Cathy, it's not *all* tribulation . . . there are some joys to this
process, too. I hear you, though, about the difficulties of dealing with
tech people and explaining to them what you want. Our tech people are,
on the whole, wonderful, but still it's a trial sometimes.
Could you say more about the kinds of things you want to do in the
class? Maybe then we can make software recommendations . . . I do have
some pedagogical recommendations, too. (I know this isn't exactly what
you asked for . . . )
The most effective way I've found of reducing the workload with
responding to papers is by making as much of the writing in the course
public as possible. Especially in a DE environment, having other
students as the audience is a very powerful incentive; with no visuals
and no paralinguistic cues, those words on the screen become
all-important. I ask for a lot of "prewriting" (they don't really know
it's that) and meta-analysis in class online discussions.
I've also had success by designing assignments that take advantage of
what students know & can do locally, then bringing that knowledge back to
the wider group. For example, the first paper I assigned this semester
was a language site study, which asked people to go somewhere near them
and observe verbal interactions. Since they live in different places, we
got an interesting mix of sites to analyze.
Good luck with your class, and I'd love to talk further.
Marcy
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Marcy Bauman
Writing Program, University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Rd, Dearborn, MI 48128
fax: 313-593-5552
http://www.umd.umich.edu/~marcyb
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