Lauren Kanzler
Mrs. Moody
ENC 1102
11 February, 2010
"When people talk to me about the digital divide, I think of it not so much about who has access to what technology as about who knows how to create and express themselves in the new language of the screen. If students aren't taught the language of sound and images, shouldn't they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read and write?" The famous filmmaker, George Lucas, who is most well known for creating the Star Wars franchise, spoke those words and I am inclined to agree with him.
Having grown up in a generation where computers have always been prevalent I know first hand that most people my age do know how to navigate their way easily on a computer. My first memory of ever being on a computer is when I was in first grade and my class would take trips to our schools computer lab and play educational games that taught us how to spell. All through elementary school I continued to enhance my knowledge of how to use a computer. Whether it is playing more games, creating a PowerPoint about an endangered species or typing an article for the small school paper that was put out four times a year, my school did a very good job of continuing my education of computers.
When I reached middle school I took a typing class and I believe that that was one of the most important classes I ever have or will take. It taught me to be able to type up to seventy words a minute and to be able to look at other things besides the computer screen when I type. I use this skill everyday whether it is writing a paper, typing an email or instant messaging with my friends. In my high school computer class I learned how to create spreadsheets and web pages, which are skills that I will most likely need to know no matter what job I wind up with in the future.
Being a college student without being digitally literate would be next to impossible. Teachers ask students to use their computers so much that if a person didn’t know how to use one they would fall severely behind in their studies. Professors require students to take quizzes, exams and complete homework online. On top of that in order to write research papers we must be able to swiftly navigate our way through the Internet in order to find research sources.
Being technologically savvy does not just apply to students but also to anybody in the professional world. If someone went to apply for a job in our society today and did not know how to use a computer they would not even be considered. Now it is the norm for every person to be able to complete basic functions on a computer. If a person did not know how to send an email, create a spreadsheet or look up information on the internet they are at a severe disadvantage of finding a job.
Are there negative consequences that I have to face for having been such a digitally literate child though? Do I have less social and communication skills then children of past generations? I do not think that learning how to use a computer is a bad thing or that it hinders a child’s education in the slightest. In response to the Technology Literacy Challenge, a case study that Cynthia Selfe performed, Stuart Sebler concludes that” In sum, if teachers fail to adopt a post critical stance, thus leaving technology design and education to those outside the field, it is entirely probable that students will have a much more difficult time understanding computers in a critical, contextual, and historical ways…computer literacy initiative will simply serve to perpetuate rather than alleviate existing social inequities.”(Sebler, 13)
Although most believe that children being digitally literate is a great thing there are still those who don’t necessarily agree that computers are all they are cracked up to be. In the first chapter of the Multiliteracies for a Digital Age, Reimaging Computer Literacy, Stuart Sebler, the author talks about one of the biggest myths about computers. He says that most university administrators believe that computers are the cheapest, most productive way to get work down but what they don’t realize is that it takes away from face-to-face learning time and hinders students in learning subjects such as English. Sebler goes on to say, “Indeed, given the intellectual and human dislocations that technology can produce, computers may even be counterproductive in many educational settings.” He also quotes William Bowen reporting that productivity in the United States has decreased since the computer age.(Sebler, 5-6)
Some would argue that teaching children online learning at such young ages is a waste of time and energy because using computers is not a productive way to get work done. Even if they are inefficient computers are in the center of the American work force so by not teaching children to use them we are putting them at a disadvantage when they enter college and again when they are trying to find a job.
Whether you believe that computers are inefficient and a waste of time or that they are a good thing, you must realize one thing; that they are here to stay. If you are one of those people who does not how much today’s society depends on computers you better get used to it fast because it is not going anywhere. By not teaching today’s generation of children digital literacy we are being ignorant and selfish to what skills a child is going to need to succeed in this country. By learning at a young age children will have no problem keeping up with their college work and finding a successful job. Computers may not be the same in ten years as they are now but they will still be used. By teaching children how to work a computer we are giving them a future of success in both higher education and their professional lives.
Work Cited
Stuart, Sebler. Multiliteracies For a Digital Age. Carbondale:Southern Illinois University Press, 2004
