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Random Thoughts, in no particular order

Morgan S.'s picture
Sun, 09/02/2007 - 15:46 — Morgan S.

Following are some things I have been thinking about since Friday's class.

  • The degree to which the dominant power determines the acceptable modes of communication (patterns), of technology, of access, etc. extends into issues of intellectual power and/or manipulation.
  • New developments in technology alter the qualifications surrounding the term literate.
  • Is it more important to be able to recall or be able to locate information (is that a literacy?)?
  • Blurring the generations of technology use: my mother instant or text messaging and students using instant messaging language in their academic papers

Comments

Mon, 09/03/2007 - 22:28 — pepper
pepper's picture

OMG, I'm totally ROFL

I still gotta come down on the side of it being more important to be able to locate information and this is a new definition for literacy. Then again, maybe it's not a matter of more or less important, but I think it's safe to say that while both are important, the skills to find info are certainly becoming more relevant. But if you can't recall anything . . . well, what good are you at cocktail parties?

And students are using text message language in academic papers? Wow, maybe I should assign a few of those and see for myself. On the one hand that's a genre issue. Where the old skool would say there is certainly no place for it in the genre of an academic essay. But actually I think it's an audience thing. If I did assign something resembling the academic essay (and I really do shudder at the mere thought) I personally wouldn't mind seeing that language. As the audience for the paper, I see the genre as fluid enough to encompensate it . . . I'm sure many others would disagree.

Tue, 09/04/2007 - 12:33 — dr. b.
dr. b.'s picture

Having them write an

Having them write an "academic essay" in IM-ese might be an interesting exercise in audience Smiling

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 16:38 — pepper
pepper's picture

Text Message Converter

http://lingo2word.com/translate.php

Too much fun. You type in anything in plain ol' boring Standard English, and the program converts it into text-message language. I converted a fairly long passage and gave it to my students. None of them had any trouble reading it.