OMG! Write w/o my Blckbrry?

Charles Moran “Technology and the Teaching of Writing”

I found this article interesting because technology is a prevalent issue in our society and therefore in our teaching. As technology becomes more integrated into our lives, we see the ramifications of this integration in our classrooms, such as students text messaging during class or using the Internet or composing a freewrite on their laptops. So, I figured for the purpose of this response I will move through Moran’s article and respond to what interested me.

First, Moran raises an interesting question. Should the government spend more on training, hiring, and paying teachers, or is it more prudent to spend money on adding technology (computers, networks, etc.) to schools. While the use and essentially the need of technology seems to be growing exponentially, I’m not sure it warrants the money that governments are spending to put it into schools. Teachers are what teach the students, right? So what message is being sent to students, parents, administrators, and teachers if money (large amounts) is spent on technology rather than paying and training the teachers who teach? It would seem that teachers (for the benefit of students) should be the priority.

Another question I found myself asking was, if technology is so powerful how do we (teachers) use it to help our students? While this question is a loaded question, I think it is one that most of us have. Exploring Moran’s article didn’t really answer this question to my satisfaction, but perhaps the class discussion will yield more. Oh, I digress.

Moran’s article discusses the possible differences between paper-based and computer-based writing. This highlights another question, how does technology affect the social aspect of writing? Moran states that technology can affect writing in a few ways depending on medium being used—email, online discussion, etc. But I wonder what technology does to students in a writing classroom, especially one held in a lab, in regards to socialization.

Another point I found interesting in Moran’s article was that teachers may need to be teachers of word processing—not teachers of computer literacy (207). While teachers may need to help students discover the nuances of word processing, I think that sometimes (whether it is our job or not) we are teaching students computer literacy. Many students, even with the prevalence and pervasiveness of technology nowadays, don’t have any idea what to do with technology and computers. I suppose that these ‘lost’ students could be because of the “wealth gap,” as Moran calls it. Richer students may have more experience with technology, while poorer students may not have very much experience with technology. How can teachers help close this gap? I’m not sure.

I know that I’m surprised when students admit they don’t have home access to a computer. Since technology is so available to most people, I sometimes forget that there are people who don’t have regular access to a computer or the Internet. In fact, I recently had a student ask me where to buy a computer because she had never bought one before. She also wanted to know how to connect her printer and the Internet once she got her computer. Now, I’m pretty savvy when it comes to technology, but the connection questions were not in my job description. And honestly, I didn’t think that I could help her being so far removed from the actual physical hookups and software she would be working with in her home. It’s not like I get paid to make house calls. In class, I try to get students write on paper as often as possible to take the technology pressure off students, but I do have students who bring their laptops to class.

Other parts that I thought were interesting were the discussion of gender and race, and the e-mail discussion of issues with language (spoken & written vs. electronic; informal) and intimacy. I could see race affecting technology adaptiveness more than gender, mostly because of the ‘wealth gap’ Moran refers to. As for email, I have noticed many of the things Moran has mentioned. Students often use a very informal tone in their emails. I don’t think they see anything inappropriate with the informal tone. I also notice that students sometimes use abbreviations usually found in IM chats in their emails or even in their typed papers. To me, this shows the fluidity of technology into different parts of our lives. Furthermore, I agree with Moran that technology does make teachers essentially more readily available to students. I often tell students that I don’t get to my email after 5PM nor do I get to check it on the weekends. Even with these parameters students still email me at all hours most days.

I think this subject warrants more research.