In regards to questions I have with this week’s reading, I want to direct our attention to the essay written by Cynthia Selfe: “Technology and Literacy: The Perils of Not Paying Attention.”
First, Selfe wants us to examine why instructors of composition sometimes choose to “ignore technology” (Selfe) in the classroom. Selfe claims that “computer technology” (10) is often put aside by educators in place of “older technologies like print” (10), as books are “generally accessible to students and to us, and they are acknowledged by our peers to be the appropriate tools of teaching and learning” (11). Selfe adds that educators must “pat attention to technology” (12), whether they use it in the classroom or not (12).
My question is: why does the utilization of computer technology in composition courses matter?
As TAs and GPTIs, we use computers heavily in FYC, but how beneficial do you think it is, particularly in teaching college writing to freshmen? Especially when Selfe writes of the “linkage between literacy and technology” (13).
When I was in freshman composition years ago, computers were non-existent in the classroom. It wasn’t that our professor didn’t have access to a computer during class, but he didn’t care to use it. The day-to-day instruction consisted of examples on the chalkboard or handouts, and all assignments weren’t submitted electronically. I can only think of one teacher who used a computer regularly during class, as all her lectures were on powerpoint.
When teaching in the past, I only used a computer for music or movie clips to build upon my lecture, and relied on my own notes for the rest. (I was never too big on powerpoint, but see how it can be useful to supplement one’s lecture.)
October 7, 2009 at 10:54 pm |
I think technology in composition courses is important and should be used. Technology brings something new and different into the class, and like you said, it is easy to use it to build on lectures or reinforce certain topics. Especially since our students have online access to the handbook, being able to pull that up in class is beneficial because it not only helps you but it shows students that it is easy to look things up online and hopefully encourages them to look things up on their own outside of class. In terms of social media like Facebook and Twitter, students are using technology to communicate, so I can see how technology can help with literacy. Since technology and social media are becoming such a big part of our lives, I think it is good to use it in some capacity in the classroom to help engage the students.
October 8, 2009 at 2:43 pm |
Technology is no longer an option in any classroom–especially in the composition classroom–because it is the medium through which we can reach our audience. Few of our students write with pen and paper any longer unless forced to do so in some contrived writing exercise for standardized assessment. Just as my own writing methods have changed over the last twenty years as I shifted from handwriting to word processing, the majority of our students have only developed word processing skills, making it crucial for us to engage them within their own composition mode. As elementary students learn to word process as they learn handwriting, computer use in the classroom will become even more crucial. The same applies to other technology mediums: if we are to engage our students, we must do so through means with which they are accustomed, with which they learn best.
October 8, 2009 at 3:09 pm |
I also question the use and supposed importance of computer technology in specifically FYC. My experience as a grader has been frustrating to torturous depending on the moment. I think what has contributed greatly to those feelings is the remove that online grading embodies. There are huge difficulties that these students have with the essentials of reading comprehension, from the text itself to the understanding of the assignment. Somehow, I think (unscientific, I know) that the distance created by online coursework and grading is contributing to the problem.
October 8, 2009 at 3:31 pm |
I think communication technology, in particular, is important for several reasons. First, it greatly facilitates peer-to-peer writing and responding, and that generates a lot of writing and criticism and good feedback (if done properly). Second, “social networking” seems to be hugely attractive to this population. I think they find comfort in interacting this way, and so I see working in their environment a pretty good thing, rather than always forcing them into our comfort zones. Remember, what worked with you and me isn’t written in stone for the ages; the Internet and the computer have reached the level of being intrinsic writing tools for most (not all) of our students, and we should employ their familiarity in our instruction. But I know where you’re coming from.