Understanding pedagogy and technology

Markel argues that pedagogy and technology should be clearly seperated from each other, while Selber suggests that technological facilities or resources are not neutral to pedagogy. It is impossible for pedagogy to be formulated in a vacuum without the influence of related circumstances, for example technological resources. A good lesson for teachers of digital age is that we should always get ourselves ready with self-education if needed to reach the most needed technology we may need to integrate with our pedagogy. But the problem is: to be equiped with up-to-date technology for our job will not happen in one day. It is a long process that teachers have to go through, and usually on their own. Personally, and in a selfish way, I would try to bend the rules of my pedagogy to suit the technology I have.

A new understanding of blogs, bulletin boards and wikis

I am not a big fan of using blogs, bulletin boards or wikis. I have to admit that I heard about them and knew about them, but I have never thought about them seriously. Barton's article allowed me to get a better idea of what they are and what we could do by using them in composition teaching. I like his idea that "wikis emphasize a progressive, democratic aspect of writing,... the god of wikis is freedom, not efficiency". I agree with him that "wikis challenge notions of traditional authority and traditional academic legitimating criteria." This active ongoing discussion method will get to the points in the long run. At least, the change is constant, and traditional method of printing is hard to keep up with the fasting changing world. Who knows, it may become the future of real time encyclopedia.

On technology narrative

I organized my narrative around how technology has affected and changed my way of English learning. I collected ideas from the very early desktop tape recorder days in middle school to short band radio and portable tape recorder time in college, then TV programs and Video tapes and later on VCD(Chinese version of DVD in early days when DVD were so expensive). The change from audio to video, from recording to real time news on the radio and TV. Nowadays with the help of internet and computers, mp3, the way of English learning is changed greatly. I find it much easy to brainstorm with picutres and stories in my memory and then to build around the theme piece by piece. I was shocked to find out that with better technology at hands, I am getting lazier and not making full use of all the conviency of it.

About Selfe's Article

I enjoyed reading the article and was glad to learn the facts and numbers about the Clinton-Gore project. I am convinced that literacy eductation is a political act. The part that I am interested in is Remembering our own role in the literacy cycle. "Computer-using teachers instruct students in how to use technology-but, all too often, they neglect to teach students how to pay critical attention to the issues generated by technology use. Teachers who choose not to use technology in their classes content themselves with the mistaken belief that their choice to avoid technology use absolves them and the students in their classes from paying critical attention to technology issues" Both groups come to the same end by neglecting technology and taken it for granted.