Module 1 Reflections

As  we move from an industrial based society to an information based society, the role of text and technology continues to metamorphosize. (I think I just invented a word). Simple perceptions of what comprises text are no longer valid. Postman refers to a principle of technological change: the collision of two world views—text and television (p.16). One can perceive a collision simply within the world of text as emerging technologies allow for the display of text in heretofore unimagined formats (hypertext, digital readers, sixth sense). Particularly in regards to education, bounded by a dependence upon traditional codex, the value of  “the unreal knowledge acquired through the written word” (Postman, p. 17) varies.

How important is handwriting in an age of electronic print  formats?( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32925695/ns/us_news-education/?GT1=43001 )

While Postman emphasizes the group learning, cooperation and social responsibility prominent in orality and contrasts this with the introspection and isolation of the printed word, the union of  emerging technologies with text have resulted in new print spaces with all the elements of oral communication: wikis, blogs, hypermedia formats, etc. As fellow classmates have mentioned, we are a post-print society adapting to new formats of text representation. How will this affect the value of knowledge and which formats of knowledge are valued?

References

Postman, N. (1992). Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. New York: Vintage Books.