In Selfe’s essay, the writer starts off by giving his or her definition of the term “new media texts” and how it places an emphasis or strongly includes visual elements including photography and images, etc. Selfe then goes on to write about how a lot of teachers want to include new media in their lesson plans because of a few different reasons. One reason is that teachers are seeing more and more of technology being used. Another reason is that they may catch our eye because of the colorful visuals. The main reason, according to Selfe, is that teachers see their students gain interest in it. I agree that all of these reasons are apart of why I want to use new media in the classroom. If it will interest the kids and can be used as a tool to help them learn, then why not? The chapter goes on to talk about a student named David who was expelled from a university because he couldn’t write a traditional formal essay with structure and correct grammar, but he could work with new media such as designing creative web sites for fraternities. So I guess the question is, should he have been kicked out for not knowing how to write a traditional essay when he is knowledgeable of so many modern forms of literacy? I think you need to have a basic knowledge of both. The chapter then goes on to talk about how David would have probably improved his writing skills if the teacher would have blended the two forms of writing in some way, and somehow incorporated new media into the classroom. This sounds like a good idea.
Week 4
Advertisement
