We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T.S. Elliot
This T. S. Elliot poem brings forth thougths about reflection and connection. Text and technology, orality and remediation have been explored. Now we arrive where we started and know these terms, for the first time, with clarity and understanding.
Together we have been immersed into the world of text and technology. We explored primary orality, print and text, mechanization, the breakout of the visual, and multiliteracies. We explored Web 2.o tools that help remediate print.
Looking back and reflecting on our experiences helps us know these places ‘for the first time’.
I’ve chosen to go back to the initial exploration of ‘text’ as it was collectively defined at the onset of the course. By exploring the term ‘text’ created at the beginning of our journey we will come to know the term in new light. Let the wisdom of the crowd be revealed.
Each hyperlink is connected back to the blog post of the person who shared their wisdom. I chose not to include the names, as it interfered with the flow of the words. If you would like to reveal the names of contributors, you can scroll over each link, click on the hypertext link or re-read on my ETEC 540 blog.
TEXT – Redefined
Text is human expression, the covering skin of thought, created from symbols designed to represent. Text defines self and creates reality. Text is a representation of language, adaptable and evolving. Text is layered information (nesting dolls image), labels and organization.
Text is a tool that has personal meaning and cultural significance. How text is produced influences it’s content. Society is changed by text. Text produces feelings of power, powerlessness (Hallmark video) and a continuum of trust. Trusting text and the source of the textual communication is a concern for author and reader (Black Robe video clip).
Text is a compelling story (Parisian Love story; Goodnight Moon) or a song of significance that can change a world. Text can save lives (sign on Nevsky Prospekt), create mood through poetry (father’s poem; Jabberwocky), and unlock enigmas or secrets of the past (Rosetta Stone). Text can be even be an image (Flickr; Wikipedia). Text based dialogue (texting, blogging) is fluid and interactive. The value of the ability to unlock understanding is immeasurable. Text is produced because a writer “has something to say” (F. Scott Fitzgerald).
Final Thoughts
Throughout this course, each of us has had something to say. We’ve said it through methods, mediums, messages and stories that were not always easy, comfortable or understood. By saying them, our words shaped our meaning; our text represented our living thoughts and created a continuum of trust. I have experienced the fluid and interactive “voices”, tried to unlock the message, and felt the mood expressed by others. We have created a celebration of text because we each had ‘something to say’. Thanks for sharing the compelling stories from your personal and cultural realities.
