Posts for 9/7/11

Reading and Thinking Blog 1

Hawisher, Gail E., and Cynthia L. Selfe. “The Rhetoric of Technology and the Electronic Writing Class.” Computers in the Composition Classroom. Eds. Michelle Sidler, Richard Morris, and Elixabeth Overman Smith. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2008. 35-45. Print.

Electronic Representation:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/357539

Summary:
Hawisher and Selfe discuss the influences of technology on the writing classroom, both positive and negative. The common mentality regarding technological use is enthusiastic. However, the authors warn that technology can negatively affect the classroom by perpetuating dominant cultural norms and poor teaching practices. The authors use textual references and survey results to demonstrate positive reactions to technology in the writing classroom, stating that increased collaboration and student participation can result. However, the authors discuss a decrease in these factors upon direct observation. Hawisher and Selfe use the concept of the Panopticon to discuss how technology can influence the power differential between teacher and student through increased observation. The take-home lesson is to realize the potential benefit and detriment of incorporating different technologies into the classroom in an effort to improve the learning environment.

Points of Interest:
- Hawisher and Selfe make an important point. Instructors must be critical of the technologies they bring into the classroom and evaluate if these tools will benefit the learning environment. However, critical theory is often not productive and can lead to the degradation of the topic at hand. Along with being critical, instructors must remain productive with their evaluations and look for both the good and bad in a technology, just as the authors suggest.

- This paper was published in 1991. How have perspectives changed?

- The authors use the concept of the Panopticon. Many structures, including hospitals, military camps, and schools were built in order to increase the ease of surveillance, thus enforcing the power differential between doctor and patient, officer and enlisted, and teacher and student (Foucault, “Correct Training”; Foucault, “Panopticism”). Does technology still afford this surveillance compared to the examples provided by Hawisher and Selfe in 1991?

Additional References:
Foucault, Michel. "The Means of Correct Training." Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1979. 170-94. Print.

Foucault, Michel. "Panopticism." Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1979. 195-228. Print.




Brain Rules: Chapter 1 Notetaking Challenge

Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. Print.


Exercise leads to increased cognitive ability via enhanced energy delivery and toxin removal in the brain, thus allowing exercising adults and children to perform at a higher cognitive level.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

NCTE Position Statement

“Resolution on the Importance of Journalism Courses and Programs in English Curricula.” National Council of Teachers of English: Position Statements. NCTE, 18 Aug 2008. Web. 5 Sept 2011.

This statement is arguing for the incorporation and preservation of journalism courses in the English curricula. Recent budget cuts and changing emphasis on teaching standards has led to a depletion of these classes. Individuals interested in maintaining this coursework use the remainder of the statement to demonstrate the importance and potential for learning that journalism classes offer.

Journalism uses a wide variety of media, addresses numerous real-world topics, and is product oriented. These factors make journalism an excellent teaching strategy. The media exposes students to a variety of discourse and possibilities. The “real-world” nature contextualizes and situates the learning, and the product orientation allows for assessment. With these factors in mind, journalism appears to be a wonderful venue to engage students and teach them a variety of skills that may transfer to future careers.

I know very little about journalism and its associated curricula. However, in my limited view, these courses can be amazing assests in regards to technological writing instruction. Journalism uses many forms of media and is one of the first to venture into new modes. Students will have the opportunity to dabble in many forms of discourse, thus broadening their perspectives, knowledge base, and critical thinking abilities.