Poker Face Video

Thinking

Selfe may have created a book that is a little too long and detailed. What I find interesting is that I believe that it really is important that we are dragged through the overly excessive details because it makes us pay attention to what her main points are. I think it might be an underlying part of what we need to pay attention to. We aren't only paying attention to the facts Selfe gives us, we are paying attention to her presentation of it as well. Food for thought...http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban1350l.jpg

Our New Required Technological Literacy

Cynthia L. Selfe’s book Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century, opened several doors of inquiry for questions about what is considered “literate” not only when her book was published, but today as well. Computers are expensive, but unfortunately are almost a requirement to everyday life concerning school, work, recreation, and everything else that is dealt with on the world wide web.
I have in the past realized that computer literacy is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted because I grew up in schools that had computers and as students we had access to them for school purposes. Selfe writes “In other words, the poorer and the less educated Americans are in this country-both of which conditions continue to be closely correlated with race-the less likely they are to have access to computers and to high-paying high-tech jobs” (7). I understand that I was fortunate along with many others. However, until I read Selfe I didn’t really take the time to think about how many people still don’t have access due to their race or class. Does this perhaps set us back as humankind because we aren’t attempting to help those who are expected to be computer literate yet don’t have access to become so?

A Response

I really like how Elise explains that Lester Faigley expresses the idea that students are now coming into the classroom sometimes with more knowledge about a particular idea compared to the teacher. It is an enlightening concept Faigley presents that teachers are no longer expected to fill the students with information. Teachers instead are given the chance to expand the already preexisting knowledge that the student already contains. Labeling students as authorities to the knowledge they have has been useful because the students become more productive when they are presented and encouraged with something they are familiar with.

Students Vs. Teachers

Does the realization that students are writers actually aid a teacher? Would it be ok with most teachers to see their students more literate in technology than they are? These questions can be difficult to answer if a teacher doesn't have an open mind to the possibilities of learning their students can obtain.
How can we deal with a student who is more technologically knowledgeable and still impart the wisdom within us?
I definitely agree that if students are exposed to more information, that their teachers simultaneously will gain authority on the subject and understanding as well. I think that embracing knowledge, whether you are a teacher or a student, will have a positive outcome despite who is more experienced with something. If a teacher discourages their student because they are more technologically advanced than they are, I believe that there will be many problems because the teacher is in fact hindering the learning process of both themselves and their students.
Authority and dominance in a classroom are created by the position of the teacher. When a student excels it is important to celebrate it and not assume a jealous position because it actually will undermine the teacher’s character and authority.
Students do have a sense of purpose of creating, molding, forming, and manipulating something that is their own. When a teacher embraces the fact that the student is able to do this without their assistance we are shown a glimpse into the mind and ability of a student. Hindering a student’s learning process in any way will have negative impacts.
As a teacher it is our job to inspire, push, pull, and create meaning in our students and their work. When we encourage the idea of becoming more advanced than we are, the student will take it as a creative challenge to excel and become something that they hoped to be, yet weren’t able to become without us.

Cool?

Marshall McLuhan writes "Every culture and every age has its favorite mode of perception and knowledge that it is to prescribe for everybody and everything" (21). I find this claim stimulating in that each generation and age has its own slang terms that mean completely different things from the last. McLuhan gives the example of the word "cool." It has changed meaning as it's changed hands. Now at the present moment it's seen as meaning a positive idea. McLuhan goes on to explain that "The restructuring of human work and association was shaped by the technique of fragmentation that is the essence of machine technology" (23). Would this then mean that because we are so heavily relying upon machinery we have also become fragmented? I think it does apply because we are presently seen as being very dependent upon technology for our everyday lives.

Detachment

As I read Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, I found several points he makes very intriguing. He says "We acquired the art of carrying out the most dangerous social operations with complete detachment. But our detachment was a posture of noninvolvement" (20). This is interesting because with the digital age we have all become very detached from life itself. How many of us send empty and meaningless text messages saying "hello" or "what's up?" to our friends we rarely talk to? Technology, despite its positive aspects, has created a detached barrier between us all. This could just be the beginning of what is to come. The internet has also created a detached movement towards not even being able to recognize the tone of voice our friends have.

First Class Meeting

My name is Leontine Armstrong and I am excited that school has just started again!