Link: https://www.mystorybook.com/books/1189963/
In this speculative future, I chose to write about a future with Voice-to-Text devices becoming more popularized and more complexed. The device which I named, DictateZ, allows people to communicate in any language and the Device can project the sounds through a necklace that the other person is wearing in which the CloudPod earphones would capture and play into the persons ear. The Device can also wirelessly connect to a computer, displaying the spoken language in both the person’s home language and English onto paper. This idea came from the importance of writing as a source or remembering spoken words (Gnanadesikan, 2011). To not only remember the words, but also retain the language and culture, I thought that including the written aspect was important. As language can shape ones thinking (Boroditsky, 2011) and culture can affect the way that someone experiences something (Dobson & Willinsky, 2009; The New London Group, 1996), I found it also important to allow for the listener to communicate and listen to their peers in both the language they are more comfortable with. This may contribute to more critical thinking and understanding of content in school, but also in conversation with peers. I also wanted to make sure that the device was similar to codex, in that, it is compact and easy to carry around and use daily (Clement, 1997).
Although socioeconomic class and access was not a focus in this course, I do find today, to be swift in technology or own a computer that allows for the different functions is closely linked to socioeconomic background and access. Thus, I wanted to demonstrate that today and even in the future, access due to poverty or financial restraints can create barriers and gaps in learning and also between people. I want to question, how might lack of access to technology affect the person in a technologically paced world?
References:
Boroditsky, L. (2011). How language shapes thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62-65.
Clement, R. W. (1997). “Medieval and Renaissance book production (Links to an external site.)“. Library Faculty & Staff Publications. Paper 10. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/10
Dobson, T. & Willinsky, J. (2009). Digital literacy. Retrieved from https://pkp.sfu.ca/files/Digital%20Literacy.pdf
Gnanadesikan, A. E. (2011).“The First IT Revolution.” In The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet (Vol. 25). John Wiley & Sons (pp. 1-10).
The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. (Links to an external site.) Harvard Educational Review 66(1), 60-92.