Esther's Technology Statement - Text version

In an age where the demand for composing in new media continues to increase, teaching of and with technology becomes an important component of teaching that teachers cannot afford to ignore. At the same time, given the growing repertoire of digital technologies now available, it is a challenge for teachers to identify the best digital tools to help them realize their pedagogical goals. Furthermore, while new technologies should complement and enhance traditional classroom teaching, occasionally their integration in teaching puts extra pressure on the teacher, the student and the entire learning ecology. Moreover, new media tools and writing in digital environments continues to invite academic, political, legal and ethical complexities than earlier imagined. As a writing teacher, I am obligated to be technologically prepared to deal with the extra pressure, teach my students the added affordances of composing with new media, as well as have them understand the consequences of composing in and with new media.

Given this backdrop, as a teacher, I should create a learning environment that is technologically rich, nurturing and supportive. Such an environment is characterized by first and foremost recognizing that students have a right to their own writing and technologies. An awareness of who my students are, and what technologies they are using to compose in diverse genres and in different spaces is very important. Thus, an acknowledgment of my students’ technological realities allows me not to pre- judge the technologies they bring in the classroom. As a teacher, I do not want to erase their technologies but rather, continue helping them build a wide repertoire of tools to expand their learning and composing experiences. If my students are doing a remix project for example, it is important to have them use the technologies they are familiar with or are comfortable using, say, imovie or Powerpoint. However, while I let my students occupy a tech-expert role in using digital tools of their choice, I have a responsibility to expose and teach them the affordances of other technologies by showing them how the same assignment could be accomplished creatively with other media like comic life, Second Life, Xtranormal, ecetera. My ultimate pedagogical goal in doing this would be to help them acquire a gamut of digital tools; to help them develop a technological agility that will prepare them to compose in different genres and in different spaces, in and beyond the classroom.

To be able provide the kind of help I describe, as a teacher I should be an avid user of technology. Having a sound knowledge of the affordances and disafforndances of a number of digital tools is important because it allows me to provide my students with technical and rhetorical guidance they need. This does not however mean I act as an expert but rather be ready to play an active teacher- learner role; always willing to learn with and from the students. If I have tech savvy students in my classroom, my position is to use the students as resources by promoting peer scaffolding as a pedagogical practice. The goal is to promote a “culture of support” which encourages collaboration but also promotes individual creativity.

My philosophical ideal in teaching with technology is to be transparent with my students about what the learning goals are for using a particular technology. Consequently, providing feedback, both formative and summative throughout the composing process plays a big role in realizing the teaching goals my students and I strive to achieve. The values I expose here, helps me nurture my student’s growth as writers and composers to the fullest.