We Need to Change

Still, I believe that it would be foolish to hastily eradicate all forms of technology from English classrooms and more foolish to think it even possible. Certainly, we cannot expect students to forgo the use of word processors in this day and age. Similarly, we should recognize the benefits of the internet when it comes to documented research assignments; the amount of time saved using an online database, search engine, or online library catalog as opposed to searching manually for hours on end is undeniably invaluable. Furthermore, in higher level composition classes, particularly those preparing students for careers using technology (i.e. relatively new majors like Editing, Writing, and Media) technology is necessary. What I am suggesting is that we minimize the use of technology in introductory level courses like Freshman English Composition and certain Creative Writing classes, among others, to ensure proper habits are developed. Literature classes should not adopt means of “e-reading” to prevent the development of improper reading habits and to encourage the love of literature and inclination to read.

When technology can be introduced, we must make greater efforts to instruct teachers to use technology and to use it well as opposed to just using it. A classroom can be full of tech-savvy students and state of the art equipment, but without knowledgeable staff, it will not produce desirable results. It is the teacher’s job to ensure that the students use technology properly and develop good intellectual habits, and they cannot do this without first being familiar with the programs they are using. Too often we use technology “just because it’s there” and because we feel we must to keep up in this digital age, but we are not intentional about how we use it in education (Wootten 242). Cynthia Selfe asserts that there is a stark distinction between “paying attention” to technology and merely using it. Instructing students to do coursework on a laptop computer, but leaving them to their own devices to Facebook and Tweet is not a desirable outcome.

We need to instruct students how to use technology to better their lives and advance in their field in specific and direct ways. We can teach them how to use design software for forms of visual rhetoric. We can teach them how to design or compose forms of rhetoric effectively and use technology to do so. We can create more captivating presentations with software and classroom equipment. We can do all of these things, but we must be specific, intentional, and direct and avoid using technology just for the sake of having it. Mere use of technology will not open any doors for students, but careful instruction can.