Critical Issues
"Cyber-Talk" in The Classroom
For this discussion, the term "cyber-talk" refers to Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) in which the voice is replaced by characters on a screen.
We should first consider some of the basic characteristics of speech and writing. Though speaking is a technology, it is one that is less advanced than writing. Speaking is often immediate, and is more accessible to everyone. Contrastingly, writing is more contrived. It requires more time to write a thought than to speak a thought, and therefore writing has the potential to communicate more precisely, (to the extent that such precision is contingent upon time).
However, what happens when writing becomes our mode of speaking? With the advent of CMC, "cyber-speech" has emerged as a new mode of conveyance. It shares similarities with both speech and writing, its closest relative in essence. An interesting phenomenon to explore is the tendency of those who communicate through CMC to familiarize their written discourse. The most prevalent example of such a trend is the communication of tone through "emotives." Emotives have been utilized in CMC from its very early stages. This practice marks the human need to recreate the physical form in virtual space, a need which seems to have decreased as we have become more accustomed to the virtual world. One site still considered an authority on emotives according to many browsers, if such a thing is possible, was created by Carla Emmons in 1996 and explores the e-mail trends of Dartmouth students. Instead of relying on fluctuations of the voice, or specific language to convey sentiment, the cyber-talker often peppers his or her speech with emotives ranging in creativity from the classic "smiley" :-) to the "Oh, no! It's Mr. Bill!" emotive (8-o. Another way to add elements of speech to virtual dialogue is by flanking a word connoting an action with either an asterisk or a dash; for example one can indicate a *sigh*, a *gulp*, or a -shiver-. Emotives also serve the important purpose of putting the inhabitant of the virtual world at ease by conveying humor. One site titled "Funnybone" vows to make more tolerable the "tiresome" world of virtuality by offering visitors lists of emotives to incorporate into cyber-speech. These lists are couched between lists of "funny quotes" which, not incidentally, all owe their punch lines to miscommunication. One reads: " 'It takes a virile man to make a chicken pregnant'-- Perdue Chicken ad., as mistranslated." In the information age, the inability to communicate effectively is comic.
Another trend in CMC is to curtail conversations which could span over many minutes to the space of as few lines as possible. The reasoning behind such thinking is obvious: That typing, even more so than writing, is a learned skill which requires greater effort than speaking. Cyber-speech then, is often more contrived than writing while appearing to be as familiar as speech.
It seems that the qualities associated with CMC could be an asset to the class group, if directed properly by the facilitator. (Obviously the need for such direction is contingent upon the maturity level of the learners participating.) Because CMC requires the average communicator to "think" more before "speaking," it seems that such communication has the potential to convey thoughts more effectively. Perhaps reducing the level of formality could be helpful for students who feel uncomfortable communicating in the classroom setting. In this situation the facilitator would be placed in a situation similar to that of Socrates who directed Phaedrus' irresponsible speech.
Discussion Questions
Will the need to assert a physical presence in the virtual world through language decrease, as the use of emotives has in cyber-speech?
Can the facilitator successfully direct CMC in a class setting?
Identity in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)
It is a simple fact that a virtual communicator can an often does forge a false identity. Albert Borgman characterizes this practice as liberating while at the same time potentially dangerous: "The internet particularly has given many people the liberty to escape the constraints of their age, gender, and race, of their shyness, plumpness, or homeliness, and let their glamorous inner selves free and adrift on a world wide web" (4). Borgman approaches the issue of virtual identity with a healthy mix of praise and skepticism. The truth is that we will never really know the identity of those who we come in contact with if we maintain a strictly cyber relationship. However, could this lack of anonymity allow us to access the true essence of an individual, often inaccessible in the physical world?
Optimistically, it should be possible to contact the "core" of a person that might be hidden to the physical world, and it should be possible to focus more on the act of informing, however this ideal is often not achieved. Consider the cyber identities formed by a group of Chris Jonston's students during CMC in the classroom, in this case the same physical space. The supposed male subjects claim that "chicks. . . need to go get a makeover or something." Though it is entirely possible that in this case, the students are forging purposefully offensive personas, but the context of their comments does not necessarily suggest that they are. Oftentimes speakers stripped of their physical identities strive to reconstruct power structures by asserting a persona which is associated with power in their culture. Margaret Morse claims that females are "hit upon" on the web because "the values encoded in the symbolic system prevail in the minds of the users" (27). Virtual reality simplifies the act of presenting oneself as "He-man or Barbie," if one so wishes. Tropes of race and class can just as easily be inserted into dialogue to reconstruct systems of power. It seems, however, that such practices might be combated with instilling the communicators with technological and intellectual confidence, which though impossible to achieve on the vast world wide web is actually quite achievable in the classroom. If the goal of CMC between class members is to raise the level of discussion of class content, the instructor must again assume the Socratic role. The degree of direction offered by the facilitator should be adjusted according to the needs of the class.
Discussion Questions
Should facilitators urge CMC between learners in a class not to convey traces of their "real" personalities?
Are learners and people in general able to relinquish the social currency which their physical bodies represent?
Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)-is most basically the act of communicating through a computer interface. This project focuses on two-way synchronous and asynchronous CMC through the typing of characters.
Synchronous Communication-occurs in "real time," and in its most primitive form in the same physical environment. In the e-world, the most common forms of synchronous communication are chat rooms and MOO environments.
Asynchronous Communication-is a delayed conveyance of communication which usually occurs between communicators situated in distinct physical spaces. Technologies used in the past to communicated asynchronously include writing, and recording. Some examples of asynchronous communication in the e-world include e-mail, listservs, and bulletin board type environments.
