Critique Paper (Essay Sample)

Critique Name: Institution: Author Note: Kate Kiefer discusses the ever emerging concerns of whether web based-educational platforms are truly beneficial to the students in her essay, Do Students Lose More Than They Gain in Online Writing Classes, from the publication, Brave New Classrooms (2007). She addresses the many drawbacks and flaws of online learning, with particular focus placed on the subject of writing. She emphasizes that, despite the popularity and growing preference for online learning, the system is flawed, and from a tenured instructor's standpoint, the unsatisfying and problematic support software, and the ethical and time restraints most online students face are of great concern and has significant effect on the quality of the education. Most proponents of online classes argue that the platform gives students an opportunity to study while working and it promotes wider access to education due to its ability to reach wider audience. However, Kiefer correctly argues that those benefits should not be substituted for the quality of education. I agree with her that there is a great detachment brought about by the absence of interaction between the involved parties; primarily between teacher and student, as well as between the students. She is also correct in stating that most students cannot actually balance efficiently working and studying. Kiefer states most teachers of writing believe that the most effective way of teaching writing is through teacher-student interaction and group work. This is achieved when students can respond and create specific language contexts. Online classes take away this crucial benefit from The student. She adds that the instructions given in online writing assignments are generalized and are designed to suit the general audience. The lack of specificity confuses the student, and in most cases they can't differentiate between what they believe they should write from what is actually expected of them in the instructions. The support software used for online writing classes was not designed with the subject course in mind and in most cases it causes problems for both the instructor and the student. Form her experience as an instructor, she came to learn that most of her students can't find enough time to study after working. Kiefer puts forward a very well researched and presented article on the subject of online courses and whether students lose more than they benefit from them. It is presented in clear and unambiguous language, and it shouldn't be hard for most people to grasp. The author avoids making many assumptions with clear presentations of facts and data findings from various researches carried out by her peers. The arguments are presented logically with adequate supporting information. From her experience as an instructor, we get very accurate and vivid depictions of the interactions she had with her students and the issues she thought they faced in online education. I believe the author couldn't have put the issues facing online writing student in a better way. It is logical to say that the higher the number of students in a class, the less likely that each will receive adequate individual attention from the professor. This is usually the case where many students are enrolled in an online course. This becomes particularly problematic for writing students who require critique and direction in learning to write effectively, and this just sets up a grand likelihood of failure. I also agree that this form of teaching is not very desirable to the professor teaching the class since it's only human nature for one to need validation for their wor...