I also used the "Cyberspace and Identity" chapter. Students were eager to discuss certain aspects of technology and identity - instant messaging and literacy, how e-mail makes them feel like their bosses and teachers can invade their private space at all hours, etc. But aside from that, students had quite a bit of difficulty adopting a critical stance when talking about Internet technologies. My guess is (as I wrote in my entry) that their lives are so intertwined with technology that, especially as first-year students, they have difficulty establishing enough distance between themselves and the "thing" to be able to critique it. Or, perhaps they are simply unwilling to do so.

Like you, I also saw the technology autobiography as a stepping stone toward students being able to critique the systems of which they are part, but perhaps unaware. And even though I haven't used the "What's Happening at the Mall" chapter, I lovelovelovelovelove your idea of a consumer autobiography!

See you in a few hours,

--Erin