Writing Center introduces new program to assist students
by Jenny Farrington
Monday, April 27, 2009
Western junior Tasha Ritter, a writing assistant in the Writing Center, demonstrates the new Jing program. photo by Keith Daigle // Wetern Front
The Writing Center will soon be implementing a new service to assist students in receiving efficient feedback on their work.
The new program, known as Jing, is accessed through the Writing Center’s Web site and gives students the option of receiving oral feedback on their papers. Students who wish to submit a paper for online feedback from a Writing Center assistant will now have the choice of receiving feedback in the standard written form or getting feedback orally.
Jing would allow the Writing Center to assist students sooner and help with clarification as well as making it a more personal experience, Writing Center Director Roberta Kjesrud said.
Jing records the voice of the Writing Center assistant as well as adding a visual element of the assistant taking the student through the corrections they have made on the paper.
To receive oral feedback on a paper, students need to access the Writing Center’s Web site, submit their paper and select the oral response box. Writers should expect to hear a response within 24 hours, Kjesrud said.
“Jing is just a great time saver,” student coordinator and writing assistant Lana Larson said. “It’s also great because [the writing assistant] can express a lot more through [their] tone of voice, which gives [them] more freedom.”
“It is meant to allow a more personal response. A voice is always more personal than e-mail,” Kjesrud said. “It allows us to be much more accurate, and it’s just a better form of communication.”
The program has already received a great deal of positive feedback when tested, and those who have used it so far have been impressed with the results, Kjesrud said.
“It’s fun on the responding end and the receiving end,” Kjesrud said. “Everyone has been really enthusiastic. If it’s both helpful and fun, that’s a winner.”
Kjesrud said she heard about the idea from a colleague at Whatcom Community College, who had great success there with the program.
What is unique about Jing is the choice it gives students; whether they would prefer getting feedback in written or oral form, Kjesrud said.
“I suspect it will be most helpful to students in classes where the professors assign writing but do not actually give much instruction in how to do it,” Western English professor Donna Qualley said.
Students who use the Writing Center’s services also see Jing as a particularly helpful option for receiving efficient feedback.
“I think having the oral option would be the most beneficial in explaining corrections more in depth,” Western junior Rachel Tipper said. “You can have questions answered right there.”
Because the Writing Center has never had an established location and is continuously moved around campus, Kjesrud said she hopes Jing will help in ensuring that students take advantage of and receive the feedback on their writing that they need.
Recently, the Writing Center has seen their online traffic increase because students have struggled with finding the Writing Center’s current location on campus, Kjesrud said. The writing center is currently located in Miller Hall room 220, she said.
The center has typically lost anywhere between 30 and 40 percent of their foot traffic when they move. However, online the center is always in the same place, Kjesrud said.
“In the past, we’ve ended up having more drafts at a time than we can respond to, and we don’t like turning people away,” Kjesrud said. “This new program allows [the Writing center] to give a reasonably thorough response [to a paper] in a shorter time frame. We will also be able to accommodate many more writers.”
Athough Jing is accessed through the Writing Center’s Web site, it is simple to use, Larson said.
“I have found it to be really helpful,” Larson said. “Even though I’m technologically challenged, the program is really easy to use. It has a lot of benefits, and I think writers who frequent the inbox and those who are looking for very specific things will find it the most helpful.”
However, as with any new program, Jing has the potential to cause problems.
“It works great if it works right,” said Nikole Blue who works the front desk. “It might make things more complicated than they need to be.”
Blue said she is hesitant about increasing the number of options online for students in fear of generating confusion and frustration. The majority of the Writing Center staff remain optimistic and enthusiastic about the program’s implementation.
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