Changing Literacies

“. . . the identifiable 'author' of print culture is not always at the centre of text production. . .” (Carrington, 77)

I think this is a really profound observation, which took me by surprise but makes a good deal of sense.

Prior to the Italian renaissance, works of art and architecture were rarely identified with an individual. People did not sign their work; it was simply considered a necessary contribution to the greater whole based on a particular individual's skill set.

One of the recurring themes of this class is the importance of pedagogical strategies for teaching collaboration; that is to say we prize collaboration as a necessary skill set for 21st century students.

The 1990s witnessed an upsurge in the “cult of personality” zeitgeist (the Kardashian's are perhaps the most prevalent and disturbing current example).

 People often outlasted their allotted 15 minutes of fame (re: Andy Warhol) and hung around our psyches longer than was necessary or deserved.


Collaboration seemed to fall prey to the need for individual recognition (a prime and awful example is the race between French and American scientists interested in gaining notoriety for finding an AIDS cure, and not sharing information that could have save countless lives). 
If we are going in a direction that favors collaborative effort for solution finding, I'm all in.


“These web pages may be 'spoofs;' just all lies. How do we know?” (Davies & Merchant, 81)

This highlights the need for the pedagogical imperative of critical thinking. While critical thought as a pedagogical outcome is something desired by most educators, it seems to be woefully under-addressed in schools across the country and regarded with suspicion by a great many adults in contemporary American society. 
Greater adoption of Digital technologies in classrooms will necessarily create an even greater need for attending to the critical thinking skills of young students. 

In the classroom, as teachers, we must highlight the need for critical thought and model the ways in which can be practiced. 

As a university student I understand the need to base most of my research work on peer-reviewed texts and know how to identify them; the internet represents a whole world of information that may or may not be either true or even safe and the standards for judging are in a state of creation and flux. 

While this is all very heady stuff and exciting, it also represents a dynamic challenge that puts educators at the front line. 

“Teachers do need to be prepared to learn from pupils . . .” (Merchant, 108)

For a brief period in grad school I entertained the idea of using the virtual world site Second Life as the basis for my thesis project. Second Life allows a great deal of leeway to users for creating their own environment. There are tools for crafting 3D buildings, clothes, vehicles and any number of other items; in other words, a seemingly infinite variety of possibilities were available.

A Dwelling in Second Life

Users  loyally immersed in Second Life society attend church together, go to concerts and plays and are generally able to mimic real or first life. Some of my fellow theater practitioners built a 3-D Elizabethan stage, designed sets and costumes and performed classic plays by the likes of Shakespeare, Marlowe & Kyd.

Ted Cruz as Henry V?

I was tempted to create a documentary-style theatrical event in the virtual world for my thesis project which would mean being actively immersed in Second Life for two years, creating a complete and polished event and write a 100 page thesis regarding that event. 

After a few months of immersing myself in the Second Life world, I found that I could not suspend disbelief regarding the artificiality of the virtual world, and the exercise became boring. I saw no point beyond the novelty, which soon wore off. 

It seems to me that, in some instances, the lure and possibilities presented by new digital technologies are more exciting in the imagination than in actual practice. While gaming seems to have profound pedagogical implications, virtual worlds seem to be little more than an extra layer between a real and imagined social life.

Young students, those we have referred  to as digital natives, seem to view digital technology in a way less cluttered than our own. They do not share an older generation's fears of the unknown (Y2K anyone?) and are more likely to immerse themselves in technological advances with abandon developing an intuitive sense of how to move around in virtual realities and digital media engines with greater aplomb and ease than, say . . . me. This is why I celebrate the notion of teacher as a classroom's learner in chief as opposed to a mere tour guide.

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