the google generation Video

Here's A cool video on the google generation and some of the difficulties that arrise in the techno-literacy debate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XqRR5WJ85k

"What does Selfe Want us to pay attention to?"

Work Cited: Selfe, Cynthia A. "Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century: The importance of paying attention." Images Pr, 1998.

"Paying attention" is a call to action that refers to the instructor NOT the student. As instructors, and thus leaders of education, it is our job to note and acknowledge the literacy changes occurring in our society (151). Without having a goal in mind to "pay attention" to the new literacies (especially the new techno-literacy) emerging, we risk leaving our students inadequately able to succeed in an ever-changing world. By keeping this goal in mind, as instructors, we will help students to have the capabilities to be successful. This means that there needs to be an active call from educators and citizens alike to redefine the current school curriculum and standards, in order to promote critical thinking among students. Selfe states that our obligations as instructors are to continually “read and analyze the text and lives of our students” (160), and I only wonder how educators will be able to reach this goal of creating techno-literate students while still adhering to the out-dated and ineffectual state/government. standards. Perhaps before we set the stage for creating techno-literate students we should do away with the very standards that inhibit learning and experience. These very standards fail students and educators, not only because they are ill-created, but because preparation for them fill up the academic calendar leaving little to no room for educators to prepare students on what is really important to their academic success and what could be extremely beneficial to them as on going members of the academic community.

I am a cyborg..... and so are you.

Jenifer Ceraso brought up an interesting point about shutting out technology. But I don't believe that we can escape technology because it has BECOME us. We are all cyborgs. Without technology the world as WE know it wouldn't exist. This even reminds me of something someone had once mentioned in a class about there being actual programs that will shut your computer down in order for you to "escape." But because we live in a digital age, where we are all walking, breathing cyborgs, without technology you go through "withdraws." Which at first sounds silly, but many people even get anxious about missing a comment on their Facebook, or can't live a day without Twitter. And what happens if your hard drive crashes, or you lose your cell phone? It is pure devastation!!! And I believe it is because technology, authority and voice are directly tied to identity; without it we're all just regular human beings in a regular world, and not the authority created in a virtual world.

Technology and Voice: A new means of authority

Faigley brings up a valid point that "another major renegotiation of pedagogy and authority is now in progress," and this is a direct result of having access to technology. While many students and graduates face the difficulties of unemployment, it is technology that has allowed for a collective voice to emerge. This "voice" is a result of the authority created by having access to computers. Through blogs, webpages, chatrooms, etcetera, people can voice opinions, and face the statistics that legitimize their struggle. It's not individuals that are suffering, it's a community; and a virtual community at that.

Which is another opportunity to engage students in lessons utilizing technology. I found the ideas calling for twitter in the classroom, or blogging as a homework assignment interesting. As someone who is new to the blogging world, I find it out of my comfort zone in regard to how I usually learn in the classroom. But I can see some amazing implications for students in the generations that follow me, and I see the importance that instructors continually keep up with the new means of authority that are emerging as a result of technology, and I can see how that can channel knowledge to students who have been born into a technological world. Technology is a new discourse community as instructors we must pave a road for students to gain access.

Technology and Teaching

It seems that technology has altered the way we think, the way we learn, and soon the way we teach. I wonder how exactly I, as a potential instructor, will reach the generations of students who will file into the classroom with their modern thirst for fast pace efficiency? Students seem to require more "interesting" lessons. Lessons that speak to "their" generation. And I find myself caught in the middle between wanting to focus on reading from tangible texts and collaborative examination, and the new access to technology that is now present in most classrooms. It seems on the one hand what might be created is some sort of fast-food education that is flashy, high-tech and full of zero educational value. But on the other, it seems that there are some amazing opportunities to reach students through the inclusion of some modern creations like twitter in the classroom, blogging, creating a web page for a novel or character. And I guess in the end what really matters is that students learn; whether that be from the utilization of technology in the classroom, or simply reiterating the stuffy old composition pedagogy

“Technology as human evolution”

Technology to me, represents human evolution. Like the butterfly who evolved to possess patches upon their wings that resembled the markings of an owl, or like the evolution of language and the proliferation of English, humans have evolved to survive and thrive upon technological advancements. Not only has the language we use been altered, but overall communication has changed. Humans now are globally connected through the internet. Yet I wonder how this has affected the current generations entering into our educational system; a system, mind you, that is far over due for a make over in order to accommodate for the techno. savvy youth filtering their systems. So now what do we do as educators? Do we ‘spice up’ the lessons? And how is that even possible with the increasingly useless education standards set by a government that has lost base with the needs of middle and lower-class? Is this an individual educator’s problem? Or a social one? And how much should the government be involved in our education?

"Technology and Modern Students as Authorities"

Faigley, Lester. Literacy After the Revolution. February 1997, CCC.

Faigley Brings up and excellent point in identifying that the "modern" student has "access to participate in discussions" (35). Faigley thus is implying that the modern student is now seen as an authority, full of knowledge that existed prior to their college attendance. No longer, then, are students perceived as empty "banks" in which instructors are to fill with knowledge, but as partners in an active attempt by educators to get students to "read and write about significant public issues" and thus coactively create knowledge (35). This has set the stage for instruction in the modern era, and made a pedagogical strategy that educators must take in order to make all students authorities. As educators we must insure that that students not only see that they have access to, but also participate in this on-going, and even global, discussion, and this can be accomplished within the context of the classroom through technology.

First Day of Class

This is the first day of class, and my first blog, so let's see how it goes :)