Frontiers
One of the underlining points that stood out for me was the notion of frontiers. It is fascinating sitting here nearly 20 years later listening to O’Donnell speak of these frontiers as massive technological movements that change civilizations. While there are many truths to what he predicts, I think he understated the immense speed of technological development today. I grew up in the early 90’s, so the only online technology I initially interacted with was simple dial-up Internet. It was not until when stronger internet connection and mobile devices became the norm, I started to take notice of our changing culture. I believe this was the first technological frontier I had encountered.
However, with increasingly rapid adoption of new technologies, especially within the mobile communication sector, I believe we are almost becoming numb to these frontiers. These changes are becoming less noticeable to new eyes; no longer do people view them as the “wild, wild west”, but rather as just another ebb and flow of the technology wave. As a teacher, I get front row seats when it comes to watching technological trends grow and die. My students are constantly riding these waves. One day, it is Twitter dominating their means of communication and the next day it is Snap Chat.
Doom and utopia
Dr. O’Donnell posits that when new technology encroaches upon us, it rarely leaves us within a simple state of doom or utopia; more often, it leaves behind a “muddled set of choices to be made.” How can we navigate around these changes without compromising our values? What implicit risks are we willing to take on? And do these benefits sufficiently outweigh these risks? As an educator, these questions leave me pondering about the safety and privacy of the technology our students interact with every day. I do not believe our school system is keeping pace with the speed in which technology is changing in cyberspace. We are only just beginning to learn about the pervasiveness of social media and mobile devices and the negative consequences that linger. At the same time, mobile devices allow for easier access to information, a chance to build community between students and teachers and a greater platform to share and learn from one another. What actions can we take without jeopardizing these benefits? It is a fine balance.
Dissemination of Trash
The Internet has opened up infinite opportunities for content sharing. At the same time, however, Dr. O’Donnell raises a critical point about how the ease and accessibility of information can potentially hinder intellectual development if one is credulous enough to believe and utilize everything they read online. His apt prediction reflects our current hot topic: fake news. This phenomena is often associated with the presidential election of 2016, but it goes beyond the political sphere and these hoaxes reach all aspects of our news today. Luckily people are becoming increasingly wary of the information that they read online, but the argument still rumbles on about whose duty it is to combat fake news. Facebook has taken steps to limit hoax articles, but still we cannot deny that there will always be people susceptible to what O’Donnell calls the “dissemination of trash.” There is no better time than now for media literacy skills to be taught to our students as they come into contact with this on a daily basis.
Sources
Engell J. & O’Donnell J. (1999). From Papyrus to Cyberspace. [Audio File]. Cambridge Forums.
Kim
Stephen Campbell
May 27, 2018 — 5:32 pm
Great post. The topic of critical reading of Internet sources is certainly important and time-relevant. As the ‘digital age’ has moved forward with such rapidity, we haven’t had time to critically analyze and reflect on changes in how we communicate. The changes from primary oral cultures to primary writing cultures as described by Walter Ong (2015), had centuries of adaptation that seemed ice ages compared to our current rate of integration of new technologies.
I absolutely agree that since our students are using mobile devices to look up information, regardless of whether we assign it or not, it is a responsibility of the education system to prepare students to analyze that information critically.
But are our education systems up to the task? A common view of public school education institutions is that they are ponderous and that system-wide change is excruciatingly slow. With the technology of accessing wide swaths of information being so nimble and agile, it seems that it is unlikely that our existing public educational institutions can adapt quickly enough to online culture.
Perhaps there will be a point when the digital technology reaches a stability point, where the technology has reached the zenith of its accomplishments and has few advancements to make. At that point our public education institutions might have a chance to catch up.
Maybe the advancements will continue at a rapid pace for years more, challenging our societies to bring public education to become a useful entity. I could imagine a day when certain websites will pursue government-regulated quality control requirements to garner public trust in their content.
I believe that thoughtfulness and reflection will help guide and create a more socially responsible technological landscape.
Steve Campbell
References
Ong, W. J. (2015). Orality and Literacy: The technologizing of the Word, (30th Anniversary Ed.). London;New York;: Routedge.