Editors: Courtney A. Mauck & Laura L. Menard With the continuous development of new technologies and social networking spaces, teachers/scholars in the computers and writing community may often find themselves experimenting with tools or assignments that remain relatively underexplored or undertheorized. Because of the typical publication schedules upheld by traditional academic journals, research on social network sites and new media technologies can sometimes “fall behind” and may not accurately represent the innovative things teachers/scholars are doing right now. For this reason, we’re excited to host a Blog Carnival that seeks posts reflecting on new/emerging perspectives at the intersections of new…
Author: Jennifer Burke Reifman
Courtney A. Mauck, Laura Leigh Menard
Jennifer Burke Reifman is a 5th year Education Ph.D. Candidate at U.C. Davis with an emphasis in Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies. Her research focuses on technology in the writing classroom, writing program administration, and student identity and agency. When she isn't being a graduate student and writing teacher, she spends most of her time playing with her 3-year old son, tending her backyard garden, or diving into a video game.
My earliest memory of interacting with digital media is sitting on the floor of my grandpa’s enclosed porch playing Pong with my older sister. Soon after, the video game business exploded with Atari, Intellivision, ColecoVision, and Nintendo. I loved it all and still do! When the Intellivision Flashback was released, I bought it that day. I relished in the nostalgia of simplistic graphics and sound effects whilst marveling at the complexity of only having three lives available in a playthrough. I have great memories of grade school and being rewarded for good behavior with 15 minutes of computer time, and…