Scene Four
Fear, Misplaced
Even in the 1990s when dialup was the only access method for most, my boss, a real estate broker, would hear me typing and ask when I would be done with the computer so that she could "get on" [the internet]. She saw the computer as that function only, even though she knew it had other uses. She was also deathly afraid of breaking the computer and left most things outside of checking the MLS to me. In that particular power dynamic, my expert knowledge as compared to hers was seen as positive. She saw me as a resource and had me write down step-by-step instructions for accessing the listings site, refering to them each time and bragging to other brokers about her agent that really knew what to do with the computer. However, change the power dynamic and the conclusion changes. A writing teacher with a similar lack of comfort with technology who perceives, true or not, her students as more tech savvy than herself may fear that they will, by default, use that knowledge to transgress, placing her at a disadvantage in assessing their writing. This is the ugly side of the digital natives/ digital immigrants (Prensky, 2006) claim; it can make teachers feel hopeless and unable to excel at what is an integral part of their job--being a faciltator who knows the ins-and-outs of how writing and research is done today, and that means being comfortable with--not threatened by--technology. How much better to see students with specialized skills as potential mentors and resources for the classroom.