Category Archives: Commentary 1

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A Critique of Postman’s View of Technology and Schooling

In his book Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, Postman cautions against what he views as a prevailing movement towards a society where technology is increasingly in control of humanity (1992). He describes a world where technology is widely … Continue reading

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Literacy and Orality: Preserving endangered oral languages with literacy

In the book Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong (1982), the author describes how languages have evolved from an oral form to a written or literate form. He not only describes the origin of oral languages and the transitions to … Continue reading

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Commentary #1 — The Judgment of Thamus

Introduction In his book “ Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology”, Neil Postman presents Plato’s legend of the wise king Thamus’ response to the invention of writing as an instructive lesson in how societies should think about living in … Continue reading

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Commentary #1: Module 2 Kim Melvin

During the readings of Module 2: From Orality to Literacy there were many times Ong challenged my previous thinking and presented ideas that I had never contemplated. I have previously classified myself as a reluctant writer. I find the writing … Continue reading

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Commentary 1: From Orality to Literacy: From Whence We Came

The relics of a purely oral culture are evident in today’s world in a myriad of ways. Yet is not until reading Walter Ong’s book, Orality and Literacy, that it is possible to recognize the vestiges of an oral culture … Continue reading

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Commentary #1 – Orality and Literacy, Chapter 4: Writing Restructures Consciousness

It is quite likely that Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy (1982) has a broad readership among a multitude of disciplines including linguists, educators, historians, philosophers, and so forth.  My own background in psychology afforded me a cognitive and neuropsychological lens … Continue reading

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Commentary #1 The Virtual Library, dream or reality?

                                      Internet users in the modern Library of Alexandria “The “virtual library” is a dream that many share, something many have imagined … Continue reading

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Neil Postman’s Technological Determinism

Postman (1992) uses an excerpt from Plato’s Phaedrus in which Thamus, a king of a great city of Upper Egypt, criticises Theuth’s invention of writing, as a starting point for his discussion on the influence of technology on society in … Continue reading

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Oral Qualities in Mark Antony’s Speech

Shakespeare clearly understands the power of the spoken word.  In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony’s famous rhetorical speech at the funeral includes several specifically oral qualities that contribute to his power of persuasion.  An “orally attuned audience,” such as would have … Continue reading

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Commentary #1- Role of technology in informing and transforming culture

The rapid development of digital technologies and their impact not only on language and literacy issues but on our society in general, prompt us to examine and question the implications of such development in our lives and on our role … Continue reading

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Commentary 1: Technopoly Today

In Postman’s (1992) Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, the argument of whether technology makes people “cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful” is addressed. The need for educators to scrutinize their technology use is very important as … Continue reading

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The Technology of Text and Writing

Speech echoes within the self, and is based on immediate thoughts, built upon interior structures and resonating in the present moment of dynamic sound.  Yet, in order to move beyond the “now” and the limitations of immediacy within a limited … Continue reading

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Ong’s Chapter 4 – Writing restructures consciousness

Do people who originate and develop in a solely oral culture ever reach the quality of thought that is achieved by those who originate and develop with writing in a literate culture? Walter J Ong, in his book Orality and … Continue reading

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Danielle’s Ong Commentary

I have chosen to write a commentary on Ong’s (1982) fourth chapter entitled Writing Restructures Consciousness because I am finding the history of writing fascinating and I wanted to explore the questions surrounding the human motivation to write as well … Continue reading

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Writing as a technology

The introduction of new technologies within a society often results in a critique of how such innovations will affect human consciousness.  Plato argues how the technology of writing influences one’s memory, does not represent reality, and ultimately weakens the mind.  … Continue reading

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Commentary on Kevin Kelly’s “Scan this Book”

I chose to do a commentary on Kevin Kelly’s article entitled, “Scan This Book” in which he addresses the implications of Google’s plan to digitize all of the world’s books and house them in one searchable database. In the past, … Continue reading

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Commentary on Neil Postman’s Technopoly

In Postman’s Technopoly, he talks about the dangers of technology.  He talks about how while it may initially bring us convenience and efficiency, it also has the potential to bring many burdens with it.  He states that his “…defense is … Continue reading

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Where literacy and technological determinism collide

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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Commentary 1: Technology Second

In James O’Donnell’s The Virtual Library: An Idea Whose Time has Passed O’Donnell brings up the idea that the most powerful way to use computers is not to find problems that computers can solve, but rather to look for a … Continue reading

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Commentary 1: Developmental Theory and Cultural Literacies

A child is born into the world without any understanding of oral or written literacy.  Much like literate cultures can trace their understandings back to an oral tradition, children are not naturally predisposed to the ability to read or write.  … Continue reading

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