Technology

3 of the 4 readings in, I'm seeing differing opinions about technology and how it pertains to writing.

Morgan seems a bit skeptical about the range of technology and suggests more than once that its use will not take hold quickly--"until there is universal access technology--not a likely scenario" (207, Guide to Composition Pedagogies). Well, his essay was written in 1998, and merely 10 years later, technology has become part of our everyday life. In 1998, I was a freshman/sophomore in college and I got my first e-mail address. I also got my first computer (I was one of maybe 4 on my dorm room floor to have my own). In the ten years since, EVERYTHING I have done has revolved around computers. Then only things I hand write in school are grades/comments on papers and material on the chalkboard, and even that is being replaced by an increased use of a SMART board. Today's students are growing up with these technologies as if they have always been there.

Faigley, referring to Michael Lewis's research and writing, says "children are best equipped to adapt to this new social order...no commitments to old institutions and old ways of thinking" (Composition Studies, 175). He is referring to the information available on the Internet, but it pertains to aptitude towards technology and its use.

Using technology in our classrooms is a given, and teaching our students the best ways to use technology with their writing, whether as a word processor or Faigley's Multimedia Essay, is in the best interest of our students. Julie assigned us these blogs, the first of my educational career, without batting an eye or worrying about our access to technology or our fluency with blogs because it expanded the range of cooperative learning. Technology offers hundreds of other ways of enhancing student learning and writing if you look for them and hold ourselves open to growth and exploration.

Never Mind

I figured it out, apparently I was blocked from the system.