New Literacy and Public Writing

With the current "technology age" we live in, it is very common for the youngest of kids to be astonishingy tech-savvy. For example, over spring break I saw my four year old cousin successfully operate an ipad on his own to play angry birds or something like that. As teachers,  we need to be aware of the world of technology and how it effects our students. Even right now, who would have thought that we would be doing homework via blogging? We need to be aware of the many options out there to make learning fun for students. One thing I really noticed in my field experience was how excited students got when the teacher would use the smart board. It almost seemed like these students would only choose to participate and interact with the material if some form of technology was used. One thing I thought was interesting from the chapter was that students always say they want to "read books on paper" but there is a decline in the amounts of reading on paper for adolescents. I find myself saying that frequently, but I actually do prefer to read things on paper. I always print articles from the internet out rather than read them on the screen. I wonder if print-based texts will be extinct in the not so distant future, but it is understandable that with the growing age of technology there would be expectations for students to be techno-literate for their future careers.
Writing I feel is one thing that will never change. Whether you're hand writing or typing, people will always write. I really agree with the textbook here when they talk about how the "wow" factor that comes out of a students' writing. Even when I edit my friends' papers I experience that feeling where you can't believe that guy wrote something so well. I think the classroom factors are important for kids to write that includes providing some kind of choice, time to write in class, and response to the writing. I love writing, but don't like when I am forced to write on a specific topic. Taking time in class is important as well because it allows students to stay focused on the material, and not drift off to looking at facebook or staring off into space. Response is important as well because students need to be reaffirmed with their writing or else they could give up. I did not really realize what "good models" for writing would be. I expected them to say classic works of literature or reading a "great" textbook (as I have heard from many teachers). I did not expect the authors to consider good models being  public articles like Time or Newsweek. I thought that was very surprising.