In comparison to face-to-face writing centers, online writing centers have obvious shortcomings and will never be able to serve as a completely adequate replacement for face-to-face centers. However, if we focus on the benefits of technology and a text-only environment, we can use them to implement online writing centers that benefit writers and tutors in many other ways.

Furthermore, online writing centers are ideal for schools that do not yet have the resources such as time, space, and money that are needed to start a face-to-face writing center. Tutors for online writing centers need to be trained in different ways than tutors for face-to-face centers to understand the difference between the spoken commentary of a writing center and the written commentary appearing on a computer screen in an online writing center.

Benefits

• does not take up as many resources or cost as much money as a one-on-one writing center. It is easier to implement and can later be developed into an actual space at the school once it becomes more widely used.

• students will not need to allocate extra time while they are at school as long as they have access to a computer and the internet elsewhere

• offers more convenience in terms of time and scheduling for both the writer and the tutor

• students may be less apprehensive about using it if they are nervous about face-to-face tutorials with their peers

• schools that have computers and technology better implemented into their curriculum generally have more successful/beneficial writing centers and writing programs that are more relevant to a wider range of subjects

• an online writing center in itself would further implement technology into the curriculum and would make students more familiar and comfortable with it if they used it often

• a text-only environment reinforces the act of writing for both tutor and student

• helps students strengthen their computer literacy

Drawbacks

• does not replace face-to-face tutorials, and leaves less opportunity for the writer to ask questions

• commentary can be misread/misinterpreted in a negative tone when it was not intended to sound that way

• may be unfair to students who do not have their own computers or internet access at home

• teachers who don't like to involve technology into their curriculums will be hesitant to use it

• rather than personalizing the writing/peer tutoring process like most writing centers, it will do the opposite and can dehumanize the situation

• lacks the inviting environment of a writing center

• the absence of oral conversation limits the amount of critique/feedback tutors can provide and the variety of questions writers can ask

References

Lee-Ann M. Kastman Breuch and Sam J. Racine. "Developing sound tutor training for online writing centers: creating productive peer reviewers." Computers and Composition, Volume 7, Issue 3. University of Minnesota, St. Paul.

Tracy Helixon and Dan Rooney. "To the Classroom and Beyond: Designing and Implementing an Online Writing Center to Help Students Develop College and Career Writing Skills." Western Wisconsin Technical College Communication Skills Department. http://www.micsymposium.org/mics_2001/helixon_rooney.pdf.