Technology and Literacy in the 21st Century: The Importance of Paying Attention PDF
Preview Technology and Literacy in the 21st Century: The Importance of Paying Attention
CYNTHIA L. SELFE Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century The Importance of Paying Attention Foreword by SWR Hugh Burns Studies in Writing & Rhetoric Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century Studies in Writing & Rhetoric In 1980 the Conference on College Composition and Communication es- tablished the Studies in Writing & Rhetoric (SWR) series as a forum for monograph-length arguments or presentations that engage general compo- sitionists. SWR encourages extended essays or research reports addressing any issue in composition and rhetoric from any theoretical or research per- spective as long as the general signi¤cance to the ¤eld is clear. Previous SWR publications serve as models for prospective authors; in addition, con- tributors may propose alternate formats and agendas that inform or extend the ¤eld’s current debates. SWR is particularly interested in projects that connect the speci¤c re- search site or theoretical framework to contemporary classroom and insti- tutional contexts of direct concern to compositionists across the nation. Such connections may come from several approaches, including cultural, theoretical, ¤eld-based, gendered, historical, and interdisciplinary. SWR es- pecially encourages monographs by scholars early in their careers, by estab- lished scholars who wish to share an insight or exhortation with the ¤eld, and by scholars of color. The SWR series editor and editorial board members are committed to working closely with prospective authors and offering signi¤cant develop- mental advice for encouraged manuscripts and prospectuses. Editorships rotate every ¤ve years. Prospective authors intending to submit a prospec- tus during the 1997 to 2002 editorial appointment should obtain submis- sion guidelines from Robert Brooke, SWR editor, University of Nebraska– Lincoln, Department of English, P.O. Box 880337, 202 Andrews Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0337. General inquiries may also be addressed to Sponsoring Editor, Studies in Writing and Rhetoric, Southern Illinois University Press, P.O. Box 3697, Carbondale, IL 62902-3697. Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century The Importance of Paying Attention Cynthia L. Selfe With a Foreword by Hugh Burns SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY PRESS Carbondale and Edwardsville Copyright © 1999 by The Conference on College Composition and Communication of the National Council of Teachers of English All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 02 01 4 3 Publication partially funded by a subvention grant from The Conference on College Composition and Communication of the National Council of Teachers of English. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Selfe, Cynthia L., 1951– Technology and literacy in the twenty-¤rst century : the importance of paying attention / Cynthia L. Selfe ; with a foreword by Hugh Burns. p. cm. — (Studies in writing and rhetoric) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Computers and literacy—United States. 2. Technological literacy—United States. 3. Literacy—Social aspects—United States. I. Title. II. Series: Studies in writing & rhetoric. LC149.5.S45 1999 99-11478 371.33'4—dc21 CIP ISBN 0-8093-2269-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of America National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. To the membership and the leadership of the CCCC, to the dedicated staff of the National Council of Teachers of English, and to all of the talented teachers of composition, English studies, language arts, and literacy around the world Contents Foreword: In the Best Modern Way Hugh Burns ix Introduction: Paying Attention to the Technology-Literacy Linkage xix Part One. A New Literacy Agenda and Its Challenges 1. Literacy and Technology Linked: The National Project to Expand Technological Literacy 3 2. The Problem of Polemic: Representations of Technological Literacy in the Popular Press 25 Part Two. An Analysis of Social Investment in the New Literacy Agenda 3. The Role of Government 43 4. The Role of Education 64 5. The Role of Business and Industry 86 6. The Role of Parents 98 7. The Role of Ideology 114 Part Three. The Future and Our Responsibility: Sites and Plans for Action and Change 8. Paying Attention to Technology, Learning about Literacy 133 9. Working for Change 146 Works Cited 165 Index 177 Foreword: In the Best Modern Way You may not recognize the name of Cynthia L. Selfe, but to so many of us in the language arts profession, she is a leader of com- mon and uncommon sense. I have known her for over twenty years from our days as graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin. There, we both began to learn something about the possi- bilities and pitfalls of using technology to teach English. She under- stands how democracy should work in education and how educa- tion must work for democracy. Recently, as chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, her leadership made us better than we were, made us appear more uni¤ed and collabo- rative despite our profession’s many delightful differences. This book, Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century: The Im- portance of Paying Attention, for me represents both a culmination of Selfe’s leadership thus far and a commitment to lead us further still. Even though these nine chapters raise an ambitious range of cultural, social, and political issues, Selfe writes that this “book was written for teachers of English studies, language arts, and composi- tion.” We are her audience because we understand that in the next millennium, technology will make each one of us (1) a teacher of data-rich English, (2) a user of networked literacy tools, and (3) a writer and a reader of digital text. If ubiquitous technology is the reality, then universal humanity and global literacy are the prereq- uisites. I ¤rst heard Cynthia present a keynote adaptation of this book in April 1998. I was attending the Conference on College Compo- sition and Communication in Chicago. As I made my way up to the front of Palmer House Grand Ballroom to attend her chair’s address, I knew I would hear a teacher, a scholar, a writer, an administrator, an editor, a program builder, and a leader. I knew I was also coming ix
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