I liked this article by Hawisher and Self (2004). It compared how two women acquired their literacies of technology. One was a woman, Melissa, born in 1964 and the other a teenager (when interviewed) , Brittany, born in 1986.
The authors share 5 themes that they find in the data:
1. Literacies have life spans. Literacies emerge..compete..and fade away..
2. People can exert their own agency. Yes the narratives show that people "shape their access to the literate environments"..as Melissa did by learning through reading the manual...
3. Schools are not the only gateway--thankfully they are not because it is a sad fact that some students know more about technology than their teachers do. I was very impressed by how much Brittany could actually do at 15! And the boy who was writing his own games. Wow. Britanny found a gateway through her community..her friend's dad was a sponsor of this literacy. Melissa's gateway was her work at the bank. Families are another huge gateway. I know I have definitely taught my parents about technology.
4. Access--and their conditions. Access is effected at macro, medial and micro levels. Race, class and gender are something to think about. Interesting statistic that boys were 3x likely to use a computer at home. The date on this was 1998--so hopefully this is no longer true..
Macro--large scale such as the time you are born into..medial--professions, institutional level and micro--your own personal life...
5. Transmission--how families and their value of the literacy support you..they are your literacy sponsors...and how parents and kids can pass on this literacy in either direction
I definitely support the need for "broadening our understandings of and appreciation for student's literacies." I definitely take away from this article an appreciation and better understanding of what kids like Brittany can do!
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