Writers:

                                                                                                                                     Dr. Love Me Some Digital Literacy (Kyle, playing a character created by Melanie)

                                                                                                           Donald Kuhn (Engin, playing a character created by Brian)

                                                                                                           Nicole Hunter (Chien-Yu, playing a character created by Ann)

                                                                                                           Professor Margaret Fletcher (Basim, playing a character created by Nehal)

 

 

 

 

 What is a new written form?

 

Margaret:  There is nothing that's new.  Everything is historical and classic.

 

Love Me:  I have to disagree with you completely.  I think that new written forms are the way we create meaning in our current society.  Today's students understand messages in terms of multimedia--images, sound, graphics.  Therefore, we have to teach students to think critically about those media forms. 

 

Donald:  For me, it is creativity itself.  And innovation comes with it. 

 

Nicole:  I agree, it's being creative.  I don't think we should restrict ourselves to traditional ways of teaching students.

 

Should new written forms be required in introductory composition courses?  If not in introductory composition, in some other courses?

 

Donald:  I am for the technology, but I come from a traditional school.  So I would rather wait for a while to introduce new written forms in introductory courses.

 

Love Me:  So what would be an appropriate time to introduce a new form?  Because I think students are coming to our classes already aware of these new forms, and if we don't acknowledge them, we're going to seem out of date or irrelevant to their lives.

 

Donald:  Well, I agree to a certain point, but I think we should equip students of theoretical knowledge before we move onto new written forms.

 

Margaret:  What are you talking about?!?  Technology and literature don't get along.

 

Nicole:  I think we should teach new forms. I encourage students to use alternative ways to write their essays. Like audio essays.

 

Should information literacy be a required component of other courses?

 

Love Me:  What do you mean by "other courses?"  Like, in our department, or in the academy as a whole?

 

Margaret:  Of course, in the academy.

 

Love Me:  Well, I think it's hard for us to say what's appropriate for other disciplines.  Certain hard sciences may deal more with numbers or "hard facts."  So in something like Physics, for example, the latest theoretical models may be evolving, but there is a really set or predetermined way of constructing that knowledge.  So, for people in those departments, integrating technology in the way we're talking about may not be something even under consideration.  

 

Margaret:  I understand that we need to use technology as a mediator between us and our students.  We are not weak.  We are not stupid.  

 

Love Me:  Well, I don't want to be too personal, but it sounds like you are resisting these technologies because you don't want to give up any of the power in your classroom. I think that, if our field is going to remain relevant, we have to admit that sometimes students will know more about these technologies than we will.  We just have to accept that.

 

Donald:  Well, I totally concur with your ideas.  As new technologies are unavoidable.  Eventually everybody is going to end up using new forms of literacy.  Even though I am old school, I have to concur.

 

Nicole:  I highly value technology in my teaching.  I think through technology, we can open community discourses.

 

Love Me:  So those kinds of discourses are important in all kinds of classes and not just English classes?

 

Nicole:  Yeah.

 

Should universities provide technological resources to teach these forms?  What if such resources are not available?