Cathy presented three important points that Selfe promoted, the first being the knowledge of the professor, the second on technology us and the third on technologic dependency. The first of these was pretty easy to relate to. Selfe has kept up with technology during its entire evolution, and says that other responsible educators should do the same. Not to do so is irresponsible, and it can create a "gap" between students and teachers that might make teachers ineffective in their teaching.
The second point is that technology is lovely, but sometimes it is used too often and is not used conscientiously. Students, therefore, need to learn to use technology judiciously. Most often, the trick is knowing which sites are supported by educational institutions, which sites need to be used with caution (like Wikipedia), and which sites to avoid entirely (for instance, sites that are entirely opinion-based and have no textual/reasonable support for the assertions made on them).
The third point is that computers are often viewed as angels from heaven or demons from hell when, in fact, they are neither. Computers must be used as needed and a teacher must not become dependent on their usefulness. Like the now-old ruse of parents letting the television babysit/raise their children, teachers must not allow computers to teach students. We are the educators, we are responsible, to some extent, for what is learned in our classrooms. Therefore, we must be active participants in what computers are used for in our classrooms.
Overall, Selfe encourages good judgment, common-sense and a certain adventurous and open spirit. If these things can be achieved, then we can use computers to our advantage in our classrooms.
I also noticed how often the theorist and the presenter had intersecting interests. Perhaps Dr. Donna is brilliant at this stuff. Perhaps there is much to relate to, in every theorist's work.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point that it would be easy for teachers to allow computers to babysit. Another consideration is students’ perceptions of how the computer is being used. When I was first working with adult literacy, we had a great program that allowed students to work individually and progress at their own pace. We were all excited by the software and couldn’t wait for students to work with it. Students liked it, too, and spent hours with the headphones on, repeating sounds and words. However, years later, a woman was telling me her experience at school and said, “I came here to learn how to read, and they stuck me on a computer in the corner.” Even though we used class time to work with students one on one and in a group, she remembered only the isolation of the computer.
ReplyDeleteI’m also interested in the issue you raise about sites that are entirely opinion-based. As I’ve been helping students research this semester, I’ve really been struck by how frequently blogs are the first things that come up—many blogs on any topic. Of course, many of them are balanced, educated, informed observations, but many are far from it. In the writing center, I have seen a marked increase in students who want to use blog statements as evidence and haven’t even noticed that an anonymous poster writes the blog.