Author Archives: David Symonds

Reflections on the journey

Posted on November 30, 2011 by David Symonds

In the first two modules of our course, we used Walter Ong’s 1981 text Orality and Literacy as a catalyst for discussion. It initiated a significant shift in my way of thinking about literacy, not as simply the ability to … Continue reading →

Posted in Making Connections, Reflections | 2 Comments

Purposefully transferring the power of Web 2.0 to the classroom

Posted on November 25, 2011 by David Symonds

Introduction The World Wide Web has been transformed over the past two decades from an emergent environment mimicking print-based non-digital predecessors, to a living, breathing, evolving global community in which the distinction between author and audience is progressively less and … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary 3, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Posted on November 21, 2011 by David Symonds

For most of this week, I’ve been going off-script to re-familiarize myself with many of the tools I’ve used during my MET experience, including Prezi, Google Sites, Toondoo, Animoto, and xtranormal, but I’ve also managed to explore a number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Rip.Mix.Feed. | 1 Comment

Dealing with (digital) reality: A pedagogy to meet the changing literacy needs of our students

Posted on November 13, 2011 by David Symonds

Introduction & Background Rapidly advancing communications technologies including email, online discussion forums, instant messaging, and text messaging along with mixed-mode and graphically-based information presentation strategies call for a re-examination of the traditional concept of literacy and careful consideration of how … Continue reading →

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Personal books, individual thought: The broad impact of Gutenberg’s printing press

Posted on October 27, 2011 by David Symonds

Of the many inventions in human history, printing press in the mid-fifteenth century has had perhaps the most substantial impact on human technological progress and those whose luck it was to be born in the centuries since its invention. Gutenberg’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Research Paper | 2 Comments

Where literacy and technological determinism collide

Posted on October 1, 2011 by David Symonds

The steady upward climb of humanity from the rustic simplicity of prehistoric times towards the modern digital age has been long and arduous; fraught with peril and upheaval, power shifts and cultural extinctions, and an ever-increasing rate of technological innovation. … Continue reading →

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Technology is everything

Posted on September 18, 2011 by David Symonds

In my search for clarification about the meaning of the word “technology”, I came across this quote from Max Frisch: “Technology … the knack of so arranging the world that we don’t have to experience it.” This quote struck me … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nailing it down with text

Posted on September 18, 2011 by David Symonds

I’ve been having mind-popping revelations as I read through the Ong (1982) text, but to focus on one particular statement, “Chirographic and typographic folk tend to think of names as labels, written or printed tags imaginatively affixed to an object … Continue reading →

Posted in Text | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dave Symonds

Posted on September 7, 2011 by David Symonds

This is a photo posted by a flickr user of an English website translated into Korean using Google translate. I chose this image because I think the instantaneous translation of texts and languages into other texts and languages constitutes a … Continue reading →

Posted in Introductions | 2 Comments