Coming Soon...

A review on the "reader views" and "comments" section of The San Francisco Chronicle's online version of the newspaper (www.sfgate.com)
I always read the comments but don't write back...now that I'm committed I can't chicken out!  

Investigating the Personal Blogging World

The first two blogs I investigated are written by women that I know through mutual friends. One of them I almost never see and the other I see frequently in group settings. Since we don't have a deep friendship I only knew the basic details of their lives prior to reading their blogs. This was a fascinating exercise because I normally wouldn't feel good about cyber-stalking people and reading their blogs, but the assignment made me feel like it was okay! Now I feel like we have just spent hours talking...I hope I don't creep them out at our next get together with my detailed knowledge about their personal lives!

Zoe's Blog:
Intended Audience: Her friends (she gives some information but directs people to her facebook page or to email her for more photos, more info, etc.), scientists, female scientists, people interested in growing their own food, DIYers
Tone: casual, comic
Use of graphics: visually engaging all the way through, from font choice to photos 
Use of links: lots of videos and sometimes music that she suggests playing while reading post 
Use of ethos,pathos,logos: science related posts appeal heavily to pathos as well as logos but in general her posts appeal to pathos
Purpose: I think the blog started as an online resume, but she has since moved that aspect to a personal website. The blog now seems to function as a kind of online journal with the hope that other like minded people will join the conversation.  

Caroline's Blog:
Intended Audience: vegetarians, vegans, foodies
Tone: pithy, intelligent, reads like a magazine
Use of Graphics: beautiful, mouth watering images, they all seem to be personal photos 
Use of Links: usually at least one link per post, takes you to the inspiration for the recipe or a restaurant that serves similar food, etc.
Use of Ethos, Pathos, Logos: lots of pathos, food is talked about in emotional terms (i.e. why I chose to become a vegetarian, why I love this dish, what this food makes me feel, etc.)
Purpose: this blog was actually picked up and turned into a column, so I think it's safe to say the purpose was to write about her passion while showcasing her writing talents: http://www.missionmission.org/author/caroline-mccormick/

The following blogs I just stumbled across and found interesting:

The Feminist Teacher:
Intended Audience: feminist teachers K-12 and college
Tone: informational, inspirational, call to action
Use of graphics: text heavy, about one graphic per post
Use of Links: lots of links for resources, further info, etc.
Use of ethos, pathos, logos: all over the place! This blog is an ongoing persuasive argument
Purpose: explicitly stated: "This blog intends to expand the circle of discussion to educators in the k-12 sector who consider their teaching practices to be feminist in design and implementation.  My goal is to make us visible to each other and to the larger world of educators, as we move forward with our important work.  For this reason, I hope it will be a place of community and conversation, both inspiring and invigorating"(Ileana Jiménez)

RubberTramping 
I love this photoblog, it's stunning!
Intended Audience: anyone, very open
Tone: almost completely visual
Use of graphics: captivating photography, beautiful graphics in the template, font, etc.
Use of Links: very few
Use of ethos, pathos, logos: lots of appeal to pathos, the photos and poetry interspersed create an emotional reaction in the reader, as do phrases like "dear reader", "oh reader", etc.
Purpose: as with many travel photoblogs, the goal is to get people to support the traveling photographer, either by donating directly or through purchasing their photos 


Dancing with Columbia
I found this blog through a link in the previous one. The author seems to be her traveling partner, since the same faces, dogs, and locations show up. However, this blog is very different! I find this blog very difficult to engage with, it is difficult to see the font on the page, the photos are much less interesting, and the intended audience seems to exclude me. Perhaps the audience is simply the author. This is probably the most "personal" blog I read.

