No Technology

Methodology
This survey
Limitations/Challenges
See the Survey

Courses & Workshops
Nature of Training
Faculty & Graduate Students
Assessment

Conclusion
Further Study
Appendix A
Works Cited

As I continue to discuss the need for technology training for new teachers and graduate students, it is important to address, if only briefly, the idea of access and what other universities should consider when they seem to be without technological resources.  We must ask ourselves if we, as teachers, are without technology in the classroom, should we still address digital technology and new literacies as subjects of inquiry, and if so, how should we?

Certainly, some universities and colleges are not as "technology-rich" as others.  This does not mean, however, that digital technology should be ignored nor that the changes in literacy as a result should be ignored.  And, while it is true that some universities and colleges are "without," it is also true that the types or kinds of technology vary from college to college and sometimes from classroom to classroom.  For example, in one classroom all students may have Internet access while in another classroom a teacher may have Internet access only with a teacher's station.  Pedagogically, this can be challenging because the teacher will need to adjust from one classroom to another.  Likewise, a teacher may also teach in a traditional chalkboard classroom with no Internet access at all.  In each of these cases, the teacher will have to construct pedagogy that is useful in each classroom while simultaneously attempting to meet the same writing program goals in each environment.  Indeed, this is a complex issue, but it is also another reason why technology training for teachers is important.  Technology training for teachers does not always need to be, nor should be, hands-on.  One goal may be simply to make teachers aware of the various teaching environments they will possibly find themselves working in.  Quite often new teachers walk into a classroom without knowing what tools are available and must first confront the surprise of not having a specific teaching tool or having a tool they did not expect.

In short, yes, it is important to address technology in teacher training and with students even when there is no technology available or when there are limited resources.  One way to combat a lack of technology in the writing classroom is to investigate the freeware available on the Internet.  For instance, a teacher can utilize Yahoo groups, Blogger.com, or Wikipedia for a variety of pedagogical purposes, all of which depend on the goals of the course and teacher.  Of course, using freeware in the classroom depends on Internet access at the minimum.  Teachers in classrooms without any technology will face another challenge--discussing digital technology without access to it. But again, this does not mean that students and teachers should ignore it. It just means that teachers and students will need to dedicate time to discussing and reading more about the influences of technology on literacy, a reasonable and laudable goal for students in writing courses.

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