Techno-Pedagogical Explorations by Dickie Selfe

I wish we'd begun sooner in the class with reading this essay and the book in which it is included, "Teaching Writing With Computers." Selfe gets at what I've been wondering all along: If I'm supposed to incorporate technology into my writing classroom, fine, BUT TELL ME WHY.

Selfe might not fully explain the why, but he does consider the "how." He reminds writing instructors that all technology is changing and that what we read about technology and writing, even that published maybe five years ago, might be outdated. And he also explains the frustration of being asked to teachin a hybrid classroom without being fully explained to why it might be beneficial. (Since writing instructors are thought to think critically, it shouldn't be assumed that we'll accept changes blindly.)

Selfe offers from practical suggestions on how to use the technology, such as having one student post a work, a second student assess that work, and then a third student assess the interaction between the first and second student. I think that would be helpful for both writing and critical thinking development -- I wish I'd be given more suggestions such as these in order to be encouraged to use technology in the classroom. I've never been adverse to technology, but I've been on the fence as to its benefits in the classroom. Perhaps this essay and the rest of the reading in the book will help me to decide.