The Dell I owned was definitely put through its paces during my undergrad years. I remember the day I got my first laptop (the aforementioned Dell laptop), for high school graduation. The sense of freedom that came from owning my own piece of technology was wonderful. After four years it, however, did require a new hard drive. (Because who needs virus protection in a dorm right?) Haha. Not.
Of course this wasn't my first experience with computers. I remember my dad used to bring home old desktops that had "died" (so to speak) and let my younger sister and I loose with screwdrivers to take them apart. I ended up using the shiny bits of metal to accessorize my Barbie Dream House, while she ended up actually figuring out how to fix what she had broken. This anecdote combined with the death of my Dell may explain better than I can my ensuing relationship with computers.
As a student, I use my computer for the internet, Microsoft Word and iTunes.
As for finding it (my computer) "necessary," I don't presume to suppose I could live without it. Having had social, economic and academic access to computers for the majority of my life, I do find the convenience hard to do without. I learned the "home row" method of typing in third grade and I had my first email address for almost 10 years before I upgraded. My fifth grade teacher let me use the classroom computers (I remember when my elementary school got all new Macs...big day)to send emails to my dad from school.
To separate my personal use of computers to the ways I use them as an instructor isn't much. I expect, as Wysocki states, my students to compose on computers only to print them out so I can comment in pen. I communicate with my students via email and require a multimedia project at the end of the semester. But because I didn't (and don't) have much technical knowledge of how computers actually work and don't know how to run anything beyond the most basic of programs; I feel as though I can't expect my students to learn these things from me in a competant manner.
I enjoyed the fact that Wysocki chose, and noted such, not to define new media until almost 20 pages into the book. Her discussion of the materiality of writing, and her entreaty to writing teachers to understand the ways they teach/ understand materiality, had to be discussed before her definition could make sense. I completely agree with her theory that and 8.5"x11" piece of paper with linear text is different than an interactive web page in how it encourages readers to react and engage. Of course she expressed my thoughts in much more detail than I ever could...
I realized today while reading, and actually teaching that I am jealous of the advantages/ and challenges that computer technology provides students with in this technoculture that surrounds me as a teacher. As an example, I was doing a crash course on MLA citation today and they (my students) were bemoaning the Maimon handbook. I attempted to explain to them that this was the way I had to learn citation formatting. No EasyBib or Citation Machine for me. The relatively easy to understand spiral-bound Maimon manual provoked a completely different reaction for them than it does me. Whereas I see those citation machines as the easy way out (my disdain does not allow me to interact with sites such as these) they see the way I was teaching them as old fashioned. Materiality and the way it functions at its finest.
What a good example! I am smiling just thinking about folded arms and polite rebellion in the classroom. And you raise an important point. Aside from the important discussion on ‘new media’ there is the discussion about techno-tools and the value we assign to them based on our social location and place in ‘real’ time/space. Is the way we learned things better? Is there any inherent value in consulting a manual? Does not the structure of a manual imply that it is a tool, verses a rich text? If so, do I really stand on moral high ground when I suggest its use over the use of something newer? Is there an important educational process lost with this new tool? And we could ask these generic questions about most/all (?) of the tools we bring to the classroom which were bequeathed to us from our beloved teachers of old. What is absolutely non-negotiable? Is there anything truly necessary? What is best, even if seemingly archaic to our students? In the face of class-wide rebellion, are we forced to discard some best practices?
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel your pain, and can reflect back to when I was sooooo nervous the first time that I used an actual computer in one of my lesson plans. I had a drawn out lecture with very specific moments when I would turn to my netbook and show the class different things via my netbook...I was scared and nervous as I was introducing computer technology in my class, but I knew that it was something that I had to begin incorporating.
ReplyDeleteAnd so, Maggie, I can appreciate your uncertainty and possible feelings of fear as it pertains to computer technology - but throw yourself out there and don't be afraid to try it out. I think that you'll be pleased with how it goes and the learning that takes place.