1. NEXT GENERATION OWLS: CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS AND THE MOVE TOWARD OPEN-SOURCING Matthew J. Gilchrist, U of Iowa Tammy Conard-Salvo, Purdue U CCCC 2009, San Francisco, Session C.07

2. Overview  Customized, next generation OWLs  University of Iowa’s OTA; sharing and adapting existing systems  Purdue University’s VCaP; usability testing  Potential for Open-Source OWLs  Challenges for Customized OWLs  The next generation

3. Customized OWLs  Support campus needs and communities  Address distance and time constraints, mobility issues, and accessibility  Channel students’ interest in computer- mediated instruction  Offer next-generation in writing center technology

4. Iowa’s OTA  Uses Iowa’s existing e-mail tutoring foundation for asynchronous online tutoring  Built upon existing code shared by UNC, Chapel Hill  Allows tutors to work from any location with Internet access  Accepts only.doc formatted files, but may expand to other formats

5. OTA Student home

6. OTA Student Submission View

7. OTA “My Submissions”

8. OTA Session Evaluation

9. OTA Tutor Work Center

10. OTA Tutor Feedback

11. Advantages of Sharing  Saves considerable time and effort  Software has already been tested and improved through the course of many iterations  Innovations in the new context may be beneficial to the campus that created the software

12. Challenges of Adapting Existing Software  Finding a match  No such thing as “plug and play”  No open source community may mean that little guidance or help is available  Active, collaborative partners at all levels are needed to smooth the transition

13. Purdue’s VCaP  Customized and programmed “from scratch”  Inspired by systems at UNC and Texas Tech  Asynchronous tutoring system  Accessible to students with time and geographical constraints, mobility issues, etc.  Accepts documents in multiple formats  Reflects our pedagogy of online tutoring

14. VCaP Main Page

15. VCaP Student View

16. VCaP Student Submission Page

17. VCaP Tutor View

18. VCaP Tutor Feedback Page

19. Importance of Usability Testing  Allows system to be refined and customized  Navigable and accessible  Student-centered, pedagogically appropriate  Solicits student and tutor input  Provides collaboration opportunities with Professional Writing Program

20. Potential for Open-Source OWLs  Offers low-cost, pedagogically appropriate solutions for writing centers  Fosters academic knowledge creation  Prevents dependence on one software or vendor  Allows multiple campuses to work together  Reflects collaborative pedagogy and community- building  Supports 2008 CCCC Resolution on Open Source Technology

21. Challenges for Customized OWLs  Tutor training and resolving differences between electronic tutoring and face-to-face tutoring  Need for writing center administrators with expertise in open-source development  Cost, time, and resources to build a usable system  Technical support and maintenance  Upgrades and changes necessary as needs and technology change  Open-sourcing may complicate support and development

22. The Next Generation  Adding synchronous chat tutoring at Iowa  Including (somewhat) new technologies  Blogs and wikis  Podcasts and flash movies  Avatar interactions  Interactive whiteboards  Negotiating multiple online identities and services  Researching electronic writing support, how students learn online, effective technologies, etc.

23. Q&A Matthew Gilchrist, University of Iowa matthew-gilchrist@uiowa.edu Tammy Conard-Salvo, Purdue University tcsalvo@purdue.edu