Loss and gain: Communication in the twentieth century technological world.
In the midst of the Technology Revolution it is important to look back and examine the changes in context of the times. When change is the constant, it is imperative to recognize the inventions and the opportunities they have created before they eventually become obsolete. Winston Churchill writes, “history is written by the victors” (Winston Churchill Quotes – BrainyQuote, 2001). Through words he, illustrates that in the past individuals in roles of power have been granted the authority to recount truths – a fact that is now changing. It is important to learn from our past in order to create a more meaningful path to our future. The shift in authorship and the ability to recount, publish and access facts about information communication technology (ICT) has afforded us the ability to account for more accurate truths. From typewriters to smart phones, the monumental advancements of ICT are abundant and in high demand. There are many educational, cultural and social considerations to keep in mind as we move forward in this time of change. James O’Donnell and James Engell (1999) discuss implications of technological advancements in twentieth century education, communication and societal changes. In their one-hour broadcast, “From Papyrus to Cyberspace,” O’Donnell and Engell (1999) outline our relationship with new technologies and the loss and gain associated to the change.
In “From Papyrus to Cyberspace”, O’Donnell and Engell (1999) discuss the relationship of loss and gain in relation to text and technology. Specifically, O’Donnell states that technology is a new frontier to be explored with endless possibility, similar to what we have seen in the past. O’Donnell works to tame the anxiety by eloquently drawing on comparisons from past technological advancements to our more current ICT. O’Donnell and Engell (1999) suggest a shift in the power dynamic as individuals’ ability to access and to influence information has changed. Described as a democratization, O’Donnell and Engell (1999) view the influence of a technological present and future as having a shift in power from the authorship, publication and personal accounts of information, no longer documenting history in the words of the victor as Churchill once thought.
O’Donnell states that it is imperative in this time of change to avoid extremist thought and language and rather examine ones’ own personal interest, goals and values to find ones’ place within the technological age. The radio broadcast presents the message to not be fearful of the future of technological change, but rather to embrace and understand ones’ own role within that particular confine; to avoid language of doom versus utopia and to understand the loss and gain within any given advancement.
Loss and gain are key components to any advancement in our history. O’Donnell and Engell (1999) describe this ebb and flow with examples of many different technologies from the past to the present day, through description of forums to discuss specific topics. This proved to provide a gain for individuals being able to connect on specific issues at a specific time, however removed the immediacy of creating face-to-face connections with those around us. This alters the way interactions take place, much like author Marshall McLuhan describes in saying, “the medium is the message” (1967, pg.1). A book written in a different time yet still has a powerful message to share as it discusses the changes in communication through advancing technologies and its effects on individuals and society, similar to the changes O’Donnell and Engell describe. Even with a significant time difference between the two publications, the message remains consistent and furthers O’Donnell and Engell’s statements about the advancements in technology being nothing new and the changes in communication practices.
The advancements in ICT are echoed within all facets of our lives. As such, educational practices must shift to include a functional bilingualism in the language of ICT. With the access to ICT at home and within the community, education has taken a backwards model to help guide and educate students and parents alike on the safety and etiquette in online communities (Ranguelov, 2010). The Technological Revolution in the twenty-first century is redefining what we know and the ways in which we communicate information and create community. With such vast changes in our world, it is challenging to assess, as O’Donnell and Engell (1999) discuss, the loss that we will be experiencing due to the advancements of technology. Their message is clear, without the knowledge of the exact exchange of the cost-benefit relationship, it is critical that we assess our position within this community and move forward with integrity.
References
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media | The MIT Press. Retrieved May 19, 2015, from http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/mcluhan.mediummessage.pdf
Ranguelov, S. (2010). Summary Report Education on Online Safety in Schools in Europe. New Horizons In Education, 58(3), 149-163.
Winston Churchill Quotes – BrainyQuote. (2001). Retrieved May 17, 2015, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/winston_churchill.html
Hi Laura!
“There are many educational, cultural and social considerations to keep in mind as we move forward in this time of change. James O’Donnell and James Engell (1999) discuss implications of technological advancements in twentieth century education, communication and societal changes. In their one-hour broadcast, “From Papyrus to Cyberspace,” O’Donnell and Engell (1999) outline our relationship with new technologies and the loss and gain associated to the change.”
Just a small comment on this quote… actually it is more of a follow up: have you seen the “Txtng is killing language. JK!!!” ted talk? I think it is very good to illustrate the gain/loss debate. Have a look!
Best,
Thank you Ernesto for the TED presentation, it is good to know that there are people spinning around the same issue as part of this everlasting debate. In the olden days, it was taken a longer time to recognize the development of the language within the same generation period. However, recently, we may find that the changes are happening faster than before. All of this due to the contemporary technology that is transforming our society with all its communication tools like, texting and language, into another form. According to Crystall (2008), texting was introduced as a mean of commercial language for advertisement and then developed to what we have today. For a matter of fact, texting can be received as the language of young people; however, it has been developed to become their reformed language and their unique identity. In my opinion, when we look at the communication tools like texting today, we should consider the fast pattern in our life and its reflective evidence on any aspects including the language. Besides, people find ways to accommodate and employ simplicity in communicating as a reflection and expansion of their digital life. The abbreviations being used have the same manifestations as in old centuries before. According to McNabb (2014), “abbreviations are so common in medieval Latin manuscripts that there’s an entire database devoted to them”. For that reason, we should adapt to this new language and try to learn; because, it is rooted as part of the normal development of languages and communication patterns.
