Editors' Note: When this article was posted in Reading Online in July 1999, readers were invited to comment on it through a bulletin board feature that was discontinued when the journal was redesigned in July 2000. Following are the comments posted to that bulletin board.

Readers who would like the opportunity to comment on this or other articles in the journal are invited to contact the author directly (e-mail address is available on the opening page or to post messages through ROL Communities.

Post 1

Author: Angela_Fanelli
Date: 07-07-1999 21:47

Although I didn't read the whole article, it does bring up an interesting lingo that is being developed. Children born today are being given endless ways to find information. Technology has changed our culture more than what we know. The language of the future will be full of new words. Recognizing this is good, but so much of it will change and new words will also be developed.

Reply 1a

Author: Brennan Thomas
Date: 07-08-1999 16:29

Angela, I don't know about you, but I have never been so intimidated by an article as I was by this one. A whole sophisticated Cyberculture? My God, when I was nine years old, ATARI was considered state of the art. And now a whole new culture is developing right from underneath us, and kids are leading the pack in Internet use. I agree with your statement that technology has significantly changed our culture. Man, has it ever! How on earth do the Generation-Xers catch up with Generation-Ys, who have practically been bottle-fed this stuff? Or perhaps a more desperate question: How do Baby Boomers catch up to ANY of this? Who knows? I, for one, am light years behind my nieces and nephews, who are swallowing this stuff everyday. Is it possible to catch up, to insert myself into a cyberculture that I don't even understand?

Reply 1b

Author: Angela Dudfield
Date: 07-19-1999 00:12

One scholar (Rushkoff) claims that we are in an age of chaos, and that (just like a family in a new country) it is the children that are leading the way and guiding us through this age. -just a thought, A.

Reply 1c

Author: Sande_Raabe
Date: 09-21-1999 20:59

One of my first thoughts after reading your article was one of fear for our children. Were is the compassion, and kindness for others. If they learn to interact with violence and aggression on the web won't they become numb to real life situations? When they deal with real life situations that instinct to act with out bounderies will be so finely honed it will come out with out thinking about others.

The writing skill of the children was amazing, character descriptions and the conservations the kids held with other participants were wonderful in a grusome way. I wish I had that much skill when it come to written communication.

Post 2

Author: Brennan Thomas
Date: 07-08-1999 16:44

Oh, God. Everything now is Cyber this and Cyber that. Cybernet. Cybersex. Cyberculture. Cybersphere. Cyberclassroom instruction? I certainly hope not, not before the content has been fine-tuned, at any rate. The author of this article seems to think that this sort of program can be used on in the classroom. Hmm. The kid starts out in a coffin and walks around seeking credits and a means of survival. Does this sound a little too much like a video game? Probably. Not that I don't think it has some instructional value. The MOO subscribers do write their own stories and read others' written accounts as they travel through this maze-like postapocalyptic society. And it should be noted that the MOOs do create their own society, building a community of "survivors." But I'm afraid that I don't buy into the author's view that the Cybersphere is useful for classroom use. It would probably fare best as a "free-time filler." The author has made a strong case that this sort of website would allow students to create their own identities and new communities. It would, and it probably does, but students must not allow their eyes to ONLY gaze upon the postapocalyptic writing of adolescents. Perhaps a fine-tuning of this idea is in order. I suppose a teacher might use the idea of the website to get kids to role-play their own society and write letters to each other. Or, the teacher could encourage students to write and perform their own playst. There are a myriad of possibilities other than the Cybersphere, and I think we should look into these ideas first.

Reply 2a

Author: Angela Dudfield
Date: 07-18-1999 23:46

I think it is really interesting to see the reaction to the content of the material I discussed in this article. One of my personal concerns is that everywhere I turn, I see children engaged in a multiplicity of online literacy events that are shaped by commercial ventures (ie South Park, Pokemon, Nike) or the genre of Cyberpunk. My objective in writing this article was to highlight the sophistication of the texts that children are producing in such online spaces. That the content is objectionable to some is well noted. My belief is that for educators to get in and have a real presence where the kids 'hang out', we should see whats out there and then provide alternatives. For my PhD research I created a story palace - a visual chat environment which engaged children in the creation of an online world, role-playing, storying, readers theatre and so forth. But until becoming a native myself and exploring such spaces as Cybersphere, anything I created would have significanlty underestimated the possibilities that are opened up in terms of online literacies. My point in the article really was - look what kids are doing online.. if they can do this in the name of cyberpunk, how can we exploit this for all of its educational possibilities?

