In reference to the Technology Literacy Challenge:
“. . . this large-scale literacy project will offer all Americans equal access to an education rich in opportunities to use and learn about technology. With such an education . . . graduates will be qualified for high-paying, high-tech jobs and thus have the means of achieving upward social mobility and economic prosperity within our increasingly technological culture.”
by Cynthia L. Selfe
There are several issues within this excerpt that I find disagreement with. Yes, technology is highly available, but there’s a difference between waiting for an available computer in the public library and being able to have unlimited access in the comfort of your own home. There’s a great deal of responsibility placed on the parental unit in this respect, especially since a lot of computer experience comes from just that—experience. You can’t instant message or access MySpace during high school computer classes, thereby forming a literary network. You need extra exploratory time at your own pace in your own setting in order to learn about the surrounding technology. In addition, not all schools are able to provide “equal access,” though we would certainly like to think so. It is an ideal to strive for but which we have yet to achieve. Financial issues are still at the center of it all, and as long as that is the case, there will always be limitations. Yes, our culture is becoming increasingly technological, but it is by no means completely so.
While it is true that greater technological literacy can improve one’s position on the social ladder, you have to consider exactly how fast technology is changing. Our professors are constantly reminding us that we will be technologically obsolete when we graduate college, even though we’re learning the newest innovations today. Graduates will have to make the effort beyond commencement in order to obtain and retain those “high-paying, high-tech jobs.” It makes you wonder if we can ever be completely literate when you consider how much there is out there to comprehend.
Is it even possible?
