Culture and Technology

Hello everyone! We have begun working on a website that will offer updates on our research project including the data collection and analysis. Please visit our site and sign our guestbook to post your feedback. Thanks!

http://www.geocities.com/languagewithtechnology/

I enjoyed reading “Hypermedia Authoring as Critical Literacy” by Meyers and Beach (2001) because it offers useful examples of how students can benefit from hypermedia tools. One of the pluses of using hypermedia is exposing students to multiple viewpoints in relation to history, literature, current events, etc. The article illustrated this point with the example of Robinson Crusoe for which students crafted alternative endings to the story and explored the theme of imperialism. Using hypermedia, students can also connect themes found in literature, such as the example of Fahrenheit 451 (thought control, censorship, etc.), to their own lives in creative and dynamic ways. As a teacher, these aspects of hypermedia are really appealing to me because they may motivate students who are not as readily interested in literature to become engaged with texts and explore their reactions to texts more deeply. Allowing students to use sound and images in a variety of ways may also allow English language learners to illustrate their comprehension and analysis of literature more thoroughly than with writing alone. What I enjoyed most about the article is Meyers and Beach’s call to go beyond using hypermedia to simply illustrate the events in a story. Rather, the authors suggest using these tools to critically analyze texts. Further, I appreciated the authors’ including possible challenges with the critical approach. For example, they mention that students may only choose materials that support their current beliefs. Though these challenges exist, I think there are so many advantages to prompting students to use a critical lens when responding to literature through traditional means or through hypermedia. 

Hello everyone!

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about the validity of wikipedia information, particularly because of the false death notice of comedian Sinbad. Here’s a link to one of the articles that got this discussion going:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-03-16-wiki-sinbad_N.htm?csp=34

Lori

My letter to Jens:

Dear Dr. Kjeldsen,
I am a doctoral student at —University
and I recently read your article “The Rhetoric of
Power Point.” I think it’s a very important critique
of how teachers may fail to realize that Power Point
can stifle the creativity and clarity of their
instruction. I had a few thoughts and questions about
your suggestions regarding media rhetoracy. Do you
feel that novice instructors can follow such advice if
their teacher training programs offer little critical
guidance on how to use PP to their advantage? At my
university, this is often the situation because there
are simply too many other areas to cover and, as a
result, this point is sometimes overlooked. I find
that newer teachers can feel compelled to incorporate
technology into their instruction without being
prompted to really critique the role of PP or other
software in their work. Though your article offers
much needed food for thought, I also wondered what
resources you’d suggest instructors use to find
examples of the higher quality presentations you’ve
described.
Thank you very much for your time and I hope to hear
from you.
Sincerely,
Lori Fredricks
 

His reply:
Dear Lori,

thank you very much for your email. I am sorry that I haven’t answered
you earlier, but better late than never, I hope

You make a pertinent point about novice instructors and teacher
training programs. However, I do feel that novice instructors can follow my
suggestions concerning Media Rhetoracy when working with PowerPoint.
First of all, younger instructors often seem to be better at handling
technologies such as design- and presentation programs. Secondly, my main
rhetorical advices are rather basic:

1. What to you want to achieve? How can you best achieve it?
2. Be aware of the limitations and possibilities when using a
technology such as PowerPoint
3. Remember to repeat (important) information, and to express the same
message both visually and verbally

You are right in implying that it is not easy to find good examples of
higher quality presentations, and I myself can find it difficult to
create a good presentation. It is all to easy to get caught up in the
simple applying of points. I am planning a project, which will try to chart
and analyse the way PowerPoint is actually used in higher education.
Hopefully this will not only lead us to examples of instructors using PP
in an inexpedient, but also in an expedient way.

It is also possible to look for examples of quality presentations
outside schools and universities. Think for instance of Al Gores climate
presentation – using Apples’ Keynote (cf.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/dec2006/sb20061220_144107.htm?campaign_id=rss_topStories
). Or think of Steve Jobs presentations (e.g. of the iPhone). Colin
Powell‘s presentation before the UN was also a good example of a quality
presentation, even though it was not especially convincing concerning
the case at hand.

Sincerely Jens E. Kjeldsen

One of the best and most amazing things about podcasts is how they can improve language learning. When reading Hargis and
Wilson’s article, I saw their link to a Spanish learning site (under real life examples). http://tryingtolearnspanish.blogspot.com/

This site is run by a man named Rich who gives tips on learning Spanish. However, the really interesting part is the questions and comments that have evolved into an engaging conversation about learning styles (what works and what doesn’t). People suggest mnemonic devices, ways to use flash cards, and other tricks for remembering vocabulary.