Reply 2b

Author: Rebecca_Wangenheim
Date: 12-06-1999 08:41

"From their perspective, they were not participating in a unique and developing form of literacy; they were producing "just another episode" in their Cybersphere lives."

I consider myself to be someone who's pretty Internet savvy. I even met my husband of over three years online, in a chat room. Yet, I find myself a bit scared when I read this statement.

I know from personal experience that things like MOO's, MUDS and chat rooms can be used for good purposes and may begin for good purposes, but that they can also be abused. I've read articles about a new "disease", called Internet addiction, and I think that introducing such programs into the classroom can be dangerous for students. Stuff like this can take over and become their "life", if not monitored very carefully, not only by teachers but also by parents. I'm not sure if I would consider using something like Cybersphere in my classroom.

Don't get me wrong, I think that using the internet and using chat forums (strictly monitored by the teacher) can be good things. For example, in the foreign language classroom, having a "chat session" with a classroom from a different country is a wonderful idea, having e-mail penpals is another. Using the internet and teaching students to research topics is great, however I'm very leery when it comes to things like MOO's. I think that by using them in classroom we might be inviting our students to play with fire.

Post 3

Author: Brennan Thomas
Date: 08-12-1999 11:24

Angela, I suppose I must give you some credit for this article. Your points, although a bit muddled, highlight the necessity to expand or alter the educational process to suit the needs of an evolving population. But I fail to see the PRACTICALITY in your arguments. You have made a discovery which works well in THEORY. In THEORY, kids would be better off hacking away on computers than doing some other desperate act to retaliate against the evils of teenagehood, right? And in THEORY these kids would probably appreciate the compromises which we educators have made by implementing such programs into our curriculums (that is, our attempt to reach out to their cybernet lifestyles). Unfortunately, we are incapable of foreseeing what effects such an implementation would have in REALITY. Might we be wasting resources by allowing our students to play in a cybersphere culture during valuable classtime? Might such an educational tool become cumbersome? Might it put poorer school districts at a disadvantage? I think FEAR motivates your quest; fear of children ditching school or smoking maryjane; fear of children becoming listless and unappreciate of the educational institution: fear of children spending too much time on the Internet anyway (and surfing cyberjunk, at that). And if we can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? We educators assume that kids are either clueless or inherently evil, vile creatures who desperately need our guidance, and we must do everything in our power to prevent them from be taken over by the dark forces that plague their weary trek across adolescence. Blah blah blah. A computer program which channels otherwise "destructive" energy into seemingly "constructive" energy will have little impact on a student's life. It will simply make classroom management (which, unfortunately, already receives more attention than lesson-planning anyway) a more arduous task.

Reply 3a

Author: Allan_Luke
Date: 09-04-1999 20:34

I think Brennan may be missing the point on this one. It isn't a matter of a new communications technology - with all of its new and varied constructions of identity and knowledge, with all of its challenging new competences and forms of cognition (yes, Michael Cole and other Vygotskian psychologists point is that new communications media and technology actually generates different cognitive skills, competences, and strategies) - eradicating or wiping out or supplanting old technologies. Ironically, such a position is to think 'digitially' in binary terms (e.g., old versus new). I think what the history of technologies and of literacy tells us is that the cyberculture Angela has described actually will 'remediate', reshape and interact with now traditional print culture (both in its 'high cultural' and in its popular cultural forms - don't forget, comic books are part of print culture). The advent of alphabetic literacy didn't eradicate oral cultures: Plato was pretty worried about this, if I recall I think it was in Phaedrus, when he had Socrates query whether this new technology of writing would destroy the spoken arts of argument and logic, and would destroy verbal memory. What happened is that the technology of writing changed, remediated, altered the way people did the genres of spoken language. My response to Brennan is that it isn't a question of engage with cyberculture or have them write traditional community letters. The way that people actually write letters is changing because of the influence of email - which is this funny mixture of spoken and written language!xx##@@@. The coming of print changed the oral epic; and the coming of the printing press changed the manuscript essay; and TV news led to the advent of forms of print journalism like the USAToday visual soundbite. New media and their cultures hybridise longstanding traditions and practices. And there's evidence of this the first time one of our students writes an essay with a hotlink or constructs a webpage with parts of an essay. My point Brennan: the train is pulling out of the station (to use an industrial metaphor). the question is whether we as an educational community want to get on board, steer it, reshape it, place a crucial role in the way it gets used as a cultural resource. and. p.s. cyberculture isn't something one does developmentally later after learning 'traditional' basics...

