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Writing Studio

Synchronous Online Appointments Overview

The Writing Studio will continue offering in-person consultations at various locations across campus in addition to continuing to offer synchronous online consultations using our WCOnline platform as described below. Think of our online appointments as yet another convenient location to connect with us!

Below you will find a guide to scheduling and accessing our online writing consultation appointments.

For those about to work with the Writing Studio for the first time, we recommend you also read this general overview about our appointments and our Appointments FAQ and Policies.

Scheduling and Accessing an Online Writing Consultation Appointment

Step 1: Access our online schedule (WCOnline)

Image of the WCOnline SchedulerOn the Writing Studio homepage, click “Schedule an Appointment.” You will be prompted to enter your VUnetID and password. You will then be connected to the Writing Studio’s WCOnline scheduling platform (pictured left) to set up your appointment.

New users: On your first visit, you will also need to go through the quick and easy process of registering a new account in the WCOnline scheduler.

Once you are logged in, you will come to a Welcome page, on which you will need to select between the Writing Studio and Tutoring Services schedules for the current semester.

Select the desired schedule, and you will be taken to a page displaying all of our appointments for the current week. Using the navigation links at the top of the page, you can also access the following week, as well. Note that our settings only allow you to make appointments up to seven days in advance.

Step 2: Schedule an Appointment

WCOnline Color Legend

Reading the schedule: Once you have reached the current Writing Studio schedule, you will see that it is color coded (see color legend to the right):

  • Look for white blocks, which indicate open appointment slots.
  • Blue blocks indicate appointment slots that are already claimed or otherwise unavailable.
  • Blacked out spaces are not available as appointment slots.

Filtering the schedule by modality: To see only available online appointment slots, look for the drop-down menu at the reads “Show All Appointment Types” and change it to “Online Only.”

Schedule a new appointment by clicking on a white “open” block to make an appointment, which will open a new window or tab for the Appointment form.

  • Note: If an Appointment form does not open in a new tab or window, consider the following:
    • You may have already exceeded your maximum daily or weekly appointment limit. (See our Policies page.)
    • Otherwise, check to see if you already had an Appointment form open in another tab or window of your browser.
    • If you feel neither is the case, please contact us a writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu for technical support.

Complete the Appointment form, including the opportunity to indicate the writing task you would like to discuss and the goals on which you would like to focus.

  • Once the form is filled out, simply hit “Save Appointment.” Your reserved appointment time will appear in either red (for online appointments) or yellow (designated for “my appointments”), and you should receive an automated online appointment confirmation email.

Step 3: Begin your Synchronous Online Appointment

As you get ready for your appointment, do note that to use WCOnline’s online consultation module, it is recommended that you plan to use either the Chrome or Firefox web browser. Updating your browser is updated to the latest version may also eliminate some audio/visual connectivity issues.

Accessing your online appointment

Approximately 5-10 minutes before the start of your appointment, log back into the Writing Studio scheduler and follow these steps:

  1. Find and click on the red or yellow block at the time of your appointment.
  2. Within the pop-up Appointment window, select the red text “Start or Join Online Consultation.” This will open the online consultation module. 
  3. You will be prompted to give your browser access to your camera and microphone. Please do so.

The Online Consultation Module

Image of the online consultation module's document collaboration whiteboard

Within the online consultation module, you’ll find a shared “document collaboration whiteboard” in the middle between the video display (on the left) and the chat pane (on the right).

The whiteboard contains a default text explaining the features of the module including how to import or paste a document to the whiteboard. Changes made to text in this window are seen immediately by both individuals participating in the online consultation.

After your session, you can easily export the contents of the whiteboard on a variety of formats by selecting the Import/Export tool (look for icon featuring two arrows) at the top of the screen.

Moreover, your chat and document will be saved in this online meeting. You can come back by viewing your appointment and clicking the ‘start or join online consultation’ link.

For more detailed guidance, refer to our guide to the tools in the online consultation module.

Additional resources in support of our online appointments:

We look forward to talking with you about your writing! We also request your patience as we navigate this technology and the occasional technical difficulty with you.

Questions? Problems?

E-mail us at writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu.