February 8th Homework

Baron Summary:
In his article, From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technology, Dennis Baron explains how technology has changed the way literacy is viewed. One example he gives was how the New York Times joined together through contract to get their stories out to the public quicker.

QD 2,4,6:
2.) I agree with his statement that technology is changing the shape of nature. I think that it has a positive effect on how we write now rather than decreasing our writing skills.
4.) I think that the biggest past technology would be the type writer. Everybody used a type writer until computers were created. Type writers were forgotten because a higher technology came along and replaced them.
6.) The pictures that Baron puts into his article keeps his readers interested. The pictures aren't just there to be there either, they contain a message with it, so I believe that it is a part of writing.

Malcolm X Summary:
In his article, Learning to Read, Malcolm X explains how he found hope through writing while he was in prison. The things he wrote was letters and rewriting the dictionary, and doing this was how he learned to read and write.

QD 1-4, 6:
1.) I think he was writing to other people that have difficulty with writing because this is an inspiring article.
2.) He defines literacy as understanding reading and writing and trying to get better. He says he became literate when he finally understood what he was reading.
3.) Malcolm X's sponsors included prison, religion, and education. These motivated him because each of them educated him to better understand literacy.
4.) I think this was the case for him because as he was trying to learn from the books, he was confused on some of the vocabulary that was used.
6.) I do believe this is true because if you ask college students today, the majority of them will tell you that they hate reading. I would be included in this group because I dread reading something that I'm forced to read. Even if I could chose what I read, I still wouldn't enjoy it as much.

AEI 1:
I think all the "new" technology actually helps us with literacy because they give us more opportunities to communicate with others. It also helps with finding information much easier than 40-50 years ago.

Alexie Summary:
In his article, The Joy of Reading and Writing, Sherman Alexie describes how he first began understanding the idea of writing. He also talks about facing writing literacy adversity and overcoming those obstacles.

QD 1:
1.) Childhood expectations can have a huge affect on how kids react to learning. If they are given high expectations they are more likely to try harder so that they don't disappoint their parents. But the kids with low expectations will not worry as much to try and learn in school because their parents aren't expecting much fro them.

AEI 1:
I do believe that motivation can get people to the distances they want to go with education. But in the times we are in now where the economy is rough, it makes it more difficult for those with financial problems.