English 584 Postcritical Perspectives in Literacy Studies (Spring 2009)
Sony Reader reflective commentary
I’ve finished my reflective commentary on using the Sony Reader in my graduate seminar and on possible redesigns for the Reader. I thought I’d share my commentary here. It’s a bit long (11.5 pages), so I’m attaching it to this post as a PDF file if you are interested in reading it. Final Reflective Commentary [...]
regulating bodies can’t keep up with new media
We know the list: RIAA can’t keep up with free file sharing; traditional journalism can’t keep up with blogging and other online communication tools; traditional knowledge-regulating bodies (Encyclopedia Brittanica) can’t keep up with Wikipedia; etc. etc. etc. But here’s something different: The NCAA can’t keep up with online tools either. It’s against NCAA rules to [...]
enthusiastic reporting on tech in the classroom: tablet PCs
Over at Onward State, they share a local news program about a project in which students at Penn State Harrisburg got to use tablet PCs from Hewlett Packard — similar to the research project we’re doing here with the Sony ebook Readers, only the tablet PCs are so much cooler! And check out the newscasters’ [...]
defining “new media”
I’m reading Wyoscki et al’s Writing New Media, and Anne Wysocki offers a definition of “new media texts” that I find quite interesting: I think we should call “new media texts” those that have been made by composers who are aware of the range of materialities of texts and who then highlight the materiality: such [...]
some random stuff akin to notes to you the reader
• I went to New York City last weekend, as I mentioned in my previous post. State College leaves me unfulfilled in so many ways, but mostly it has to do with the lack of people, diversity, good food, interesting architecture, the carnival — you know, city life. The trip was rejuvenating in ways I couldn’t [...]
English 30 reflections post #3 and my own reading experiences
I’ve been meaning to journal about teaching English 30 a bit more frequently this term, but just haven’t been forcing myself to write this term like I have in the past. So far, I’m excited about the strong conversations my students are having in class — my students are smart, nuanced, and pick up on [...]
Notes for our presentation today
Prepared by Andy and me: XKCD: I’m Not an Idiot Langdon Winner’s blog essays on the philosophy of technology 1. What does Winner mean by “technological somnambulism” (10)? 2. Why is Winner’s book still so relevant? Why haven’t we moved beyond some of the basic questions he’s asked? 3. His question, not as rhetorical as [...]
what are our moral responsibilities regarding technology?
In The Whale and the Reactor, Langdon Winner notes that our culture has severely limited the moral questions that have salience when it comes to technology. As a society, we limit our questions to issues of public safety and health; harm to resources, the environment, or wildlife; and exaggerated social stresses. These concerns are of [...]
English 30 reflections post #1
This term, as I’ve discussed a bit before, I’m teaching Honors Rhetoric and Composition1 as part of the University’s project with Sony. We are checking out Sony’s ebook Reader and doing most of our course’s readings on this — either in ebook format or in pdf format. Students will be researchers in the project as [...]
Baron: “From Pencils to Pixels” (1999)
In “Pencils to Pixels,” Dennis Baron argues that “the computer is simply the latest step in a long line of writing technologies” (17). He shows, through explaining the adoptions of the pencil, the telegraph, the telephone, and the typewriter, that new technologies go through similar stages of adoption, dependent “on accessibility, function, and authentication” (16). [...]
