There were a few minor glitches, such as difficulty printing, and some of the comments were rather silly. Many of the comments were quite good, however, and at the end of class several students asked me if we could come back the next day. Now we have settled into a routine, and overall everyone works diligently on his or her Connect assignments. One challenging aspect of Connect for the teacher is structuring the assignment. Questions for dialoging need to be focused enough so that the whole class stays on task, yet open enough so that students have room to explore ideas and express their opinions.
Students benefit in a number of ways.
They get keyboarding and computer practice on a regular basis, which helps them meet collegewide goals of technological expertise. They improve their writing skills. They gain confidence in their ideas and in their ability to express themselves. They practice the argument skills they need to structure most of the academic papers they will be asked to write. And best of all, they learn while enjoying themselves.