Communicating with Online Tools

Introduction Communicating with experts Online communication tools Communicating with peers Talk About It Your Turn

Tech Tools in this presentation• Nicenet• Text Commenting• Track Changes

IntroductionNovice cooks know that sometimes they need a little help to prepare a meal successfully.

They might need advice on cooking techniques

or help selecting the best ingredients.

IntroductionYou also need advice when you are working on a research project. You should consult others such as experts, peers, or school or community librarians.

or look for a bibliography or list of references with the names of additional experts.

Communicating with expertsIf you have a question about your research topic that you can’t answer on your own, consult an expert on your topic.

One way to find an expert is to find a print resource on your topic. Note the author’s name,

Communicating with expertsEnter the expert’s name in a search engine. Results might include the author’s own Web pages, and those pages usually contain contact information, including an e-mail address.

Some print and electronic sources offer the expert’s contact information. Even books now routinely contain the author’s e-mail address.

Communicating with expertsSend a polite and professional e-mail to the expert to ask his or her opinion on your topic. Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and be clear and specific about the help you need.

Dear Dr. Berry,

I am researching the history of the Equal Rights Amendment. I read in your book that many people did not understand the purpose of the proposed amendment. Can you tell me what misconceptions people had about the ERA?

Sincerely,

Suzanne Phelps

Online communication toolsTalking with and getting feedback from your peers also can aid your work.

Distance, schedule conflicts, and transportation obstacles can make it difficult to meet with peers outside of school, though. That’s when using online communication tools can help.

Online communication toolsThere are many online tools that can facilitate both academic and social communication between peers. You might already use some of these tools. Blogs Wikis

Instant Messaging

E-mail

Tech Tool: Nicenet

Nicenet hosts a free Internet Classroom Assistant that teachers can use to facilitate online communication.

participate in online discussions about topics of your choice,

Tech Tool: Nicenet

On Nicenet, you can view your class schedule,

and share Internet links sorted by topics that you create.

Tech Tool: Nicenet

Nicenet enables students to publish documents on the site, which makes it possible for you to

• turn in your research projects online

• give peers feedback on their research projects and receive feedback on your projects

Tech Tool: Nicenet

On Nicenet, you also have access to personal messaging. You can

communicate with classmates

give private feedback on research projects

give private feedback on research projects

talk privately about online discussion topics

Communicating with peers

When using online communication tools to talk with peers, ask specific questions about your work.

Is the tone of my research paper formal enough, or does it come across as too informal?

Is this an effective thesis statement: “The ERA was not ratified because Americans misunderstood its purpose and potential effects”?

Is my argument—that ratifying the ERA would be a step forward for human rights—clear?

Did I make clear, effective transitions between the different parts of my paper?

Communicating with peers

Even though your peers might give you specific feedback about your work, you decide whether to incorporate their suggestions into your research paper.

Peers may suggest new avenues to explore or help you see problem areas in your work, but you are the one who knows your topic best.

You must always maintain ownership of your work.

Tech Tool: Text Commenting

You and your peers can make suggestions about each other’s work with the Comment tool in word-processing software.

The comments will show up in colored boxes in the margins of the paper.

Tech Tool: Text Commenting

To add comments to a peer’s paper:• Click Tools on your word processor’s toolbar.

• Select Track Changes and position the cursor in the proper place for your comment.

• On the new toolbar, click the Comment icon.

• Alternatively, you could select Comment from the Insert drop-down menu.

Tech Tool: Text Commenting

You can also use comments to ask peer reviewers questions about your writing.

Your peers can answer your questions by inserting their own comments or by typing their responses in your Comment window.

Tech Tool: Track Changes

Your peers also can use Track Changes to edit your work. They can correct misspelled words or incorrect grammar or make larger changes.

The Track Changes tool keeps track of all changes made to a document.

Tech Tool: Track Changes

You do not have to accept peers’ changes. Decide whether each suggestion would strengthen or weaken your paper. You can accept or reject each comment, using the buttons on the menu bar.

If you want to accept all the changes, click the arrow next to the check mark and choose Accept All Changes In Document from the list.

Tech Tool: Track Changes

If you want to accept one change, place your cursor on the change and click the icon with the blue check mark.

Tech Tool: Track Changes

You also can use the toolbar to reject individual or all changes, and the Track Changes tool will revert your paper to its original state.

Talk About It

Discuss the following questions with your classmates.

1. Have you ever contacted an expert to use as a resource for a school project? If so, what was that experience like? If not, will you do so in the future?

2. Have you ever asked a peer to comment on a research project? If so, describe the experience.

3. How do you think text commenting and Track Changes will help you hone your research project?

4. What advantages are there to publishing your research on Nicenet? What is Nicenet’s most useful feature?

Your Turn

Imagine that a classmate has asked for your feedback on her work. Read the questions below, read the student’s work on the next slide, and then write responses to her questions.

Your Turn

The substantive portion of the ERA reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Supporters of the ERA argued that the amendment would simply give women the same protection under the law that men enjoyed, in everything from the law to the workplace.

Opponents of the Equal Rights Amendment insisted that the amendment would force women into the workplace and rob them of the financial support of their husbands. Neither claim was true, but they did scare some people into thinking that the ERA would be a step backward for human rights.

The End