-to-face classes. A useful tool for this type of approach is an online writing guide. The Paradigm Online Writing Assistant provides writing guidance and resources.
In order to effectively teach such a wide range of students about process driven writing without depending on hegemonic tools that may overshadow some learners, instructors have to find resources that are effective, accessible, and easy to understand.
What is POWA?
The Paradigm Online Writing Assistant (POWA) is an online writing guide that is located both on the web and in hard copy. The book is available for purchase online, but the website is free and interactive; it serves as both a writing guide and a handbook. POWA was created and written by Chuck Guilford. Chuck Guilford is an emeritus associate professor of English at Boise State University. He has taught composition, creative writing, and literature classes on the undergraduate and graduate level. Guilford describes POWA as “a distillation and collage of numerous writings, talks, and activities that I’ve developed over the years and tried out on students, colleagues, and mentors with varying degrees of success.” This writing guide and handbook is useful for distance education because it is easy to navigate, accessible to all students, and comprehensive.
Ease and Accessibility
The POWA site is well designed, which makes it easy to find information. The site has little graphics, which can make it less appealing to more visual learners. However, the site is still attractive and very user-friendly. The links for the site are provided in a top and left side navigation menu. The website also has an on-site search tool that quickly searches the entire site. The ease of navigation is important for distance education courses where students will have varying levels of computer literacy. The only knowledge needed in order to use this tool is knowledge of the Internet. The site utilizes interactive menus that are used on most websites. If used as a resource in a course, the tool does not need to be revised for any particular audience or modified to fit into the course.
POWA is free site, so there is not additional cost for it use. For free students can access all of the content as well as news and links to other writing resources. Registered members gain access to additional features, but these are not necessary for guidance through writing. Use of this resource will not add to the textbook burden.
Another reason the site is accessible is because it was designed for all students. The site was designed to be used by all writers; experienced writers as well as beginners can easily find information and understand it. This is another important element for distance education. Students enter the course with varying levels of competency for writing. This site can meet the students where they are. There is information for how to get started with writing as well as tips for more advanced writers on how to hone writing skills and improve what they have already written.
Comprehensive
POWA is a great writing guide/handbook but unlike traditional handbooks that focus on grammar and style, it teaches a process-based approach to writing. It achieves this by providing sections on all parts of the writing process. It features sections on discovering, organizing, revising, and editing. For example, the Discovering takes the student through choosing a subject, freewriting, observing details, asking journalists’ questions, dramatism, tagmemeics, and using outside sources. There is a comprehensive presentation of a wide range of prewriting techniques. Each section is explained clearly and most of them have practice activities at the end. Even a section like dramatism, which can be difficult for some students to grapple with and may be beyond most first-year composition classes, is explained in a clear manner: “Dramatism offers a simple yet effective way to generate ideas. It resembles the Journalists’ Questions and, like them, can be applied to many topics.” It goes on to provide examples of each part of dramatism/pentad and an explanation.
In addition to this, POWA also focuses on students working toward a product. It is primarily focused on the writing and very conducive to encourage students to create a product. There is background and explanation on different types of essays: informal essays, thesis/support essays, argumentative essays, and exploratory essays. The site also provides information on how to document sources. Each section of the site provides information, tips, and activities to help students incorporate the concepts.
Besides being free and easily accessible, this site can facilitate distance learning by acting as an additional resource and aid to students. This can be particularly useful in an online course where the student cannot get in contact with the instructor. Because it completely focuses on the teaching of writing, it is a reliable resource that can supplement what students learn in the course. This tool can provide an example for students to help them with their writing issues. POWA is similar to many other websites and handbooks that are available. It is very similar to Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). Although, Purdue is extensive and very effective, it is not as easy to navigate as POWA. Handbooks such as the Little Brown are also available online. The Little Brown Handbook, like POWA, is also available in hard copy. The POWA is more accessible than the Little Brown as none of the POWA is restricted on the site. There is the same level of content on the POWA site as in the book.
Another interesting tidbit about POWA is its focus on community. The website is a place people to “write, share, and celebrate language.” Although, the free features are very effective and useful in a writing class, the features for registered members offers a great resource for a distance education writing class. Registered members have access to galleries, forums, profiles, instant messaging, special interest groups, and blogs. This element of the site shows collaborative writing and social networking in action in an academic writing context. The site itself is a lesson in collaborative and socially constructed learning. The site was created out of talks, lectures, and notes and continues to be developed through what is created on the forum and blogs. Registration is free; however, access to all of the writing content is available whether you register or not. Registration provides access to the blogs, forums, and other features mentioned above.
Overall, Paradigm Online Writing Assistant offers an array of content in an easy to navigate design that any student with web surfing experience can understand. The site is free to use and provides a wealth of information. It is a great reference for instructors and students whether they are in or teaching a developmental writing course or freshman composition. It can serve as primary reading material for the course or as supplemental reading. It is a great resource that instructors can use as a guide for students who need a little extra help with writing or for students who want to fine tune their product. It is also a good example of collaborative writing and sharing of knowledge in action. There are a lot of resources available to students online, but POWA is easy to access, navigate, and understand. This helps to ensure that no students are loss to the resources because of access, ability, or cost.
