Dealing in the Digital

One of the technology sessions that I attended during the D.A.T.E. conference, was "Dealing in the Digital: Explorations in Literacy." The presenter for this session was Dr. Kjersti Vanslyke-Briggs. This session was about everything that we have been working with in Eng 307 class. Kjersti talked about the need for us, as teachers, to prepare our students for a competitive job market. This means incorporating important technology skills in the classroom. But it is not only using the skills it's using literacy as a social practice.

Critical literacy was discussed a few times during the session. One of the ideas with using technology in the classroom is that students will begin to critically analyze everything ranging from websites to wikis. Kjersti also stressed the dangers of using the internet with students. Teachers need to pay close attention to what their students are doing in the computer labs, be watching for misuse and misinformation. Limited use and availability is another danger or risk of using the internet, not all students have access.

One website Kjersti mentioned, was www.archive.org. This particular website allows someone to figure out how long the website has been around, and who is running this website. Another website was, www.easywhois.com. This website allows the user to see who runs a website. Both of these sites work to help students find accurate information on the internet. Many of the other information and websites that Kjersti mentioned we have already used or discussed in class.