There are several types of literacy and we are firmly
planted in the newest age of technological dependency. Being literate in terms
of traditional composition and being literate in technology, I feel, are not
the same. A small child can be literate in the uses of a tablet, knowing which
buttons to push to get to their desired app yet they could not produce a text. It
seems that the direction technology is taking education the facilitator of the
education will be needed in an expanded role. As educators, many of us are
already the givers of knowledge but now we will have to be the technological
support, especially if we include, which seems like a must, the multimodal
approach to composition. Yancey puts forth this idea of technology mapping in
her four quartets and as composition professors, it becomes important for us to
be the topographers in this technological map. Students, especially today, will
come in being very well versed in technology but will need to situate their use
of technology into the educational sphere. They come in knowing how to do the
basics of interactions, tweeting, youtubing, creating vines, etc. but many
don’t connect these practices with composition. This is a whole different kind
of literacy.
The literacy that they come in with from their time in High
School will provide a jumping off point in terms of traditional schooling but
will have to be refined and polished to include the basics of composing texts
beyond the 26 lines they are accustomed. We must incorporate them into the connected
world of university life. How might this be done? I very much appreciated Dr.
Dimmick’s ideas of creating a personal narrative of their involvement with the
University because it allows the student to realize their place in the college
while expressing their own style and voice. The way that they might situate
those personal narratives will be very telling of how they view themselves and
the world around them. As freshman, many of them will still be reeling from the
freedoms presented to them in a school setting by allowing them to pick their
own class schedule, wear whatever they want, and for some of the boys, (as
innocent as it sounds) allow them to wear their facial hair without harassment
from admin. It is important to let them situate themselves into their own
collegiate experience and having a multimodal assignment where the students are
expected to bring in their own technology will help them contextualize the true
autonomy they will experience in their 4+ years. It is the duty of professors
of English to let them express themselves but also to teach them that in doing
so, they are still developing the skills necessary to help them thrive in later
classes.
As Banks points out though, not all students will come in
being technologically literate enough to do this type of assignment effectively
from the beginning and that is why the technological literacy of the professor
will come in handy. The University is the place where the technological divide
should be bridged. It is our responsibility as professors and educators to
extend opportunity to all students in the classroom, and the realization that
not all digital natives are presented with the opportune technological lessons
to develop their technological literacies and that this does not make their
contributions in our classes any less than those of their peers who are
extremely proficient with technology use.
Banks, Adam J. “Oakland, the Word, and the Divide How we all Missed the Moment.” Cross-Talk in Comp Theory. Ed.
Villanueva, Victor and Arola, Kristin L. Urbana: National Council
of Teachers of English, 2011. 827-868. Print.
Yancey, Kathleen Blake. “Made Not Only in Words Composition
in a New Key.” Cross-Talk in Comp Theory. Ed. Villanueva,
Victor and Arola, Kristin L. Urbana: National Council of Teachers
of English, 2011. 791-826. Print.
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