Week 10: A New Generation

Much of what I've been reading lately seems to stress the importance of valuing young people and the contributions, creative ideas, and wisdom they can bring to society (my book for the webtext review assignment focuses on this).  Brooks, Lindgren, and Warner seem to emphasize this point in their essay "Tackling a Fundamental Problem:  Using Digital Labs to Build Smarter Computing Cultures."  The authors discuss the fields of rhetoric and digital humanities and how students need to be learning how these two specializations intersect early on in their academic careers.  Brooks, Lindgren, and Warner write, "If we are not active in fostering a rich and diverse culture of procedural rhetoricians or introducing students to the expansive possibilities and unexpected practicality of [digital humanities], we see these two specializations within each field remaining specializations, rather than the fundamental way in which the next generation does its work" (225).  This point is made clear in our ENG 7280 course; technology is changing and this generation of young people is more intertwined with technology than ever before.  If students aren't taught the ways in which rhetoric and composition and multimodality intersect from the beginning of their school experiences, they are going to grow up using technology mostly outside the classroom and alphabetic texts inside the classroom (as is the case in most modern classrooms).   

The point of this article, I believe, it to show how important it is for instructors to teach young students how digital humanities and multimodal composing can enhance the educational experience in every classroom.  As Selfe described in an article we read earlier in the semester, it's not either/or, but rather and/both.  In modern society, rhetoric and composition shouldn't exist without each other.  They should be used together to allow students to create products that will help prepare them for a future where technology is growing and is used in all aspects of everyday life.  

This concept can also be seen in Bjork and Schwartz's "Writing in the Wild:  A Paradigm for Mobile Composition."  The essay starts off by discussing Geoffrey Sirc and his discussion of the composition classroom.  Bjork and Schwartz write, "By bringing into the classroom atmospheric objects (e.g. candles) as well as new objects of study (e.g. rap music), Sirc hopes to foster new habits of thought and enliven student writing" (223).  I think the goal of multimodal composing is the same; the ultimate goal in allowing students to complete assignments utilizing different forms and technologies is a way to "foster new habits of thought and enliven student writing."  Young people are the future and bringing these "new objects of study" into the classroom along with assignments that allow for creativity and free thinking will create citizens who are better at working effectively and efficiently. 

Bjork and Schwartz's proposition about mobile composing is an interesting one, and an idea that I have little experience with.  The authors state, "We propose a paradigm for mobile composition in which students visit places of rhetorical activity (e.g. city parks, waiting rooms, shopping malls) and research, write, and (ideally) publish on location.  By publish, we mean transmit their writing to their target audience" (224).  This model suggests that allowing students to compose in this way will "help them achieve insight into the relationship between discourse and place" (224).  I think this could be a useful practice for students and young people that may know about specific discourses and discourse communities, but may have little experience with these people and places outside of the classroom setting.  I think allowing for this "writing in the wild" will help students to see composition with "real-world application" and will help prepare them for adulthood, a career, and beyond.  It seems obvious to me that researching and writing about a hospital waiting room would be more fruitful if a student got to sit, observe, and experience the atmosphere first-hand.  Perhaps "going wireless" could be something for me to implement in future classes.

I often write poetry outside in nature, but I rarely work on schoolwork anywhere but in my office or my living room.  My father is a pilot and I once had to interview someone for career day, so I visited the airport, interviewed him, and wrote my essay for class.  I wonder if this is the kind of "writing in the wild" and "mobile composing" that Bjork and Schwarz are talking about in their article?