What am I learning about my writing?

In the last few weeks, I have learned that writing is both a skill and an art. Everyone has a different approach to writing. Some draft use a pencil and paper. Others create an outline before beginning to write. Like me, others form ideas in their head (while doing other things like driving) and just sit down and start typing.

Clear and concise writing is usually preferred, and I am happy to know that my writing style is generally succinct and to the point . I do have a “lard factor” and through the readings in “Revising Prose”, I am learning how to recognize and remove the lard.

The experiences with our writing groups and the writing center have been very helpful. It is very beneficial to not only read my work aloud, but to have others honestly critique it. Many times, I become too close to my work and consequently fail to recognize problems. These exercises have given me a new perspective on the writing assignments that have been reviewed.

Everything we have done in this class has been helpful. I truly believe my writing has improved and the skills we are learning will be beneficial as I begin the biggest writing assignment of my life.

My Story, Draft #2 (it's better this time!)

I have always envied people who really knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. I never did. Fate has determined where and who I am and I would not change a thing. My “story” easily gave direction to my dissertation topic.

I grew up in a small town. No one in my family had ever been to college, yet somehow there was never a question that I would go. The subject of my studies and the direction of my career were not so easily determined. Since I had no role models, the typical female careers were suggested and seemed to be the only options. Since I fainted at the sight of blood, nursing was out of the question. What else was left but public school teaching? It took me one semester to realize that was a mistake. Who would have predicted that my career would make a complete circle, returning to education?

My working career began in technology with education as a byproduct. With an undergraduate
degree in Management Information Systems, my early career goals were centered around computer programming. A propensity for math and the love of technology was something I discovered in college quite by accident as I stumbled around a couple of semesters looking for something I wanted to study. I surprised myself at how good I was in subjects that were, in the late 1970’s, typically reserved for men. With the help of a wonderful mentor, I landed a programming job at Gaston College.

I soon discovered that a staff job at a college requires knowledge of education and over my twenty-nine year career at Gaston I have learned from the best. As my computer programming job turned into a director’s position and I worked my way up the administrative ladder, it was obvious that if I was going to remain in higher education, some formal knowledge of the subject would be required. Fate moved me into the classroom and also into graduate school. I began teaching technology at the community college level.

Coming full circle from my first undergraduate experience was an ironic twist in my career. Technology has always been at the core. When the Internet began playing a part in education I was intrigued. Suddenly, a wealth of knowledge was available to everyone at anytime, anywhere. A class that had been confined to four walls, a chosen textbook, and the voice of one expert could now reach into the vast array of information available on any subject. With a simple computer and a low-cost Internet connection, anyone could have access to that information for free. How could education and learning possibly get any better?
Colleges began to jump on the distance learning bandwagon and Gaston College was no exception. We moved the typical classroom lecture to the World Wide Web and assumed that our students would learn more, better and faster. What we have discovered is that few students have a natural motivation and ability to persist and succeed in the online environment. Anecdotally, we were hearing that the dropout rate in online classes was much higher than in the traditional classroom. The success rate was also lower. Students were making F’s and D’s, assuming they finished at all. Students were not learning as much in online courses and our programs were weaker because of Web-based learning. Yet, in the community college environment, our commuting, often working students with families were demanding Web-based classes, primarily because of the convenience and flexibility. We found ourselves in the quandary of balancing quality with demand.

As I have moved into academic administration, I have learned that moving a traditional class to the Web is not the ideal way to teach a class online. Course content is created and delivered differently on the Web and must be designed for that environment. Drawing students to each other through collaborative learning techniques is a key to success in distance education. We must insist on the same quality in the online environment that we do in the traditional classroom. The challenge is to train traditional community college faculty to design and deliver courses specifically for the Web-based learning environment. We have tried to provide professional development and quality standards to assist faculty in doing so.

Still, community college administrators hear that the dropout rate is higher in online courses. Is it true? If it is true, what can we do about it? Is it the use of technology that throws students for a loop? Is it the lack of collaboration that isolates and alienates students in an online class? Does the design and delivery of the online course impact student success and if so, how? So far in my research, I have read many retention studies and dissertations on the subject, but none from a rural community college perspective. I would like to research the persistence and success of students in online classes, comparing them to their counterparts in the traditional classroom setting.

While I haven’t specifically nailed down my dissertation topic, it is only natural that it relates to technology. The World Wide Web connects technology and education and seems to be a perfect focus for my research study. My challenge is to bring my topic into clear focus and determine how to best approach it. During the next six months, my goal is to read and research, talk to experts, and think about how my research can be meaningful and useful to both my career and my institution.

My Story

I have always envied people who really knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. I never did. Fate has determined where and who I am and I wouldn’t change a thing. My “story” easily gave direction to my dissertation.

I grew up in a small town. No one in my family had ever been to college. Yet somehow there was never a question that I would go. The subject of my studies was not so easily determined. Since I had no role models, the typical female careers were suggested and seemed to be the only options. Since I fainted at the sight of blood, nursing was out of the question. What else was left but public school teaching? It took me one semester to realize that was a mistake. Who would have predicted that I would ultimately come full circle, returning to education?