Post 4

Author: Chad_Johnson Education Student
Date: 10-23-1999 20:55

I have to begin to wonder where the uses of Cyberspace and chat rooms are going to take teachers and students. I would agree with the use of chat rooms to bring together people who would otherwise never communicate and building online communities and social networks are positive. From some of the comments, I get the impression that some people may fear this change and the new language that is being formed. The question of an alternate language in Cyberspace is not a thing to be feared but studied. Through education, we (I mean teachers and parents) can get inside the minds of a technologically adaptable children. The fact that they are programmed to use technology and all the language associated with it is actually immaterial. We have to work within the environment that exists. I don't have a problem with the development of Cyber-language. Language develops as a need to communicate and share stories and the fact that it is being born within an artificial world like the Internet is of no consequence.

Just pushing thirty, I would admit that I'm at a loss when it comes to Cyber-language and real-time communications. I would say that I'm a bit frightened by the fact that I might be left behind in the speedy evolution of this technology, but that is not to say that I should not accept the important applications of it and my need to bring myself up to date.

It is an eventuality, that although 3 % of the worlds population uses the world wide web, more and more children will grow up being computer literate both in the use of applications and in Cyber-language. It is also an eventuality that educators have to keep up with these changes as well. The effectiveness for communicating with others in the classroom via Cyberspace is great as long as it is used effectively. I wouldn't advocate the use of chat rooms for my students to communicate with each other when each of them can physically touch the other, but for the use to network with other schools around the globe. And if the language used for this communication requires them to use special codes, upper and lower case to do it, then it is my obligation to facilitate the instruction.

Post 5

Author: Joanna_Wood
Date: 10-29-1999 19:46

From my experience, the number of children who spend most of their leisure time online is smaller than Angela Dudfield purports and those children who use computers frequently do so for limited purposes. Their skills are often confined to a particular area of interest. Certainly children are becoming more computer literate and they are learning to use a diverse blend of traditional and contemporary forms of literacy to communicate, but I think Dudfield has overestimated the infiltration of the computer age into the everyday life of the average child. I agree that for some children the computer activities used in school may be boring and tedious, but the same is true for particular students in all aspects of the curriculum. Teachers need to try to accommodate the diversity of students within their class but I do not think that students will give up on school just because it doesn't offer the same experiences that they can have online. I think that if an aspect of technology is introduced into the classroom it should be done so for a specific purpose, not just for the sake of introducing technology. Certainly some of the information that can be accessed via the web is superior than information that is accessed by "old-fashioned" methods as children can have almost instantaneous access to people and places around the world, but I think that if skills to access such information are going to be taught in the schools than it is just as, if not more, important that children learn to critically examine all the information they are able to access. I would also like to point out that at one time the television was considered revolutionary. The amount and type of information that people were able to access from their own living rooms was heralded, but televisions never invaded the classrooms. I realize that televisions do not allow for two-way communication so this comparison with computers is not ideal but we should accept that while some aspects of computers are great and should be introduced into the schools others are better left at home as part of leisure time entertainment. I recognize that computers allow children to have more sophisticated outlets for their imagination and creativity than playing "house" in the backyard allows, but at what cost? I would far rather my children spend a full day constructing a fort out of an old box and a set of paints than creating a much more sophisticated one in cyberspace with simply the press of a button. I would rather my children develop the face-to-face interpersonal skills that come with playing dress-up and make-believe with their friends than develop computer literacy to the extent that the children in Dudfield's article have.

