Tangible Engagement

To me, there is something to be said about holding something in your hands. Whether it is a photograph, a book, or the artwork from a CD. I am more engaged and it feels more meaningful when it is 'real'. When I have conversations with my friends they concur. They gripe about teachers who put all of the readings online, complaining that they would rather pay the $20 to pick them up at Copies Plus. They explain that they can't read online and that it's too hard to get engaged with the text if they can't hold it and write on it. I nod my head and agree. I too, like to sit down, hold the text in my hands, and doodle my thoughts in the margins. We lament over the end of printed materials...the day when all of our books are electronic. I mention, "it just won't feel the same", and then I begin to feel like my parents talking about 'The Good Ole' Days'. I begin to wonder if I will be part of the last generation that feels this way.

I did not grow up with technology and it is not second nature to be 'connected', but my students did. They have been reading text online for years. So, I wonder, is it just as easy for them to get engaged with something online as it is with a piece of paper? Maybe it is even more engaging online, because like me and my tangible items, it is what they are used to.

I mention these rantings, because they highlight a question I have about agency. As I meander through the computer lab I am well aware that my students are very engaged when they are constructing an understanding online. They seem empowered and interested in what they are doing. I think that this is partially due to the fact that they get to decide what they are looking at. In addition, I wonder if they are engaged, because they are so used to doing it. When I think of my mom doing the same thing. She would not be engaged; she would be lost. I imagine her frustrated and bored. She would not be using the computer to construct an understanding, she would feel controlled and used by the computer. In this case, all sense of agency is lost. Her story reminds me of all of my students who do not have access to computers. Students who get in the computer lab and are disengaged. I think it is important to think about how much of the engagement we see with our students (or teachers) is due to accessibility and comfort with technology? In addition, how do we gauge computer literacy in order to help our students succeed in the 21st century?