Too Dismissive

Okay, okay, I'll admit it, Cynthia Selfe. I'm right there with other composition faculty who feel like dozing off when they hear talk of listservs, discussion boards, and MOOs, whatever they are. In "Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention," you're addressing people like me.

But I'm starting to realize how important all this talk of "technological literacy" really is. I tend to dismiss it as a side topic, a sort of quirky branch of composition. But Selfe says it's more than that.

Her statistics are the most startling component of the article; what's most unbelievable is the racial divide in possession and ability to use technology. For example, a recent study found that "73% of white students owned a home computer, only 32% of African American students owned one" (102). And minorities' lack of access to and practice with both basic and more complex computer programs has the potential to limit their economic and career opportunities as well.

My initial reaction to these kinds of facts is that much technology is quite intuitive, and if a person needed to learn Microsoft Word or PowerPoint for a job, surely she could fiddle around with it until she figured it out or read the instructions or ask her friends to help her.

But a recent conversation with my observant, involved, but not computer-literate grandmother prompted me to think more deeply about what it takes to be technologically adept. She does not have a computer, so she misses out on all of the family's email conversations along with photos of pets and grandkids, unless she is at someone's house and they share these technological communications with her.

I tried to ask her if it would be nice for her to have a simple computer, so that she could at least keep up with email. She dismissed the idea, implying that it would take too much work for her to learn "all of that." I felt as young people often do, disappointed that their "elders" are reluctant to try new things. But then I thought about how much learning would be involved in just learning how to write an email--if I had never used a computer in my life. I would have to get used to things I now take for granted, like how to use a mouse, what happens when I click on things, typing on a screen (or what if I did not know how to type?). And that's just the beginning. It takes the equivalent of years of inundation by technology and practice with different aspects of it before it truly becomes natural for us.

The reflection generated by my grandma's comment helps me understand the importance of technological literacy at the university, not just as a side venture. How can I, a composition instructor, help?

Well, I guess that's why I'm in this class.