Post 6

Author: Rebecca_Fung
Date: 11-08-1999 20:15

Initially, I was undecided on which way to lean towards on this issue but after evaluating the impact of technology on children, I agree with the author's research that pretty much states technology is useful in education. I understood both sides of the issue because I could see how computers are significant literacy tools for young learners and I could also sympathize with the many adults and educators that fear the notion of computers 'taking over children's innocent minds'. With the widespread use of computers in the education system nowadays, it is only natural for us human educators to feel threatened by these mechanistic ones. Some adults even fear to the extent that human interaction between teachers and students will become obsolete and will soon be replaced by interaction between computers and students. After much thought and evaluation of technology in schools, I do not think adults or educators should be concerned with computers 'taking over the classroom'. Yes, the use of computers is increasing as we speak but, it cannot replace teachers and realistically, it is not likely to occur. I believe children need to be educated by humans because it is nearly impossible for a human mind, to absorb ALL the information that a computer contains. We must have more faith in children and give them more credit on their capacity of critical thinking because they are not like 'miniature sponges; absorbing everything that is said'. Perhaps the fear people have of computers is a manifestation of how little they know of such technology and how they work. Computers were created as tools to enhance learning and broaden the availability of resources that one would naturally have to go out of the computer room to obtain. It is not plausible to have computers as the only form of educator for children and as I mentioned earlier, I don't believe that will happen. If people were afraid of this occurring, I would suggest that they make an effort to keep up-to-date with technology and prevent it from happening. KNOW what computer programs are useful to a lesson and LEARN to incorporate it with those lessons. Hopefully, the co-operation between teachers and computers will show children that technology is not more powerful than the human mind, it only enhances it.

Reply 6a

Author: Jenny_Wong
Date: 11-12-1999 21:22

I agree with Rebecca that the fear of the computers are 'taking over the classroom' is something that we, as educators, shouldn't worry about. I believe the computer is an extremely useful tool for the classroom. It allows kids to access a multitude of information on the internet. I think that skills that children can get from using computers are not the specific computer programs that are out ther, but it teaches children to be flexible and more creative. I find the more programs I have used, the less intimidated I am in trying new computer programs because I know that each one is similiar in some way and that I have the skills to figure out how to use it. In terms of literacy, I think that children will learn how to skim and filter the massive information that they access through the computer. One has to be somewhat literate in order to participate in the cyber world. I'm the type that doesn't like to read and follow instructions, but on the web I have to be careful, or else I would enter some game site and not understand what I am doing.

Dudfield gives a great example of how role-play sites can foster great composition. By not being able to see the person one is talking to, the language used must be clear enough so that the writer gets his/her point across, especially when describing something or giving instructions.

There is also concern that children would spend too much time on the computer and not socialize or participate in playing with other children. I don't think that we necessarily have to worry about this. I think that having access to the internet would open them up to new sports or ideas that they have never thought about, and then they might want to try out the sport. Perhaps I'm being very idealistic here, but I know I have become more interested in hiking when I came upon a web site that had all different kinds of trails that existed around my home. I realize I could have found this out at the library or bookstore, but it was just nice to have this information at my fingertips.

I must admit that I am quite biased when it comes to technology. I think it's a wonderful thing. I planned my whole trip to Europe via the internet. I found numerous sites on hostels/hotels in the cities that I was interested in visiting and got to look at them before I booked. I bought my plane tickets online, I was able to find out about upcoming events in each country, and so on. I think that the internet has such potential for opening doors and opportunities.

Post 7

Author: jennifer_mcfarlane
Date: 11-08-1999 23:09

I agree with Angela Dudfield that it would be useful for educators to explore the value of various kinds of experiences in cyber-literacy. In the schools I have visited children are being asked to perform computer activities that lack meaningful connections to the rest of the curriculum. For instance, students in one class were working in a draw program to create different coloured circles and squares. In many other cases, the computer is used simply as a tool to make a tidy final draft of written work. Perhaps Dudfield's article offers a response to this type of meaningless integration of computers into education. In Dudfield's conclusion, she wrote, "The computer-literate generation is a generation of writers, writers with real purposes and real audiences." To me that indicates a much more dynamic use of computers in classrooms. The notion of interactive, networked learning seems like an interesting way to engage learners and extend the principles of co-operative learning. For example, through intranet virtual education communities I see many opportunities to exchange ideas and promote literacy in a new and challenging way.

Despite the fact that I am cautious about the use of computers in schools, I feel that Dudfield has posed some interesting ideas about the future role of computers in education.

Reply 7a

Author: Steve Cann
Date: 11-11-1999 21:28

While I would question the educational value of the particular Cyberculture being promoted in this article, I feel that this article was beneficial because it made me think about two very important issues that relate to children's learning and education.

