Professionalizing the amateur

Social media, the “Myth of the digital native,” and the graduate assistant in the composition classroom

Abstract

Currently, higher education is confronting the “myth of the digital
native,” a term we coined in a previously published article to describe
instructors’ overestimation of student digital literacy. These expectations,
coupled with job market considerations, affect graduate instructors and
undergraduate students. Writing program administrators are uniquely placed to
intervene productively in this arena in order to create marketable courses, digital
portfolios, and to maximize the research experience for both parties. It is argued
that proper guidance of such instructors is accomplished by triangulation. The
administrative, experiential, pedagogical, and representative significance of
social media are integrated via face-to-face meetings and online resources. There
are strong pedagogical and practical justifications for incorporating social media
into the curriculum of composition courses.