“Digital rhetoric moves the purposeful communication off of the page and into systems, pictures, and electronic devices.”The first time I had seen a smartboard I was an undergrad. I had to observe classrooms as part of my curriculum. In one of the classes, the English teacher was teaching a class on plays. The class had read “Oedipus” and watching clips of the play being performed in Ancient Greek theater style. I thought this was revolutionary, to have such easy access to visual aids and to be able to bring forth a culture lost in time.
When I was in high school, the closest thing we had to digital rhetoric was once in awhile visiting the computer lab or having the television in our class to watch something relevant to the course. It required the teachers to seek windows of opportunities to bring in other forms of communication and education. When I look back and compare my experience in high school with that of students with technology in their classrooms, these students have almost infinite access to purposeful information. This gives rise to the need for educators to assist students in navigating the digital world in a proper manner, “instructors should engage students in situated practice (real-world examples and work that is relevant to their lives and work), overt instruction, and critical framing in order to produce transformed practice...” Because the digital world is so vast, there is a need to understand and incorporate into our lives properly. This need is especially important for students who are born into technology
When I think back on the use of technology in my education, it angers me to think that my teachers didn't expose me to the technology that would have prepared me for the digital age in which we live in now. It was rare that we ever take to a computer lab and when we were, the equipment was outdated and useless. We were given 'free time' in which most of the students spent time playing online games. During junior high, I was fortunate enough to be in the first Bill Gates laptop class. I received my first laptop in 5th grade. I think this put me ahead of the game, in comparison other students my age and I think this has been the foundation of my interest in technology. Today, I am what you would probably called obsessed. But how can you not be? I use a smartboard with my kindergartners constantly to engage them in their learning.
ReplyDeleteHow do you use a smart board with kindergartners? I haven't been in a kindergarten class since I was an actual kindergartner.
ReplyDeleteIf it angers MyT to have been underexposed to technology undisclosed years ago, it must positively outrage my current students (or will later outrage them). I am certainly a culprit (and have many colleague-culprits), as is the school/principal/DOE etc for the insufficient equipment, especially for student use. (I can project powerpoints, videos and the like to students if I bring in a working laptop.) I've heard many people say, typically casually, that students usually know more about technology than teachers. We can be disturbed by the casual tone of the statement, but it's true, right? To me, this fact complicates assessing expectations of teachers and schools. Is digital literacy central to education? Is it vital (but maybe not quite central)? Is it a bonus? I know "bonus" will inflame many people, and I'm inclined to be inflamed too, and at myself, as a novice in digital literacy, but I think that when push came to shove, most current teachers would probably be in the "bonus" camp, in terms of what they actually do in the classroom, if not what they would concede or propose hypothetically.
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