Technology in the classroom

In the year 2005, I'm not sure how anyone can think that technology doesn't have a place in education. Granted, some teachers have more expectations of technology than others, but I feel like the idea of using technology, at least in its simplest sense, should be expected by students.

The last sections in _A Guide to Composition Pedagogies_ have annoyed me. I don't feel like they are helpful at all. We should have writing center's on college campuses. Good. We should have a basic writing option for students who are part of open admissions and don't know how to write. I agree. We should help students use computers but it will be hard because computers are expensive. Yeah, so what. what involved with college isn't expensive? Tuition is expensive. Books are expensive. Parking is expensive. Living in the dorms is expensive. Eating on campus is expensive. If I had 10 cents for every time I had a student complain to me about some various expense regarding college I could work for free. But I don't, because expense is a reality, and it wouldn't be kind of me to charge for complaining about it.

Pedagogies are teaching styles. In a book explaining teaching styles, I would expect some stylistic information-- not a defense for why the style exists.

I probably shouldn't just spout off about the tone of the articles. I'm sure there are valuable pieces of knowledge tucked into the reasons why we should have these pedagogies and the 55 other things to read in order to know about them. Maybe it's the long bibliographies that are the most useful in this book-- I know where I can begin to find more information about this or that style.

Nevertheless, I'm sticking to my thoughts from days ago that say no pedagogy is an island. They just don't work by themselves.