Learning a new language is now less confined to what a teacher or text tells you to do. If you have internet access, you can view podcasts that show you a range of options from authentic materials (news bits, slice of life, etc.) to formally structured lessons.

I enjoyed Hargis and Wilson’s comments on “the connection between podcast and conceptual learning” as being multifaceted which “allows the learner to encapsulate ideas into packets of concepts.” In this way, ideas are shared more readily and quickly than ever and the possibilities for students seem to be endless.

As Richardson (2006) explains, podacsts also create an open window into the world from the vantage point of a 13-year old to the news of NPR. I appreciate this method of getting the media and people’s responses to it in so many different forms. It seems that it may become more challenging for the mainstream media to misrepresent the truth (particularly in
America) as the average person listens to more and more podcasts. It will be exciting to see what the future holds!

“We don’t eat cake with a hammer and we don’t play volleyball with a knife.”

–Jens Kjeldsen

I love this quote because it summarizes part of the author’s argument quite succinctly -that technologies reflect ideologies. However, I still think his other point –that technology is a tool to be used to complement entertaining and enlightening instruction –is even more valuable.

Overall, I think Jens Kjeldsen’s article “The Rhetoric of Power Point” is a very important critique of how teachers may fail to realize that Power Point can stifle the creativity and clarity of their instruction. I had a few thoughts and questions regarding media rhetoracy. I wondered if novice instructors can follow such advice if their teacher training programs offer little critical guidance on how to use PP to their advantage. At many universities, this is often the situation because there are simply too many other areas to cover and, as a result, this point is sometimes overlooked. I find that newer teachers can feel compelled to incorporate technology into their instruction without being prompted to really critique the role of PP or other software in their work.

Though the article offers much needed food for thought, I also wondered what resources the author would suggest instructors use to find examples of the higher quality presentations he has described.

-I have emailed him and I am hopeful that he will respond.

Effective blogs are those that challenge readers or introduce them to new concepts and ideas. In addition, effective blogs explain these concepts clearly and provide meaningful examples for readers who are less familiar with the ideas. For example, a blog on technology may contain links to vlogs but should be prefaced by a clear explanation of the uses of vlogs for teachers and students. The post may further provide links to sites where readers can start their own vlogs and simple instructions about how to maintain them. Such easy-to-follow instructions are valuable for both novice and expert internet users. For instance, even proficient internet users will quickly lose interest in a poorly organized blog or other web source. Readability and coherence are as important for web resources as they are for print materials and flashiness is no substitute for substance and a well-organized format.

I think students like Theo (from the article) benefit most from examples of well-written and well-planned e-resources (research or other pieces) that serve as quality examples. Students or even teachers may easily become overwhelmed or misguided by the various uses and almost endless possibilities for interaction available online. Further, many of them are already accustomed to the different colloquial ways of writing on the net which could make knowing when to shift codes ever more complicated. These are just some of the points to consider during the term.

When thinking about what’s new for me about e-research, I realized that I hadn’t previously thought enough about researchers with disabilities and their limited access to the internet or other tools. I had thought about poorer students (the digital divide) but not those who may have limited access due to a lack of technological accommodations.

I feel that e-research is helpful for me in using ERIC or other sources (wikipedia) in learning about new concepts quickly, particularly from fields related to but outside my own, and being able to visit journals and researchers’ websites. Most journals and publication guidelines have information on the web whether they are mainly print or web-base journals and this is extremely helpful for newer authors. At this stage in my career, I find being connected to online discussion groups valuable as well. However exciting e-research is, I remain concerned about students and professionals knowing to being with a sold research design (Theo’s problem) before moving to online tools. I also think, as an applied linguist, that we still benefit from face-to-face interactions with participants in terms of interpreting paralinguistic features such as facial expressions. Finally, as the authors mentioned, we should remain mindful of plagiarism –whether intentional or accidental.

Welcome to my blog! This blog is managed by an ESOL/EFL teacher who is also a doctoral student. I hope that this blog will explore various aspects of new technologies in relation to literacy and culture(s). Please feel free to contribute your thoughts on how technology affects our teaching, learning, and other aspects of our lives!