First, I began to think about the changing nature of language as a result of communicating on-line. As others have stated on the discussion board I find it interesting how our language has changed in the past years. There is a telephone commercial being played on TV here in British Columbia that describes these changes in a humorous way. In this ad a middle-aged man is pondering questions such as, "When did a period become a dot?" and "Do we really need a quicker way to spell at?" While these changes are interesting, the Internet has caused literary changes at a much deeper level. I believe the way in which people read and gather information has changed as a result of "surfing the web". I find it quite amazing how we can pull information together from a variety of sources. I believe that our skimming and filtering skills have advanced to a whole new level. While on-line, it is essential that we are able to select important info and disregard irrelevant information. I would be very interested to see how these skills develops over the next few years as children are raised with the Internet as a literary option.

Secondly, this article touched upon a new challenge that all elementary teachers must address. In today's schools, it is inevitable that we will have students in our classrooms that are more proficient at computers than we are. The question that I would like to raise is what do we do with these students during computer class? How can we use this time to enrich their educational experience? The most common suggestion I have heard, is to give these students a peer-teaching role. While, I think some children would benefit from this suggestion, I believe in many cases this is just an easy way out for teachers. These students do all of the computer "dirty work" and help cover the teacher's inadequacy with technology. Is this a beneficial use of their time? What do you think? Any other ideas?

Reply 7b

Author: Patti_Osborn
Date: 12-03-1999 21:30

I agree with Jennifer that computers need to be used to make meaningful connections in the classrooom, not just for busy work. I believe it is important to avoid "empty technology"--using technology just for the sake of using it. While I do think that making final drafts of papers is valuable, other things can be done with computers too. I admit that when I first read the article and Dudfield compared MOO to an online chat room, I questioned its use in schools. I didn't understand the complexity of the role playing that students participate in. Because the role playing forces them to write out scripts, I think it is a great opportunity to work on writing in a classroom. It would be especially good for a creative writing class. Howeever, the teacher would need to closely monitor what the students were typing--I am not sure how this could be done. I suppose if the teacher was participating with the students, then she could catch anything questinoable. Dudfield's idea that cybercommunity presents a different form of literacy is very interesting. There is an entirely different Internet language out there that is fascinating and could be used for study in the classroom. I believe that Cyberspehere is good for students because it alllows them to be in control; what they write has an effect on what happens. This is different from just sitting down and writing a story, where the author decides everything. In role play, everyone contributes and changes things. I would need to learnmore about Cybersphere to actually use it in my classroom--since it is a role play about the dark side of the future, I would want to make sure it was appropriate and that I wouldn't have huge problems from parents. One point Dudfield makes is that these students on Cybersphere didn't know they were creating forms of literacy; I think this is the best kind of literacy--the kind where the students don't even realize what they are doing because they are so excited and involved.

Post 8

Author: Laurie_Fabritius
Date: 01-31-2000 18:14

Angela Dudfield's article presented several ways a cyberculture can be adapted into a classroom. This article did a great job of highlighting the numerous ways this type of computer assistance can benefit learners. I can definitely see how a cyberculture would be fascinating for students at any age. In this culture, students can create an alter-ego for themselves. They can take this culture in so many different directions. This collaborative script type of writing allows students to explore the use of dialogue and also see how others write. This cyberculture also allows participants to revise their writing and truly examine it before it is looked at by others. This revision is done on computer which can have real life implications.

Although there are several positive aspects that are evident in the cyberculture, I can imagine that this type of "talking" could be seen as negative by parents as well. I feel that many parents may find this to be too unsupervised if used primarily in the classroom. There is no possible way that all interactions encountered inside this cyberculture can be supervised and/or guided. I believe students should strive for independence but still need to be guided a bit as well. In my opinion, this type of instruction could only work if it was paired together with real life classroom experiences where students interact with one another face to face. If this can occur I believe that under the right conditions this type of interaction could be extremely motivating for the student.

