Online realtime appointments at the Writing Center allow us to collaborate with writers in real time using an internet-based platform. Online realtime appointments are conducted synchronously via text-based chat and/or voice and/or video—whatever combination a writer requests. In online realtime appointments, peer writing tutors and writers collaborate in real time, using a shared work space.
Online realtime appointments enable us to work with writers who are unable to meet face-to-face and/or who prefer online modes of interaction. Wolfe and Griffin (2012) found that “87% of student writers who participated in an online session either preferred the online environment" or found it no more or less preferable than face-to-face appointments (p. 81). Writers who preferred online synchronous appointments did so because they liked both (a) the convenience of not having to be in a certain location (the Writing Center) and (b) the ability to ask questions about and make changes to their papers during the appointment.
The options of text-based chat or voice and video within online realtime appointments allow writers to decide which mode(s) of communication they prefer to use. Martinez and Olsen (2015) note that "…text-based synchronous conferencing offer[s] unique opportunities for students to use writing to talk about their writing" (p. 197), which will benefit some writers, particularly those who value having a text-based transcript of the appointment conversation to refer to after the appointment. They also point out that some writers "do not do well in text-based synchronous environments" and thus are better served by the kinds of communication that audio- and/or video-based conversation allows (p. 197). Given these differing realities and preferences, make sure to ask writers during agenda setting which aspects of an online realtime appointment they would like to use.
Attending to and practicing behaviors that invite and encourage respectful and productive communication helps you, as the tutor, keep interpersonal collaboration at the core of your work with writers and helps you respond successfully to what is distinct about online realtime appointments.
For Writing Center Online Realtime Appointments, we use WCOnline’s built-in Online Consultation Module, which allows you and a writer “to meet online using video, audio, and text chat, screensharing, math and drawing tools, and a collaborative whiteboard” (WCOnline). The tools provided in WCOnline’s Online Consultation Module facilitate “drafting and revision in real time” and the platform “saves changes made during the session so that a [writer] can return and review what they learned” (WCOnline).
Screenshot of typical Online Realtime Appointment using WCOnline’s Online Consultation Module, including annotations for a.) tutor, b.) writer, & c.) writer’s draft in collaborative whiteboard.`
WCONLINE | The Management Solution for Academic Centers
WCOnline’s Using the Online Consultation Module webpage
WCONLINE | The Management Solution for Academic Centers
WCOnline’s Synchronous Online Meetings: FAQ & Troubleshooting webpage
Whether you are using text-based chat or video and voice to communicate with the writer, online realtime appointments include components similar to other modalities.