Bassam
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2008). Texting. ELT Journal, 62(1), 77-83.
http://www.salon.com/2014/08/03/the_truth_about_internet_slang_it_goes_way_back/
I like the TED talk Ernesto! It is so true that written language and speech are not the same, so why should we stress so much about texting! I always have to tell my students, even in grade 2, that we do not write in the same way we speak. Writing is more formal. So, we may just need to add that texting is also not how we write. Texting to me is a product of a fast-moving, multi-tasking generation. It is not meant to be formal, but just a quick way to get a message to someone. Thanks for sharing the talk! Got me thinking tonight! 🙂
Hi Jennifer and Bassam;
So is there an Oxford Dictionary of Texting available online for those who are new to the language? Or an alternative?
Terry
What a great TEDTalk Ernesto! Thank you for sharing it. I found it quite interesting to be presented the perspective of texting from an individual who studies language. I have to admit, because I’ve grown up texting I have never thought too much about the implication or development that it has on the written language and truly the way that texting plays with language in a way to help write our speech. To tie the ideas of the TEDTalk back to the broadcast, John McWhorter and O’Donnell alike point out that the move towards ICT and texting is similar to what we have seen in the past with the changing of language, playing on that same new frontier angle. McWhorter extends that texting is in fact a “linguistic miracle” allowing individuals to textualize their oral language and practice (McWhorter, 2013).
Looking at Ong’s chapter examining oral cultures, I found it quite interesting to come back and watch this presentation and its emphasis on the “fingered speech” as McWhorter describes texting as our ability to write what we speak (McWhorter, 2013). Peaking my curiosity, I looked up the definition of texting in the OED. The definition presented actually disappointed me after watching this engaging Ted Talk as I found it over simplifies the complexity and purpose of texting. Defined as, “the action or practice of sending text messages from one mobile phone to another,” this definition only addresses the action of sending a message rather than explaining the purpose of the action (“texting, n.”).
Terry thanks for suggesting looking up this definition! Does anyone have any suggestions on how we could add to this definition to make it reflect the practice better? Do you think that it would be most effective to do it in written text or is the definition as is enough as you need to experience it in order to understand the action? It reminds me of Ong’s example of an illiterate individual who was asked to define a car and concluded in the end that, “when you get right down to it, I’d say: ‘If you get in a car and go for a drive, you’ll find out'” placing importance on the actual experience (Ong, 2002, 53).
References
McWhorter, John (2013). John McWhorther: Txtng is killing language. JK!!! [Video file]. Retrieved from
Ong, W. J. (2002). Orality and Literacy. London: Routledge.
“texting, n.”. OED Online. March 2015. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/256013?redirectedFrom=texting (accessed May 31, 2015).
Hi Laura et al.
You are right that is the wimpiest definition. Am I old school or is the proper way to define a word not to use the same word in the definition? I went digging and found these…
• The part of a message that conveys information, excluding bits or characters needed to facilitate transmission of the message. From AccessScience (online McGraw Hill)
and texting defined in Gale Virtual Reference Library
Keeline, K. (2013). Texting. In T. Riggs (Ed.), St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 95-96). Detroit: St. James Press. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2735802703&v=2.1&u=kelo91364&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
Terry
Great post Laura and great TED talk link Ernesto! It is definitely fascinating how our language is developing over time and how the technologies around us is affecting these changes.
Laura – I think you’re right that the definition of texting needs to be expanded to more than just the act of using a cell phone to send a message to the idea of it being “fingered speech”.
I really like how McWhorter talks about texting being part of the expansion of our linguistic skills. Just like being bilingual, except this time we’re developing new structures for a new type of speech, which may still be the same language.
I remember being shocked when my parents picked up texting so easily! They were lol-ing and brb and btw-ing more than me and I couldn’t believe how quickly they absorbed this new language! My students were born with this knowledge!
It really makes me wonder – Should texting become a new literacy skill – examined under oral speech? It would be incredible to have students write stories based entirely around texts!
That’s a great idea Sarah! Looking at texting from a oral literacy component of curriculum. With texting expanding and infiltrating our work and personal lives, I think that it is important to be coached and learn the ‘how to’s’ as a skill. I think that this would help to scaffold and make students more aware of texting as a means of communication. I think that it can often be done in very simplistic ways where it is lose and individuals just comment/communicate as they please. I would find it really interesting to see what students come up with to convey meaning through texting in a school type setting. Because we are learning with students, and for the most part – students are more familiar with this, it would be interesting to see the form the project would end up taking.
When all is said and done, I think that the idea that it is the way we speak is really cool. I do think that some scaffolding/awareness needs to be brought to the students. Students are (for me at least – teaching grade 7) children, and need to have a clear understanding that the information shared in texting is great however it can be viewed by many people and information needs to be somewhat censored.
Definitely Laura! Great points! I was talking to my friends Mom the other day about this and how texting is speech, and she mentioned how similar texting is to talking to someone. She said something along the same lines as “It’s as though they are in your house and you ask them a question – you expect them to answer as soon as they “see/hear” the question/comment”. This surprised me, because I rarely answer texts immediately – in fact sometimes I try explicitly not to, because it isn’t a good moment, or I don’t want to get into a conversation with that person at that time!
This came up in a staff meeting recently because we have students who are texting their parents during the school day. The funny part is, it’s not usually the child’s fault – usually it’s the parents who send the text – mid-class! our students are expected to have their phones on silent and only out if they’re being used, but I would have trouble not responding to my mom – imagine a child in grade 8!
It’s so common that parents contact their kids during the school day on the mobile devise rather than through the school office. My class has a rule where if their phone rings or they receive a text message during class (and someone else in the class notices) they have to bring cookies for the whole class the next day. I make parents aware of this rule right at the beginning of the school year. Students love this because it keeps them accountable but more so they like to catch other people using their devices so that they get cookies the next day. I wonder if that would work in a secondary school setting.