Selfe's Toward New Media Texts; Taking Up the Challenges of Visual Literacy

In "Toward New Media Texts; Taking Up the Challenges of Visual Literacy", Selfe continues her argument that first arose in her “Student’s who teach us” piece, that teachers are hesitant to include new media in their classrooms for a variety of reasons. She stresses that most teachers are not comfortable with new media, and feel that if they are not experts on the matter, they can not incorporate it into their classroom. Selfe suggests that teachers who are not confident with incorporating new media into their classrooms can still incorporate it without the expertise of the technology. In fact, later in the essay, she even makes a suggestion for teachers to do the assignments along with their students, so that they may learn the material themselves. In essence, Selfe is saying that teachers need to get over the misconception that they should know everything and just dive into new media.

Selfe offers several assignment possibilities for instructors wishing to include new media in their classrooms. I appreciate that she has made a spectrum of assignments for teachers with varying levels of technological skills. She also has created the assignments to be done not only on a computer but also on “paper” if necessary. Lastly, I like the fact that she has created these assignments with flexibility to allow inclusion not only in the English classroom, but any classroom wishing to include new media texts or visual literacy. As a teacher, I also found the reflection and evaluation sheets she provided helpful for incoprorating into the classroom.

After reading selfe’s essay, I was interested in finding some “sample” products of her assignments. I came across a Canadian visual essay composer, Franke James.
***Disclaimer: The views reflected in the following visual essays by Franke James, do not necessarily reflect the views or values of Jennifer Tortoro :-)> ***

My SUV and Me Say Goodbye
http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?p=22

A Green Winter, Will Global Warming be good for Canada? http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?p=19

To My Future Grandkids in 2020
http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?p=34