Response to Literate Lives

Examining the case studies presented in Literate Lives gives us an idea of how people come in contact with literacy as well as how the acquisition of literacy shapes their lives. Many common themes run through the case studies, but what I am most interested in is the idea that technological literacy (in contrast to traditional literacy) is acquired collaboratively. Traditional literacy is passed down or taught in the form of a gift by those who possess knowledge. Technological literacy represents a radical shift. Knowledge in the realm of computers is no longer owned, nor contained by a body of elders, but always already emerging. This shift moves us away from the conception of education that operates in a top down model, where literacy is a constant, held up as an achievable goal, and once attained defines the student as literate. This shift instead presupposes that literacy is defined by all users, and the only constant is change. Because change occurs more frequently as younger generations emerge into and influence the realm of technology, "the old are not expert"(205). This is not to say that the young hold reign over technological literacy or that older people can't be experts, only to say that unlike print literacy, mastery of technological literacy is impossible. As users of technology, we are self taught, taught by peers, taught by teachers, taught by experts and non experts alike, so we engage in "kind of reciprocal learning in which '...the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-students with student-teachers...they become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow'[Freire]"(210). If we can accept both the importance of collaborative learning as well as technological literacy, then students (of all ages) won't have to lead what Selfe and Hawisher term a "double life". This double life comes from two sets of "literacy practices and values"(195) that conflict. The first set of practices is defined by a long tradition of literacy conventions that are meant to challenge the student until s/he becomes masterfully literate. The second set of practices challenges an already literate teacher-student and student-teacher. The key is to allow these practices simultaneous existence, since they are not actually in opposition. As Selfe and Hawisher suggest, traditional literacy shares a direct relationship to all other kinds of literacy, and technological literacy still necessitates the role of teacher (perhaps mentor is a better word) and student. However the teacher must allow for a fluid movement between positions. As Freire indicates, the outcome of this equilibrium of intellectual challenge and collaboration will be growth.

My Story...

After finishing Literate Lives, I think the case study or story that most resembles my own has yet to be written! However, the stories in chapter six, Inspiring Women, resemble the experience of my mother and aunt, who are both solely responsible for my own literacy(both technological and traditional). They were born a little later than Jane, Jena, and Janice, however they were born in a particularly socially delayed area of the U.S., so their cultural ecologies are similar. My mom was married and pregnant before she turned 19. She and her sister eventually  left repression-ville for California and although they found freedom, hippies, and women's rights upon arrival, they also found financial strife. Dire economic circumstances meant that even during the boom of personal computers, both women were not able to find a "gateway" to technological literacy until education came into play. The role education as an institution played in both my mom and aunt's computer literacy links directly to Jane, Jena, and Janice.
Like Jane, my mom was called upon to teach at the nursing school she was attending. This later led to a teaching job in the public school system (at that time California was handing out "emergency credentials", a whole other story!). In both positions she was not only introduced to computers, but ended up teaching "basic computer skills" to other students. I remember thinking my mom was so cool and hip when I got to visit her classroom/computer lab! Meanwhile my aunt had moved in with us to help raise my brother and I while my mom worked, stepdad attended nursing school, and she attended community college. The idea of second wave feminism presented in this chapter really interested me in that my stepdad was studying to become a nurse (one of the only males in the program), my mom was working full time to support the family so had to drop out of college, and my young aunt was living with us in order to attend college in California. Since my aunt was the only person home after school she wound up doing the "woman's work" of child raising, cooking, cleaning, etc. She and my mom were effectively supporting one male and two children...Simultaneously, all three of these young adults were becoming rapidly computer literate, and as my brother and I were attending elementary school in the height of the Clinton administration we too had frequent access to computers. Clearly, the influence of education, whether it be working for a school or attending school, allowed my family to develop a level of technical literacy that is truly a miracle considering our "cultural ecology". My aunt now has a Master's degree, and runs an online advising center for International students at Michigan State University. My mom continued her education after remarrying none other than a computer engineer, and has since had two more sons that have already begun designing robots and computer chips before second grade! I am now 25, so all of these struggles and accomplishments unfolded before me in my formative and impressionable years. I think that's why Jane, Jena, and Janice's stories resonated with me more than those of my own age group.

Invention Activities

I can't seem to connect clearly with my relationship to technological literacy...I'm having a very difficult time pulling up memories from childhood. Making the graphic map helped me realize that until very recently most of my interactions with computers have been extremely negative, even though I would in fact call myself technologically literate. Perhaps I have just blocked out all the negativity. I know that I am only technologically literate because I value print literacy so highly. I think the interview questions in Literate Lives will be helpful for me to sort this all out!