Paul Fyfe’s article about unplugging digital humanities made me consider what he was saying about taking the technology out of digital pedagogy. I’m not sure how much I believe or understand about this article. I see where he is coming from when he says that technology can be something that teachers or students depend on when they want to teach materials in a digital class. I have had multiple classes where PowerPoint or Prezi is used too often, mainly keeping the materials neat and bullet pointed, while keeping all of the materials on the screen. I think that using these methods can become a bit of a crutch when teaching, it has all of the material there for the students to see, but often discussion doesn’t move beyond what is typed out. I understand that these flashy tools can take over actual teaching in the classroom, but it also is an effective teaching tool when used correctly.

I understand that unplugging the classroom encourages students to look deeper into a text and makes it less “easy” but overall I disagree with the idea that digital texts take away from close reading. I honestly think that reading my digital texts are more beneficial to me than reading a codex version. An example is that there is a built in dictionary on my Kindle, so if there is a term or word that I am unfamiliar with, then I can simply highlight it and find out the meaning. It’s very rare for me to physically get out a dictionary while I’m reading to figure out a word before I continue on, instead I’ll just move on without fully understanding the text. I think that the digital aspect helps more than hinders my approach to reading a text. There is more availability and access that allows a student to go deeper into the text and further their understanding during the reading process. I see what Fyfe means when he wants to unplug the digital humanities, but I think that the pros of using technology and the tools are stronger than the cons.