One Writer's Perspective on Digital Literature

Should Digital Literature be introduced in the two-year college? What are the benefits of teaching in this way? Will students be motivated to think about these new ways of learning? Will they embrace them when many students see both teacher and text as the authority that must not be questioned? Or, can students be encouraged to invent valued knowledge?

Using Digital Literacy: What Does the Classroom Instruction Look Like?

It is the first day of class and instead of handing out a syllabus, the teacher uses a laptop and smartboard to show students how they can access the information. At least two students indicate that they do not have access to the Internet at home and therefore are at a disadvantage when compared to the other students. The teacher explains that "computer lab" will be part of the class where students will have time to work on some portion of assignments but not all. Students are encouraged to go to the writing center (even these are online--check out Purdue's ) and the computer labs which are opened on the weekends should access to their local library prove futile.

Sample Assignment 1: Simulation Role Play

Simulation Role Play requires students to take a stand on a specific issue about a topic that the teacher has assigned. Students are divided into groups and given a position, one they normally would tend not to agree with--this is determined by way of regrouping students once they volunteer to be part of a specific group.

Using Photostory , create a pictorial argument to support your position. Roles have been assigned to each of four groups. (The course is Introduction to Gender and Women's Studies. This week's topic is "Women's Health: Reproduction and sexuality.") To illustrate underlying themes in the reading, the following is situated for discussion:

The Situation: Seventeen year old Natalie informs her parents and school that she is eight weeks pregnant. She tells them that she and her 18 year old boyfriend want to get married. Natalie will not be 18 before the baby is born, and therefore remains a minor.

The Roles:

Group 1: Natalie - Convince your parents that you are ready to have a baby. Convince the school that you should not be transferred to a special school before graduation. Provide facts to support your argument. You may want to consider how you will provide for the child and care for it at the same time. Also, you threaten to file a lawsuit against your high school for wanting to transfer you.

Group 2: Parents - You take Natalie to the doctor against her wishes to discuss options. Convince Natalie that she has only two options, abortion or adoption. Provide facts to support your argument. You may want to consider the disadvantages of having a baby now.

Group 3: Doctor - You don't want to alienate either side. Convince both the Natalie and her parents that you cannot make the decision for them because in the end your allegiance is with your patient. Provide facts to support your argument. You may want to consider the benefits of having the baby at this age and, to a lesser extent, the disadvantages of having the baby now.

Group 4: School - You want Natalie to complete the remainder of the school year at a special high school for pregnant girls. Convince Natalie not to file a discrimination suit against the school, while getting her to agree to go to another. Provide facts to support your argument.

Teacher's Instructions: You will have 20 minutes for classroom discussion within your designated groups. You will then move to the computer lab for half hour to begin generating pictures from the Internet prior to assembling your photostory. Consider what images will tell your audience where you stand since each group is not privy to the other's position. Also, keep in mind some of the other themes we have discussed to date, including women and work, patriarchy, and female body image. Each story should be between three and five minutes long. After all groups have presented, we will have a discussion.

Sample Assignment 2: Analyze a Song

This is an individual assignment. You will each choose a song from the Internet or your own source, however, you must be prepared to talk about it while students watch either a video of the song or listen while it streams online. The idea here is to show students that they can incorporate the technological skills developed during the course of their own personal creations via social networking sites.

This assignment can be given in any English class, not just those whose focus is poetry.

At the Edge of the Classroom

At this moment, I stand on the periphery of what will be my first teaching position. I hope to one day teach English at Essex County College in New Jersey.
What rests on my mind, however, are questions surrounding the use of materials. If a textbook is being used, how does having that specific structured format help the new teacher evolve? Will introducing digital aspects beyond watching a film or listening to a song be useful in the literature classroom? Are there specific areas during the teaching of writing where such an introduction is more worthy? Will school administrators support the use of new kinds of media which do not support the traditional route of writing instruction?

With the introduction of digital literacy as a new component for classrooms, the onus seems to rest on teachers willing to employ these new techniques to convince both school officials and students alike. The new teacher cannot walk into the classroom assuming that all students have access to the Internet and World Wide Web. Nor can the teacher assume that all students wish to interact in the English classroom by using the Internet as a means of composing classroom assignments. If teachers are to demonstrate how using digital tools in the classroom can be effective, reviewing other kinds of authority who support this new genre of composition is warranted. This video is but one example of starting the conversation.

Bridging Communities

Sometimes we need to start small. Let's begin by bridging our lives.