Computers and Literacy

Laurin mentioned that she wanted more information on how to use technology in the classroom as a way to expand writers as writers. And, I think her point is valid, so I wanted to start this new thread devoted wholly to the topic. The last thread was getting a little bit too convuluted, I think.

When I teach with technology, I hope to first help my students to view the internet and writing on the internet critically. Students must be taught to discern between credible and non-credible sources. (This could be taught in the classroom like Mel is teaching it. Going through websites, examing their information, determining if it should be trusted.... etc.) It can also be approached from another direction. Students often do not realize the way in which the internet presents issues of gender, race, and class. They often blindly absorb this sort of information, which can be very dangerous. (This issue was addressed in one of our readings. Black students realized that african americans were being portrayed stereopyically all over the net.) This stereopyical information infiltrates the mind, especially if we are unaware of it. I want my students to be able to actively read and write online, not pasively. The internet is not an inert, neutral space, and so it must be treated critically, and to be honest, it isn't. (Much in the same way that television, often isn't...) If students learn to view the internet critcally, they not only become better users of the internet for their own research, but also better writers, online and off, because they can learn that what they put out there counts. (They don't want to perpetuate the stereotypes.)

Also, I want to help my students use computer technology as a rhetorical space, as another outlet for their creativity, and one that allows them to express through many different venues. Technology allows people to intertwine visual and written communication. Now, more than ever, they are inextricably linked. Programs such as iweb, powerpoint, publisher, even Word, allow communication to be on two different levels, the visual and the written. I know that some people would consider that the visual has no place really in an English room, but since so much composition occurs on the computer, it cannot be ignored anymore. I am not suggesting that our students become visual designers, but rather learn how to combine technological aspects to make their arguments better heard, more appealing. This is not even a new idea, poets use visual design often in their work, playing with form on the page, to accentuate their meanings. Pictures, well-used white space, creatively presented words, all can be captured through composing via the computer. It opens up a whole new exciting range of creativity for our students. (And, it will help them in the future, since many employers are using this sort of visual and written communication in presentations, meeting, etc. in the workplace.)