Week 4: Shepherd's After You Read Questions

Based on Shepherd’s survey, do students see a connection between FB and FYC? How do you explain this result?

After reading Shepherd’s survey, I still feel like students do not see a connection between FB and FYC.  Since 313 out of 432 students viewed their activity on FB as conversational, I can safely say that students cannot see the connection FYC.  I believe FB is not seen as composition platform where students are utilizing writing practices, because it is not presented in compositions classes as another avenue for students to communicate their writing.  I cannot blame them for thinking that FB is not an extension of a composition class, because FB intended purpose is to connect with friends.

What was his purpose?

The purpose of Shepherd’s research was to enlighten his audience about how FB is connected to FYC.  He conducted this study to prove to his audience that many students are using writing practices while on FB; however, they need to cross over the boundary of their interpretation of what writing and composition looks like outside of the classroom.

What makes his argument kairotic?

Timing is everything.  As the use of technology is integrated into comp classroom, it is important that teachers and students utilize online rhetorical digital spaces as well.  Shepard’s argument is let’s not rule out FB as a rhetorical space for writing, but integrate it as a platform in FYC classrooms.

Week 4: Ryan Shepherd’s Before You Read Response

Do see a connection between writing for FB and writing for school? Why?

Yes, I can see a connection between writing for FB and writing for school.  In both cases, I have an audience to communicate a specific message in a post or essay.  The message could explain an issue (expository), tell a story (narrative), articulate an argument (argumentative) or influence a reader to agree with me on a topic (persuasive). Although writing for FB and writing for school seems like they would not have any connection, they do.  The settings are different, but the purpose of the message is the same.

How could FB play a role in academic learning?
Facebook can play a role in academic learning by providing an avenue for student to connect with an audience to express their thoughts about a topic or personal experience.  On Facebook, students have opportunities to use technology to form book clubs, writing clubs, advertise an event, or just connect with their peers.  In addition, teachers could have students post interesting stories pertaining to their class discussions or topics from assigned readings.  Facebook is just another avenue for students and teachers to communicate and content share.

Cindy Selfe Summary

In the article, Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention, Cynthia L. Selfe, insists her colleagues, college composition and communication educators, to pay attention to the technology literacy issues that affects them. In 1999, Selfe urges educators to pay attention to President Bill Clinton’s technology large-scale literacy project titled Getting America’s Students Ready, because the project would directly affect them by influencing the use of technology in their classroom.  During this time, composition educators had mixed attitudes about the usage of technology in their classrooms.  Selfe pointed out that large literacy programs are “always a political act as well as an educational effort” and they promote the literacy myth, “a widely held belief that literacy and literacy education autonomously, automatically, and directly liberation, personal success, or economic prosperity" (420; 424). Therefore, whether or not educators decide to use technology in their classrooms, it was their responsibility to pay attention to the issues that surround it, technology illiteracy. The greater question she leaves composition educators is will their decision to use or not use technology help or hinder the literacy process for students who they are entrusted to teach.

Week 3: Q&A: Cindy Selfe

Q&A: Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention

1.    Who is her audience?

In the article, Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention, Cynthia L. Selfe, main audience is literacy educators including English and Language Arts teachers in primary, secondary, and college/university classrooms. 


2.     What is her purpose?

Selfe’s purpose for writing this article was to change the attitudes of writing professionals about the use of technology in the classroom.  Although many of her colleagues negatively viewed computer technology as boring or frightening and distrusted the machine, she encouraged them to abandon their old ways of thinking about technology and accept the cultural strangeness of the new electronic environment.

3.     What is her exigence?

      The exigence of this article encouraged literacy educators to pay attention to technology issues that affect them.  As technology literacy influenced U.S. culture in 1999, President Bill Clinton initiated the idea of social-progress-through-technology in a nations project titled Getting America’s Students Ready. The national project promised the use of technology in classrooms “to improve learning, productivity and performance,” a direct link to literacy instruction. Unfortunately, the implementation of the educational goals and standards were not clear, so Selfe urged her audience to pay attention how the project’s goals were going to have a direct response to educators.

4.     What lessons about literacy do we learn by paying attention to technology?

Selfe points out the educators’ responsibility in the technological literacy system.  Although some educators want to avoid using technology in the classroom, she urges them to put aside their own biases and look at the large-scale picture of educating students to become technology literate.