“Recognizing the hybrid literacies our students now bring to our classrooms, we need a better understanding of the increasingly visual and interactive rhetorical features of digital documents. As writing technologies change, they require changes in our understanding of writing and rhetoric and, ultimately, in our writing pedagogy” (631).
The first college writing course (similar to freshman comp) I taught had a presentation element, where they students were required to give a multimedia presentation. Most groups used PowerPoint presentations. Although the students were interested in creating the presentations, and their interest in the electronic element was higher than their interest in traditional print writing, they weren’t actually bringing much of a document creation skill set to class. I expected the students to be able to do these wonderful things with PPT, but most of their presentations were disappointing. Of course, I was most disappointed in myself for not doing a better job tapping into their interest in electronic documents and teaching more document creation skills.
I can sympathize with your frustration. When I teach, my students always ask why we can't use a computer. I feel as if I am not adequate enough to teach with technology, let alone, my school does not have the resources. I would like to incorporate more technology within the classroom, but first I need the resources.
ReplyDeleteI am still really conflicted about this notion that it is the responsibility of an English teacher to make students digitally literate. Both James and Humaira feel like they have let their students (or themselves) down by not teaching more technology. Why do you as English teachers have to make sure the students know how to use Power Point or Jing or Prezi? Are math teachers as concerned? Do public schools have computer science or digital lit teachers?
ReplyDeleteIf your background/degree is in literature or composition or some other "traditional" English major, why does a school administration assume (or better yet require) that you be also proficient in computers/technology?
I still don't see it as the same discipline...
I don't have to teach technology, and no one in the CCNY has suggested that to me. But, I should use my student's interest in technology to enhance their communication skills. Example: I use Blogger.com as a place to post low-stakes writing assignments. Using that technology to post responses to reading assignments gets a more favorable reaction from students than the old paper and pen journal.
ReplyDeleteThis is my dilemma as well. How to do you effectively incorporate technology into a freshman writing course when it's not a requirement? How much prior technology exposure and experience is needed to make it successful (for both teacher and student)?
ReplyDeleteI think we are slowly moving towards integration. But, teachers should try to incorporate this in the curriculum and use student interest in technology as another means to enhance their communication skills. Since it's a test, it could be a combination of the traditional research paper with a minor digital group project, perhaps.
Even if we aren't computer/technology pros ourselves, we do see the importance of knowing a little about tech and how it could possibly enhance the classroom learning experience, especially for "easily distracted" high school students and timid freshman college students.
"Digitally illiterate"'s protest resonates with me also, -- however I think that for many of the students we work with, or at least the ABE or BW students I hope to work with, using digital media in our classrooms will offer them a sense of access and confidence, more than when they attempt to produce compositions in the traditional academic design. Joining the Academy probably feels like a impossible hurdle, an exclusive club. But returning to a point James makes, if they are at least consumers of digital media then it might be a smaller leap to becoming prosumers, and a "club" the students might feel is accessible.
ReplyDeleteOlder than most of our students, granted, and more digitally challenged than most of them, I do feel a new confidence that perhaps I am learning to create and produce documents and compositions digitally. And maybe it is not necessary that in this area we be ahead of our students, it might empower (oh, I hate to use this word, but what else carries the meaning) them -- they could teach the teacher!
I have been thinking of introducing and creating a class blog to our TBI (traumatic brain injury) clients in the Computer Lab when I work.
If the subject of composition is writing, and writing is taking place on the Web, then why aren't students being taught Web-based writing? One could certainly argue that the subject of composition is language, not writing, but even then, we've always made the argument the one learns language skills through writing.
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