Three Thoughts More

1.

So between reading for genre and tech fellows, I am getting a little excited about the capabilities of electronic media to create change in the world…  While I will try not to go into this too much more, especially seeing as how so many were touched by my excited revelations in class the other day, I think I may have begun to break through some of my resistance after reading Amy Devitt and coming to the realization that with institutional structures like Collective Commons, we (academics, writers, creators, whatever) are choosing to value knowledge which is accessible (another troublesome word, but that’s another entry) without going through the publication industry.  (I can’t help but wonder if this is one of those entries I am going to regret in a few years…)  We are producing knowledge that exists to be used, to be collected, that does not require students to pay royalties to read.  Could this be a shift?   Does this suggest that maybe, just maybe, there is a chance to save academics from being subsumed into corporate institutions, based on making money?  Or am I just going to be very sad when I realize that large-scale change is very slow in coming, and print text is the only way to go when it comes down to getting one of these so called “jobs” ?

2.

I found the readings this week to be very interesting, especially the Boyd, encouraging not only media literacy but participation of teachers in networking sites.  I had some professors on facebook at my undergrad, and I remember thinking how funny it was to see them on people’s friends lists.  The idea is somewhat attractive, though I am not sure exactly why, and I can’t help but think that part of it may be me just wanting to see if I am hip enough to be added on my students’ lists…  Hmm…

3.

I understand how blogs may be difficult in the classroom – I am totally seeing this as a journal/response/venting space.