1. What sort of literacy is needed in the digital age?

A person who wants to participate in the literacy of today’s digital age has to be willing to participate in the now social norms and language of computers, phones, tablets, and smart-technology.

2. What are the characteristics of a technologically literate person?

It is no longer sufficient to just know how to read, write, speak, and listen. Now, one has to understand how to search the web, how to use computers, how to use smart phones and apps, how to utilize programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., and how to use technology to connect to the world (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).

3. How do people’s technology practices shape their literacy?

Technology practices a vital in shaping a person’s literacy. If literacy is defined by a person’s ability to have a “knowledge of the world” within specific disciplines, technology practices, such as phone apps, news websites, online journals, research databases, google, YouTube, etc., can play a major role in allowing people to become literate in areas and ways that were not so easily accessible in the past. Technology practices and the world-wide web have made the knowledge man has about the world known to anyone who has and wants access to this knowledge.

4. How can we best teach technological literacy?

Similarly to other types of literacy, technological literacy requires some instruction (lecture style), a lot of hands-on application and practice, and sometimes, even remedial instruction or follow-up tutoring.

5. What are the greatest problems that technology causes?

I think that Technology’s greatest benefit is also its greatest weakness–the ability to connect an individual instantly to the world-wide web. The problem comes from the potential of invading privacy, creating multiple identities (“second life communities”), and cyber bullying.

6. What are the greatest benefits of technology?

Like previously mentioned, the greatest benefit Technology can offer to individuals and society is instant access to world-wide knowledge, research, literacy, and language.

Name(s): John Loo

Email Address: John Loo <btpv@iup.edu> <jloo2010@gmail.com>

Date: June 8, 2016

Technology Project Title: “Youtube Channels—A Phenomenon or a Myth?”

Project Focus: I want to explore the technology of Youtube Channels and the literacy they use and produce.

Learning Goals: As a language and communications professor, I have a lot of students who have asked me about using Youtube Channels in their academic studies. From my very limited understanding and research of Youtube Channels, I believe that they are definitely a growing phenomenon that will eventually make their way into the composition and language-learning classroom, if they have not done so already. I am hoping to explore not only the use of Youtube Channels, but also how they are defining social and individual identities. My main goal in the next two weeks would be to discover whether Youtube Channels are true representations of society and individuals, and thus a true phenomenon, or whether they are simply an entertainment venue that should not have a place in the classroom—hence “the myth.”

Technology Project Type: I will create my individual Youtube Channel. I will gather data and create a video presentation and website that presents my findings.

Technology Project Components:

-Research Youtube Channels (online for statistics and scholarship)

-Watch Youtube Channels (need to gather data to analyze and draw conclusions)

-Make my own Youtube Channel (to participate in the technology)

-Make a presentation of my findings/research (use website to document/display)

-Make a video presentation that will go on my Youtube Channel and sum up the research, analysis, and results of this project study.

Technology Project Background Information: I have done zero background information research about Youtube Channels. I envision creating some kind of presentation (whether visual, oral, or written) that will give the background of Youtube Channels and their impact in today’s society.

Technology Project Timeline:

June 15 = Research and Data from Youtube Channels completed

June 21 = Youtube Channel & video presentation completed

June 22 = Present research and findings to the class (website & Youtube Channel)

Questions:

I am a bit concerned with committing to do a video presentation, a website, a Youtube Channel, and a presentation for this project, in addition to all the research I will have to do since this is a very new field of study for me. If I find that I can’t get all of these done in the next two weeks, will it be okay to eliminate the website from the list next week? I would still do a video presentation, a Youtube Channel, and a class presentation of my project research and findings. Thanks!

What is literacy?

Literacy is decoding words and written symbols, in addition to understanding the embedded cultural and political references, and implied inferences [“knowledge of the world” (Freire and Macedo 1987, p. 29)]. It involves the use of multimodalities that use the various semiotic resources to decode, interpret, and convey meaning. Literacy is reading the world at various levels of cogency.

What is illiteracy?

Illiteracy is the inability to participate in primarily written language communication that is discipline specific.

What are the characteristics of a literate person?

People who are capable of using all of their knowledge of the world to manipulate language in various modalities. One who of “regularly assimilating discourse” (Freire and Macedo 1987, p. 19) by using all semiotic resources and various modalities.

Reflecting on Not Using Technology for 24 Hours…

Based on the 1960 and 2002 adaptations of the movie The Time Machine, here are some question/answer reflections:

Primary Blog Question

When compared, the two film clips help illuminate a key question for this course: How has our relationship to technology changed over time?

The 1960 film highlighted the use of technology to showcase man’s intellectual technological advancement and his fascination with accomplishing “the impossible.” However, the 2002 film changes the use of technology to not only highlight advancement or achievement, but also to change the past. In other words, whereas the first film dealt with technology on a more objective level as a tool that could transport something back in time, the second film dives into the subjective level of using technology to overcome a social constructed certainty–the finality of death. This may reflect an ideological difference between the two generations represented by these films.