“Those who have grown up in a world where the screen and its
potentials have already become naturalized, are taking as natural all the
potentials of the screen….”(Kress pg.6).
My personal
realization of Kress’s statement paired with descriptions of technology as a
“sea of change”, and its new literacies being referred to as “deictic” in the
online journal " Digital Culture and Education", where “here and now means
something completely different five minutes from when it was first uttered” (Wilber,pg
1), along with the lack of physicality in the interface of the computer screen,
were the unappealing factors that informed my not so long ago refusal, to
engage in digital
technology.
“Not so long ago” it was my refusal to sit still. My refusal
to spend time being frustrated by the icons, symbols, commands, internet speed,
modem connections (and disconnections), and my trying to learn how to use the
computer, digital camera, Photoshop and Word by reading the instructions or by
sitting in a class that taught the
operational …only.
Before that, it was a refusal to let my young children sit
in front of a screen for unending hours as I watched the daylight disappear. I
was seeing the interaction with their friends becoming a shared experience on a
screen. Also…I actually prefer the sound of real drums to that produced by a
drum machine. I appreciate the handedness of a drawn image and the feel of a
photograph on good paper manipulated through the knowing craft of the camera.
But who asked?
Three minutes from that time of refusal, computers became ubiquitous.
And then somehow, the “affordances” became more evident.
Digital technology and some of its new literacies intrigued
me. The computer became a way to research, to have access to images, to be able
to share ideas and develop designs, rapidly. The “wormhole” journey of a simple
internet search allowed me the tributary investigation of …anything. And the unexpected discovery.
The access to a
variety of discourse by various Discourses allowed for critical analyses of everything…and
allowed for easy participation in supporting a particular groups fundraising, contributing to a discourse, learning
through a tutorial, asking a question that is then collaboratively answered .It
afforded my ability to be aware of social events, keep in touch with friends
and family, make multiple inquiries at the same time about grants to support my
teaching practice.
I can gather
resources together in one place to create presentations that helps to foster
new literacy connections for my students. I was delighted to be introduced to
Ubuntu, both the idea based in African philosophy loosely translated as “
for the good of the all”, and the operating system based in the idea of
open source sharing of ideas and resources. (No money exchange, no advertising
in the sidebar.) I am totally pumped about
the accessibility to the magic, the language and the experience of contemporary
art through the use of technology. Tumbler, Pinterest, on- line zines , and Etsy have evolved into easily accessible places to see and share “ collections” of
ideas. As a designer, I am always hungry to see what’s out there…where “ we”
are going in the micro environment of “crafting ”our lives.
All of these literacies (as of this instant)
have become a part of my supremely appreciated personal social practice.
I am an example of what learning in a constructivist environment
looks like. I am learning as I go…gathering the resources I need in order for
me “to further my own purposes of creating meaning in my own learning life.”
I learned the control
keys for online learning…and now I have a Second Life…It’s a miracle. I still
get anxious when I get a crinkled face on the screen, or when my screen goes
blank in the middle of something…Did I save any of this to my Drop Box?
I definitely do not
vote for the burning of the books. I STRONGLY support developing perceptual acuity through hands- on,
materials based experience, especially with young people. I discovered
through a raise of hands, just how many 8 year olds have never dug a hole in the
ground and don’t know the feel of soil in their hands.
What happens to metaphor?
References:
Digital Culture and Education online journal, Special themed issue: Beyond ‘new’
literacies, published online May 31, 2010
Dana J. Wilber
Kress,Gunther, “The Profound Shift of Digital Literacies”, “Digital Literacies: A research
briefing by the Technology Enhanced Learning phase of the Teaching and Learning
Research Programme”
I am going to respond to the part where you say: "or by sitting in a class that taught the operational …only."
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the materials for this class, I thought quite a bit about whether just learning the operational is good or not good. It would appear to be not good. But, on second thought, if someone shows me how to operate something, I can -- most of the time -- do the rest for myself. In fact, I have found that when I have suggested something to someone trying to learn how to do something on the computer, a lot of times they just want to be shown the mechanical step that is hanging them up and then say they know what they want to do -- and they do not need any more help! Lankshear and Knobel write about the limitations imposed upon the learning process when the learning context is only operational. But, you know, a lot of kids and a lot of adults are pretty smart when it comes to technology. Some people stumble along the way, but once they get the hang of it, they can very easily do most of the rest for themselves. I think most people enjoy working with technology. I am not talking about those with computer phobias. I kind of went through a torturous twisting and turning in my blog post about how I thought that Lankshear and Knobel may have missed the boat when it comes to computer education. I say this because, in my experience, most people do enjoy working on a computer and usually figure out just what it is that they want to do on the computer with their favorite software.
Sometimes, just teaching the operational will not be enough, such as in computer programming. Anyway, the point I am trying to make here is that a lot of times schools only teach the operational when contextualization would do wonders. I just found it ironic that Lankshear and Knobel focused on computer education to demonstrate the limitations of the operational approach. As I said before, most people enjoy working with computers -- whether they are in school or outside school. You say (yourself) that digital technology and some new literacies intrigued you. Again, that's why I personally think Lankshear and Knobel missed the mark on computer education -- because students are interested in it regardless of whether the school is interested in it or presents computer education in an interesting manner. Lankshear and Knobel should have used math education as the example to demonstrate the obvious limitations of operational learning in schools. I know from personal experience that high school math focused on the operational and provided very little additional context so I could appreciate why we were learning what we were learning. Occasionally, the math teacher would mention the value of what we were learning at a specific point in time. Anyway, just a thought.
You present an interesting point – and something that I struggle with and continue to battle in my work environment. When is the right time to really transition from a manual way of doing something to a more technologically advanced way? When is the right time to replace a typical eLearning course with something more cutting edge? Although a good number of learners will be excited, an equally as large number may be anxious, stressed, overwhelmed. It requires such a balance of both for my audience.
ReplyDeleteJust in my experience, anything that I may have been resistant to adopt into my daily life is now a huge part of my daily life. What did we do before the Internet? Or smartphones? The thought of spending a day without my smartphone at the ready is a huge source of anxiety for me. Like you mention, I also feel that instant anxiety when the document I saved isn’t retrievable from my tablet even though I know I saved it in the right shared location (ha!).
I try hard to stay on top of what is possible and what is new, even if my audience is not ready for it yet. I think it is important to know what the expectations of learners are and what makes the biggest impact on them and their ability to learn.
Hi Cathy. I think one of the things I was trying to say is that as an originally resistant person to life in front of a screen and faced with the task of learning a lot of rule and commands, I found my entry as project based. I learned as I needed to for specific purposes. I still don't know a complete anything, but I have enough info to ask questions in order to get where I want and more importantly to be able to stumble in directions of interest. My kids' job when I see them is to show me a few new things regarding "new literacies"...new zines, memes, music, apps...wow...theres a world out there with brain connections of a different wiring!.
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