Changing Literacies; Changing Pedagogies

“. . . immersion in digital environments may lead to new ways of thinking about and using texts, and . . . it is those who have grown up with digital technology who may be most likely to understand the potential of digital affordances.” (Burnett, 115)

There's a great deal to unpack here so I'll attempt brevity. Personal experience and empirical observation tells me that challenges around creation of digital texts—and here I will use our class and the types of texts we are creating as examples—can be frustratingly singular, personal and time consuming.

I made the switch to MAC in grad school because the OS is more robust and reliable than windows when using powerful media editing programs like Premiere Pro and other Adobe Suite Products (this may or may not still be true but I now understand when people say “once you've tried Mac, you'll never go back”). I have a Mac laptop and an I-Mac desk top. I also have a laptop with windows 7 in case I need a back-up.

Any operating systems (OS) degrades incrementally over time, which is why there are OS back-ups—essentially a snapshot of the OS that can be used to restore it to a point at which it was more efficient. OS degradation is often user unique based on types of programs used and frequency of use. This means that issues can often be machine-unique; fixes that work for one computer may not for another.

Work arounds require time and research. It took the better part of a week for me to come up with a means for creating our illuminated texts based on my version(s) of presentation software (PowerPoint, Pages (Mac) & Apache Open Office) and their ability to convert .ppt files to video. My issues were around formatting retention and export capability and, as someone with a tendency to obsess about problem solving, I wanted a solution that answered every challenge to create something that fit all the requested criteria. The solution I arrived at is simple and works but the journey was challenging.

Technology pedagogy is basically a curricular add-on; nothing is or should be removed to make room for it (i.e., readin', writin' & 'rithmatic). The time it can take to meet certain technology challenges may represent a significant reduction in time for engaging with other aspects of a specific pedagogical blueprint.

I believe this is an important aspect of technology pedagogy as relates to our journey that must be taken into consideration when planning for a particular class or project and we need to be cognizant of strategies to minimize the impact. It is an ancillary challenge inherent in the act of “immersion in digital environments.”

I believe, from the posts and completed products, that we, as a class, have the imagination and skill set to understand the potential of digital affordances. I believe the difference in approaches to digital text creation between us and the digi-natives will be largely based on acquired digital research habits and a lifelong familiarity with issues regarding technology. Web 2.0 represents a real sea change in terms of what can be achieved and by whom.

“To support all students, regardless of their level of expertise, time was set aside, time was set aside within the regular lectures for a number of weeks to with snap shots of a digital portrait in progress.” (Kerin, 135)

Well . . . my own previous observations were addressed in the very next chapter. How convenient.

“. . . "teaching composition by traversing “old” and “new” media.” (Leander, 149)

I'm glad this received attention. The idea of composition has been central to my notions of pedagogy for some time. There are very few pedagogical events that cannot be described or explained using the composition metaphor. 

Sentences and equations are compositions, made up of separate parts or ideas, combined to elucidate a larger concept.

The composition metaphor as a conceptual underpinning for project-based teaching helps create teaching strategies that are both easily definable and easily accessible. The notion of a class based on the study of composition utilizing digital and print based media is a powerful way to bridge the gap between 'resistance' and 'replacement.'

Illuminated Text