Evidence Analysis Memo 1

Below is part of the transcript from my first session at Tutor.com, the online tutoring service provided by the State of Alaska.

Joshua S (Tutor)
[00:00:13] Welcome to Tutor.com ! How can I help you today?

Stacie (Customer)
[00:00:40] I just finished a paper and would like it proofread, checking for any typos/errors, and to make sure it's clear and focused

Joshua S (Tutor)
[00:00:55] ok, and what is the assignment exactly?

Stacie (Customer)
[00:01:16] its a response paper to an article we had to read in class
[00:01:32] "Finding Your Own Voice" by Donald Murray

Joshua S (Tutor)
[00:01:49] ok, in order to help you better, I am going to ask if there is anything in this assignment that you want me to look for in particular besides thatwhich you already mentioned.

Stacie (Customer)
[00:02:49] um, I think the organization could be better but I'm not exactly sure how

Joshua S (Tutor)
[00:03:01] ok, have you removed all personal info?

Stacie (Customer)
[00:04:14] I think so, I start by addressing the article directly, kind of summarizing it and what he is arguing, then I try to take a more critical stance towardthe middle and end

System Message
[00:04:34] *** Downloading file from Joshua S (Tutor)... ***

Joshua S (Tutor)
[00:05:01] I'm sorry, but I can't accept this personal information from you, for everyone's safety. Please be sure not to provide any additional personalinformation.

Stacie (Customer)
[00:05:18] ooooh okay I understand what youre saying now, sorry!

I chose this particular section because it really set an awkward atmosphere for the remainder of the tutoring session. In working with students in face to face tutoring, making them feel comfortble is vital to a successful tutoring session (especially if it's their first time using a tutor). When Joshua asked me if I had removed all personal information, I thought he was talking about the content of my essay, not if my name and class were anywhere on the document (they were, as you can tell).

I think Joshua's formal use of language in this digital environment made what he was asking unclear. He could have asked a more informal question, like "Did you take your name and class off the essay?" or "Is your name anywhere on the document? If so please remove it." Even these questions are not the informal use of Internet language that many of us are accustom to. This example is only one of the places where Joshua used extremely formal language and thus did not come off as being friendly or especially helpful. He made no attempt to convey emotions or typical "helpful" language that we might find in a face to face tutoring session. This initial interaction actually made me a little uneasy throughout the entire session. I made it a point to "talk" in the chat like I do in texting and IM situations, and even though I did that Joshua never seemed to use that mode of discourse.

This really showed me the importance of understanding online interactions in order to help people, especially with something as personal as an essay. If the tutor had made a better effort to be informal and utilize texting and IM language then I think the session would have been more comfortable and more useful.

Description of Site

For this project, I will be comparing three avenues of tutoring that the University of Alaska Anchorage utilizes in some way, shape, or form. I will be comparing two online sites alongside face-to-face tutoring sessions, using Tutor.com through the Alaska Sled website, the MyCompLab utilized by English 111 classes, and UAA's reading and writing lab. Several students utilize these tutoring resources to aid in brainstorming, writing, and revising papers for various classes.

While I'll need to hash out the details, my initial plan is to go through a tutoring session at each site with the same paper. If more evidence is needed I can submit multiple papers or possibly go through the writing process from start to finish with an assignment. There are several factors that would need to be taken into consideration, such as the consistency of tutors at each site, and I'll have to address those in detail as I progress through this study.

This field of research is especially interesting to me since I've worked as a tutor in the reading and writing lab and find these resources to be very helpful to students who might be struggling in a composition class or any class that demands writing. What I really want to know are the benefits and disadvantages each of the sites presents and if one is particularly "better" than the other. What kind of help does each site provide? Do the sites prefer or emphasize certain types of revisions over others? What is the consistency of help provided at each site? How is tutoring different digitally than it is face-to-face? How does the digital aspect aid/hurt students when receiving hlep with their writing? What type of digital literacies are necessary for a student to use the online sites? Would I personally recommend one site over the other and why would that be? These are only some of the questions I hope to address in this project.