Page 42 - Composition in Convergence The Impact of the New Media on Writing Assessment

INTERNETWORKED WRITING 9

the body in computer-based writing allows greater numbers of stu-
dents to participate because of technological innovations that make
communication possible for students with disabilities. However,
faceless interactivity is also a rhetorical context full of risks for a
writer. Howard Rheingold (1991) observed that some online writers
are hampered by the disconnectedness and decontextualization that
can occur with electronic communication. That seems to be true;
gregarious students, who enjoy a live audience for their ideas, fre-
quently have difficulties making the move to computer-based writ-
ing activities. And there are still many students who value being
present in a traditional classroom interacting with instructors and
peers. Of course, it is also important to mention the digital divide
that separates families with computers from those without (or fam-
ilies with broadband vs. those who have dial-up access). For varying
reasons, all these students find themselves feeling vulnerable or dis-
advantaged in computer-based writing classes because of the
disconnectedness and decontextualization that can occur with
asynchronous writing.
A second, but equally important, risk in online communication
is a "panoptical" effect that occurs with some participants. Periodi-
cally, the experience of writing for discussion lists or for web sites is
compared to Foucault's description of Jeremy Bentham's Panopti-
con, where everyone is seen or read, so each person monitors ac-
cordingly his or her thoughts and language. To clarify this for the
classroom experience, a panoptical effect describes a situation in
which students' posted words and ideas are observed by everyone
participating during that writing session. As I said earlier, net-
worked writing is almost always public, even in classroom set-
tings. In fact, the only private form of networked writing that
might exist is when a writer posts a message to him or herself as a
reminder or to archive later. Otherwise, online conversations are
meant for public view and reaction. Some students respond to this
circumstance by self-censoring or self-monitoring their replies to
the group. Others react to the constant sending and receiving of
messages by tapping into the relationships formed on screen (some
of which may or may not seep into F2F class encounters) or by con-
structing a different personality from the one presented in the
classroom. This latter option is done when students wish to avoid
the panoptical effect and speak freely. Their construction of a new
identity masks their real presence in virtual space.