Chapter 3 Now You See It

Summary:
This chapter is about how technology is advancing and classrooms are not. They are pretty much the same as they always have been. Cathy talks about how at Duke University, an experiment with iPods. They gave iPods to all the Duke students and had them create educational apps for it, to prove that iPods can, in fact, be educational and so can all technology. She also talks about how most students used to be treated all the same and that this is a mistake because everyone learns differently. Also, Cathy says that all of the technology is a great communication source. She also discusses that adults who grew up mostly without technology had to adjust to this new way of life, where technology is used constantly.

Critical Commentary:
Cathy uses a lot of logos in this chapter, as well as the others. She helps prove her argument with sharing the iPod experiment. This proves that something known as a distraction can be very educational and useful when it comes to learning. The fact that the students got to help create educational apps for the iPod allows them to invent and use creativity which is a way of learning. She also uses ethos to prove her argument when she says that when she was in school she didn't have the choice of an iPod or technology. But since she now she uses technology, it proves that she adjusted and so can others. She also shows ethos when she wants her students to use their knowledge to make Wikipedia better, instead of just banning it like most teachers would do. Cathy shows ethos and logos when she talks about how students writing was significantly better when it was in their blog than a traditional term papers. I agree with Cathy when she asks the question "What if bad writing is a product of the dorm of writing required in school...?" I agree with this because when I am being forced to write an essay about a certain topic in a certain way, I just don't enjoy doing it and I get writers block a lot, which can create bad writing.