My working career began in technology with education as a byproduct. With an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems, my early career goals centered around computer programming. The love of technology was something I discovered in college quite by accident and I surprised myself at how good I was in a career that was typically reserved for men. It was only by chance that I landed a programming job at Gaston College.

A staff job in education still requires knowledge of education and over my twenty-nine year career at Gaston I have informally learned from some of the best. As my computer programming job turned into a director’s position and I worked my way up the ladder, it became obvious that if I was going to remain in higher education, some formal knowledge of the subject would be required. I moved to the classroom and in to graduate school.

Coming full circle from my first undergraduate experience was an ironic twist in my career. Technology has always been at the core. When the Internet began playing a part in education I was intrigued. Suddenly, the world of knowledge was available to everyone at anytime, anywhere. A class that had been confined to four walls, a chosen textbook, and the voice of one expert could now reach out into the vast array of information available on any subject. With a simple computer and a low-cost connection, anyone could have access to that information for free. How could education and learning possibly get any better?

Gaston College jumped on the distance learning bandwagon along with most every other college in the free world. We moved the typical classroom lecture to the World Wide Web and assumed that our students would learn better, faster, and certainly more. What we found out quickly was that few students have the ability to persist and succeed in the online environment. Antecdotally, we were hearing that the dropout rate in online classes was much higher than in the traditional classroom. The success rate was lower. Students were making F’s and D’s, assuming they finished at all. Students were not learning as much in online courses and our programs were weaker because of online learning.

We have learned that moving a traditional class to the Web is not necessarily the way to teach a class online. Course content is created and delivered differently on the Web and must be designed for that environment. Drawing students to each other through collaborative learning techniques is key to success in distance education. We must insist on the same quality in the online environment that we do in the traditional classroom.

Still, we hear that the dropout rate is higher. Is it true? If it is true, what can we do about it? Is it the use of technology that throws students for a loop? Is it the lack of collaboration that isolates and alienates students from an online class? There have been studies done, even dissertations written on the subject, but none from a rural community college perspective.

While I haven’t specifically nailed down my dissertation topic, it is only natural that it relates to technology. The World Wide Web connects technology and education and seem to be a perfect focus for my research study.

Autobiographical Sketch

My writing is not bad. I have always been a good speller and I learned at an early age how to formulate a sentence. Noun, verb, adverb, prepositional phrase. Once my elementary school teacher explained all the parts and pieces along with the rules for fitting them together, I was able to write proper sentences. Soon afterward, I was taught how to organize information into an introduction, body, and a conclusion and could turn out a half-way decent paper on most any subject. I credit my high school English teacher with giving me a foundation that made college-level research writing something that I could do easier and quicker than most of my fellow students.

I am an avid reader. I learned to read at an early age and can remember being thrilled to visit the local library and check out books. I have actually imagined myself starting in the “A’s” and reading every book there (nerdy, right?). I love the power of words and have always admired writers who could use words to describe something so vividly that you could see it in your head. Character development in fiction writing has always fascinated me. How is it possible for someone to explain without pictures exactly what a person actually looks like? How can they formulate a description so lucid that as a reader you actually have feelings for a fictional character? The best book in the world is the one that you hate to see end and find yourself wishing you hadn’t read it quite so quickly. I admire and envy the talent to produce a piece of work like that.

So, what is the connection between my writing and the kind of writing that I love to read and most admire and appreciate? Besides the fact that they both contain the written word, nothing at all! My writing style is technical. Memos and e-mails are my best work. Give me something to say and I will do it succinctly and to the point. I find it most difficult and confusing to attempt to use more words than necessary when just getting to the point seems the simplest and easiest way. Paper page requirements make me nervous and I tend to lean toward the minimum. Big words make me sound obnoxious and uppity.

The writing of the dissertation is a large task looming before me. I have already begun collecting and reading related research and have an idea starting to form in my head of the organization and direction this paper will take. I am almost anxious and excited to get started. Nevertheless, I can’t imagine that my dissertation will be interesting at all and that anyone would ever want to read it again once it is complete. It will be complete. It will be organized. It will be written simply and will be easy to read. It will accurately reflect my research and will contain every required section. I cannot guarantee that it will be free from error, but those errors will certainly not be intentional and will be there because I am too familiar with the subject and have looked at it too many times, not because I didn’t proofread it enough or have someone else look at it.

I often wish I was a different type of writer. I would be thrilled if I could work on and develop a writing style that is less technical and more descriptive (and therefore probably more interesting). On the other hand, I have often been told by others that they are envious of my ability to say something in a few words but still make a big impression. Not everyone has that talent either and I appreciate that. In the everyday life of a community college administrator it comes in handy. So, maybe I’ll just stick with what I have. Hopefully it will serve me well in my doctoral journey and in my professional career. I’ll never be a J.K. Rowling or a John Grisham. But, hopefully, one day, I will be Dr. Betsy Jones.

Betsy's initial post

Hi. I am trying out blogging for the first time. It is a difficult assignment! I had almost write a literature review.