Prof. Vicki J. Sapp holds a Ph.D. in English and has taught on the college/university and high school (dual credit and special initiatives) levels for four decades. She has taught over forty different English courses embracing composition, history and structure of language, literature, creative writing, developmental reading and writing, and more. Her special interests include curriculum design and pedagogy, multi-literacies, and the impact of digital life on her students’ learning and mental health.

Prof. Sapp's first motivation to write "Paradigm Lost: Learning and Literacy in the Digital Divide" comes from her perception that like herself, her colleagues were struggling, confused and overwhelmed by the changes in education attributable...

Prof. Sapp's first motivation to write "Paradigm Lost: Learning and Literacy in the Digital Divide" comes from her perception that like herself, her colleagues were struggling, confused and overwhelmed by the changes in education attributable to the tech takeover. Here, she analyzes the challenges and promises that digital technology presents, aiding yet obstructing real learning. Along the way, drawing from both print and digital contexts, she gives concrete examples of ways to wake students up to the value of critical reading and writing.

Technology enhances our ability to work with information inside and beyond the classroom, but at the same time, technology can block us from developing certain subtle yet profound and essential human capacities. This book examines techniques teachers and professors are using to to meet the needs of the new academic culture where the medium is now the principal message. As Prof. Sapp observes,

The mass access, saturation and speed available through technology can reach, engage and inform more students than ever previously imagined—but at the potential cost of not only sacrificing intellectual rigor but also redefining education as instrument of capitalist indoctrination, antithetical to the humanist devotion to skepticism and critical analysis.

Part of the book’s title reflects Milton’s famous epic of Satan’s war against God and mankind. While print literacy might not have been a “paradise,” it is a paradigm that we have lost as new digital applications, literacies and values are required by ever-changing technology.

Dr. Sapp draws heavily from her own authority of experience “crossing the divide”; she brings in scholarship, literature review, literary analysis, her students’ perspectives and even fiction to cover the layers and argument angles of this major paradigm shift.

Those who cannot forgive the author for the chapter attacking Ted Talks might yet elsewhere in the book find appeal to their experience, ideas and concerns about the new digital literacy and culture. Her chapter “Tea with a Demon” delves (to use Chat’s #1 word) into AI’s and ChatGPT’s assault on education as we have previously practiced it; instructors’ epic battle against the demon-bot’s conquest of their classrooms is surely worthy of, if not quite a Milton, at least a chronicler and champion.

Prof. Sapp notes, "I am especially attracted to Heidegger’s most careful definition of what “technology” actually is, fundamentally. Not the latest invention by Apple or the latest online Cengage lab--not a TED talk, YouTube or TikTok, or Google or ChatGPT or whatever is the latest commodity fad. 'Technology is a means to an end…[and] a human activity. These two definitions of technology belong together. For to posit ends and procure and utilize them is a human activity.' For Heidegger, technology is a means for humans to draw from what he calls the 'standing-reserve' of “world” and to shape, 'unlock, transform, store and distribute' the standing-reserve of phenomena.

 

In addition to a thoughtful consideration of the value of traditional literature, the literacy needed to appreciate it, and the ways such skills are being eroded, Prof. Sapp provides practical suggestions, describing several classroom techniques she has found to work well, engaging students and navigating the challenges posed by the digital age.

She suggests ways to address the thorny issue of using smartphones during class or keeping them put away, seeking solutions that respect...

In addition to a thoughtful consideration of the value of traditional literature, the literacy needed to appreciate it, and the ways such skills are being eroded, Prof. Sapp provides practical suggestions, describing several classroom techniques she has found to work well, engaging students and navigating the challenges posed by the digital age.

She suggests ways to address the thorny issue of using smartphones during class or keeping them put away, seeking solutions that respect students’ autonomy and promote a better class experience; incorporating technology in a fun way; and encouraging collaboration and the use of multimedia elements to tackle big projects. The author emphasizes the importance of guiding students patiently through classic writings, recognizing that these complex works are timeless and worthy of study. Her recommendations reflect a blend of traditional and digital pedagogies, aiming to create a constructive learning environment while addressing the challenges of digital distractions and varying levels of digital literacy among students.