The Abilities of the Computer Literate Student

In his introduction for Multiliteracies for a Digital Age, Stuart A. Selber discusses several questions that should be on the forefront of the minds of composition teachers as technology continues to progress. One of these questions is “What should a computer literate student be able to do?” (Selber xi). This particular question got me to thinking about what are my expectations of computer literacy in my own composition classroom. In fact, I worry that I have too high of expectations for these students that I don’t explain in thorough detail how to do what I consider basic computer knowledge. A prime example of this idea is when I had to explain to my students how to attach files to emails by the using the paper-clip icon in Microsoft Outlook. What I thought was common sense was proven to be wrong. So, I decided to list the three basic abilities that in my head would count towards computer literacy. They are, to me:

• Computer literate people should know the basics of operating a computer. I don’t expect many to know coding lingo, but I do expect them to know how to turn on a computer, charge it, and turn it off without asking for help. They also know how to mess with basic controls on the computer like sound and volume.
• Computer literate people should be able to use some form of word processing software in order to type. In line with that, people should be able to save, print, and edit their work. This particular aspect of computer literacy would be this most relevant to the composition classroom because it shows that they can write papers using technology.
• Computer literate people should be able to know how to access the Internet. Not only does this theory apply to what web browser to use, but also that people know how to check email, search for basic information, and keep in contact with friends along with other Internet skills.

Some may notice that I did not bring up other digital devices like cellphones and tablets. That is because most of the same aspects of basic computer literacy could apply to other forms of digital literacy. To me, there is not much difference. Do you agree?

Work Cited

Selber, Stuart A. Multiliteracies for a Digital Age. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2004. Print.

Voice in Written Work

I know that I have written the following comment on many a student work: “I can/can’t hear your voice in your writing.” Although this may sound idiosyncratic to non-composition teachers, it makes perfect sense to me. After all, students who try to write in a pseudo form of academic prose can often sound like they are “faking it.” Luckily, one of the foremost figures in composition studies agrees with me. According to Peter Elbow, “The best writing has voice: the life and rhythms of speech” (189). Without these needed “rhythms of speech”, the writing feels stilted and not representative of the student’s best work. For example, imagine if there is a composition student who wants to write an argumentative paper about abortion. Although abortion is an overdone topic, the student may be able to bring their own perspective to the paper through two different avenues. The first one is that they can show their view of the abortion debate along with the research skills in order to build a compelling argument. The second one is that they have the writing skills to communicate that argument. Without one of these, the other one cannot bring the paper to the position that it needs to be. So, if the student is writing without “the life and rhythms of speech”, this paper will come across as fake and not truly expressing what the student is meaning to say. Instead, the paper will potentially read like a regurgitated abortion debate instead of a fresh take on a fairly dead topic.

            So what can composition teachers do in order to help with increasing more voice in written work? It’s extremely simple. Show them that using their voice isn’t wrong but necessary to take a stronger responsibility to one’s work. Increasing one’s voice may make your writing more vulnerable and risky, but it can also heightened the writing and argument. Yes, “inventing the university” is still important, but so is “the life and rhythms of speech”. One just has to find the right balance between the two.

Work Cited

Elbow, Peter. “The Shifting Relationships Between Speech and Writing.” Landmark Essays on Speech and Writing. Ed. Peter Elbow. New York: Routledge, 2015. 181-200. Print. 

The Perceptions of Literacy in College Students

     After finishing Chasing Literacy by Daniel Keller, my eyes were opened wide by how today’s students have to be able to adapt in using multiple literacies in the classroom or risk the chance of being left behind by an education system that swore against that very practice. Throughout this fantastic case study, Keller details the successes and struggles that students can have when literacy not only has multiple meanings but also has multiple practices. In the conclusion, Keller notes how “perceptions affect what people do with literacy” (161). I have to agree with that assertion from personal and teaching experience. Before taking a class in literacy theory, I had the naïve belief that literacy just related to reading books and writing academic papers and short stories. However, that is not all that we read and write. Every day, we read and write text messages, social media posts, and television listings, not to mention all of the reading and writing that is needed for school purposes. But, this quote, along with the rest of Keller’s work, got me to thinking about how my own students would respond. After all, I teach upperclassmen that would not fall into the same trap that I did, right?

            So, I decided to ask my students two very simple questions. The first one was “What do you read on a regular basis?” The second one was “What do you write on a regular basis?” I was clear that I would not aid them in answering these questions, because I did not want to lead them into answers that would prove Keller correct or incorrect, thus rendering this “experiment” invalid. But, there was no reason because they answer as Keller predicted. According to the majority of these students, the only thing that they read is textbooks and other school materials and the only thing they write is papers and other homework assignments. Some of them mentioned texts and social media, but not all of them did. When I brought this up and asked why they did not mention the other “non-academic” literacies, they said that they were writing down what they thought I wanted to read. Imagine their shock when I reminded them that I just wanted to know what they read and write on a regular basis.

            What does this all mean? It means that in this ever-changing world, people do not realize how much we read and write. It also means that they have more chances to improve their reading and writing skills along with other abilities that will allow them to become better readers and writers. So, as a teacher, I will have to work on constantly reminding them that they read and write more than what they think they do. I will also do a better job of bring multiple literacies into the classroom in order to make learning how to write better more grounded in reality.

Do you have any tips for me?

Works Cited

Keller, Daniel. Chasing Literacy: Reading and Writing in an Age of Acceleration. Logan: Utah State UP, 2013

"Paying Attention" to Technology

While reading Cynthia Selfe’s “Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention”, I was struck by many of Selfe’s findings about how privileged certain groups are to have the luxury of developing technological literacy. However, the one line in the article that caused me to start thinking about my role that was when Selfe argues that “composition studies faculty have a much larger and more complicated obligation to fulfill—that of trying to understand and make sense of, to pay attention to, how technology is now inextricably linked to literacy and literacy education in this country” (414). I hadn’t thought much about how my use of technology could increase the technological literacy divide in my classroom. Sure, there have been circumstances when my students have struggled with technology that I assumed that they wouldn’t have. For example, last fall I had to do a tutorial about how to send emails with attachments after a few students complained that they couldn’t figure out how to send their projects to me.  But, I thought this wasn’t the norm. However, once again I was proven wrong about one of my assumptions about teaching college composition and that there will be many students who struggle with technology.

                After all, the make-up of college students is very diverse, so naturally the make-up of technological literacy is going to be diverse. For example, I will have students who have not only grown up using the Internet but have actively been taught in using it properly for a long period of time alongside students who had their first experience using the Internet when they first started college. So, many people are going to ask, “How do we pay attention to technology and literacy in regards to teaching?” I think there are two big steps to paying attention. First of all, listen to what your students are having issues with. If it is something basic, like email or PowerPoint, take time after class or during your office hours to help that particular student out on an individual basis. Otherwise, you will have students complaining about how elementary this problem is. But, if the issue is more advanced, then maybe you can make a lesson in order to help bridge the gaps of literacy. Secondly, do more lessons that deal with writing using technology. For example, I am having my student write an appropriate email to a college instructor this week for a journal assignment.  That way, they can learn not only the proper way to communicate to an authority figure, but they also can get more familiar with the proper standards of writing an email. By doing this particular step, you are still teaching composition, but you are also teaching technology.

                Do you have any feelings about our lack of “paying attention” to technology?

Work Cited

Selfe, Cynthia L. “Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention.” College Composition and Communication 50.3 (1999): 411-436. Web.