Rickly posits, “If only a few voices are present, then the classroom becomes hierarchical in nature, with a few creating knowledge for the many” (125). How do we/can we deal with these hierarchies in our classrooms, especially when these hierarchies intersect with technology usage?

At the end of “Why Do Women Feel Ignored? Gender Differences in Computer-Mediated Classroom Interactions,” Wolfe concludes by asking the following questions: “Can women learn to respond to oppositions? Can men learn to agree more often and less egotistically? Perhaps, with enough effort, we can develop strategies for interacting online which leave no one feeling ignored” (164). How might we respond to such questions, and how might we begin to develop such strategies?

In “The Gender Gap in Computers and Composition Research: Must Boys Be Boys?”, Rickly wonders, “Do students really participate more consistently and interactively in the synchronous electronic forum than in traditional oral class discussions? And, how is gender a factor in these participation levels?” (124). How have our own classroom experiences spoken to the manner in which we might engage with such questions? How have we seen students’ participation levels play out in oral discussions and/or electronic ones? How do these levels converse with each other, and what conclusions might we draw from this? How have issues of gender come into play in these (oral and electronic) conversations in our classrooms?