Reading Response #1: The New Literacy

Literary “pundits” - as Clive Thompson refers to the critics of new technology in his recent web article "The New Literacy" - have begun spinning the web of controversy about the development of technology (especially in education) and whether it has negative or positive affects on the literacy of students. This controversial topic is substantial in importance because if there is fear of a slip in the intellectual state and level of literacy of our generation, then we must strive more to uphold our quality of writing because it is a crucial aspect of our everyday lives. Current cultural trends mentioned in "The New Literacy" include references to the crude manner by which people write and communicate between one another by means of technology, such as through cell phones, the internet, and PowerPoint presentations. According to Clive Thompson, some believe that texting has begun to consolidate, or rather deteriorate our knowledge of the traditional backbone adhered by most most as acceptable writing (like spelling, conventions, and paragraph structure). Although Thompson does not say so directly, he apparently assumes that modes of communication such as writing on the internet or texting have had a conversely more positive affect on learning, or at least not a negative affect. Thompson says that these newer and much less traditional writing vices are instead “pushing our literacy in bold new directions.” Through the Stanford Study of Writing, he comes to the researched conclusion that students have not only been writing more than ever before but also more out of the classroom than previously, because of technology and it's benefits rather than hindrances. This generation has begun taking advantage of their ability to make conversation “the Greek” way, by using internet chat facilities and boards to make discussions public and get responses from people all over the world, and from unique perspectives. If anything, Thompson makes it a point to say that students would much prefer to have a real audience (which is exponentially more practical even if it's over the internet) rather than just their professor. My own view on this matter is that in most ways, technology and it's recent advances in the educational world has been much more help than anything else. Though I concede that sometimes students don't necessarily use technology in the right way, especially for academic purposes, I still maintain that for the most part, students and their writing abilities have ameliorated and flourished through developments in technology. For example, and in my own personal experience, I have noticed that the use of PowerPoint presentations has made a positive impact on improving many people's presentation, summarizing, speech, and social skills. Some might object that this is not the case and such a device has 'dumbed-down' the norm for education. I reply that I quite frankly don't agree and that as long as usual and traditional modes of teaching are still administered, and the use and growth of technology are left to improve, technology will just become another added bonus and a newer, more modern approach to teaching students. This issue is important because our quality of education is important, and there is an increasing amount of advances daily in the field of technology that we must keep up with or we'll all be left in the dust.
-Tristin.