Reply 8a

Author: Mayra Vanessa_Ventura
Date: 02-02-2000 18:33

Dudfield's article does present an exciting and, yet, challenging way teachers can infuse "cyberculture" into their classrooms. Although her scenarios and examples were somewhat confusing and complex, Dudfield managed to paint a picture in the mind of non-users of the system and what it would be like to be a part of one of these "cyberculture communities". The possibilities for literary growth whithin these programs is well presented and argued. Building one of these communities in the classroom, would not only be a motivational tool, but an activity that can engage students in the processes of reading and writing with a purpose and a reason. In addition, the latter will help the students begin to recognize the importance reading and writing have in their everyday lives.

Post 9

Author: Tawanna Nelson
Date: 02-17-2000 17:16

We found this article to be very unrealistic for many classroom of today. First of all, not all students are able to read and work independently from the computer. We feel that if the students were up to level teaching thorugh the use of computers would be easier. We don't agree that children in primary grades should be receiving instruction directly from the computer without guidance. We came to conclude that if there was a computer for every child in the classroom and lessons where the teacher is in charge of instruction and guiding the students through the lesson. In my classroom (Tawanna), I have an Apple IIe computer which uses the black floppy disks. I use it to allow the students to play games to follow up on lessons that I've taught and reinforce skills.

Reply 9a

Author: Charlotte_Zeitsiff
Date: 02-20-2000 17:05

As a high school English teacher, I agree that many of our students have grown up in an age where mass media was (and still is in most cases) the external parent, ever available, and forever changing. Because of this, many of our students are very adept at using computers and surfing the Internet, as well as using e mail and scanners. It only makes sense, then, that the use of computers for the creation of cyber communities, where characters and stories can be created, adapted, and responded to would be a logical next step.

Dudfield's article gives us quite a description of the possibilities that are available for the promotion and enhancement of literacy through the use of these cyber communities. I, for one, believe that many of my students would happily take part in this type of reading and writing. Since motivating the high school student is a very big part of fostering their literacy, this type of interaction would probably be a tremendous help.

I do question the monitoring of this type of interaction, however, as I have found that high school students easily detour from the realm of appropriate language and subject matter extremely easily. I don't know that I could keep up with the communications quickly enough to catch any/all improprieties that would in all likelihood, occur.

As we all know, it only takes one such happening to ruin a teacher's career. I wonder if it is really worth the risk?

Post 10

Author: Ahna_Nelson
Date: 04-03-2000 10:09

Technology has made vasts improvements in the communication process throughout the years. However, not all of these effects have been positive ones. For instance, our children are not learning how to communicate face-to-face. They are used to sitting down to the computer and meeting new people. These people that they meet are people they will probably never see. The internet does give us all the chance to communicate in ways we never thought possible with people that we would have never met otherwise, but social interaction is not being enhanced. People skills have been almost completely eliminated. Children are not being taught how to interact with others on a one-to-one basis. This is a necessary skill that is becoming a thing of the past. While it is true that students may gain experiences in literacy through online chat rooms and discussion forums, they are simply not being challenged. Their composition skills are being used, but they are not being forced to go to the next level. It is hard to gain significant improvement in literacy skills when the skills you possess are not being challenged. The games that people play online force them to use their imagination. Using imagination is yet another part of an experience in literacy. These people can write about what they imagine. However, this can become dangerous in some instances. Some people become so immersed in computer use, they can not distinguish between make believe and reality. These people may not understand how to function normally.

Reply 10a

Author: Anne_Batty
Date: 04-17-2000 18:49

I am a little worried about this new trend to use chat rooms in the classroom. Although I was amazed by the writing that was demonstrated in Cybersphere, I can't help to think that we could get the same quality in the classroom. We just need to learn how to motivate that type of creativity in our students. If we learn to do this, we can still continue working on the one-on-one skills that these students will need in the future.

Online chats are wonderful tools for meeting others and for learning to express ourselves, but I don't see how we can effectively and responsibly use them in the classroom. I have seen different chats online and I am often appalled at the language used and subjects that are discussed. I think that trying to monitor the subjects and language would be extremely difficult. I feel that as teachers we would spend more time doing the monitoring than we would be using the the net as a tool for education.

I think that in the future we will find a way to safely and carefully monitor the use of the net and chat rooms in the classroom. We will be able to us them as a tool to get in toush with other nations and classrooms. We will be able to use them to share our knowledge and learning with that of other students. We will be albe to use the net for what it was a meant to be-- a source of information-- but for the moment it is not likely that the use of chat rooms for learning is an viable option.

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