In every school I have worked at, I have come across one or two teachers who are adamant that the influx of new technologies will be the ultimate trigger to the demise of literacy. Complaints surround the heavy-handed use of voice-to-text functions, auto-correct, and open-source tools such as, Grammarly and Polish My Writing. Now, with the emoji craze burgeoning, this popular visual system of communication is claimed to be “the fastest growing form of language in history” (Vyv Evans, n.d.). So what does this mean? Are we evolving backwards? Can we go as far to compare this trend to the eclipsed period of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics?
If Kress (2005) was to share his opinion on emojis as a potential form of secondary writing, he would likely reject this prospect and argue that it would be simply too difficult to decipher. While picture writing promises immediacy, Kress (2005) argues that they “lack narrative power.” “Each [picture] element means too much rather than too little (Bolter, 2000, p. 6).
He does not, however, discredit the use of image representation in the form of pictures. He describes pictures as depictions that are far more “meaningful” and “specific” in comparison to words (p. 16). Words are “vague, general, nearly empty of meaning” and require a “fixed order of syntax, line, page [and] text” in order to be comprehensible (p. 16).
Kress (2005) posits in his article that there is resistance surrounding the replacement of books with image dominated mediums. This does not come as a surprise as the book has long been touted the most dominant and culturally valued form of representation for thousands of years. Yet Bolter (2000) claims that hypermedia in the form of photography, cinema and television has been challenging print for centuries already. Other forms of visual culture that have and continue to evolve throughout these years are magazines, advertising and websites. It seems though that the remediation of print slows to a standstill within schools. More specifically, textbooks are still relatively laden with traditional print and the occasional sprinkling of diagrams. Even with the transition into e-books, we see a number of markers that reflect the traditional book. For instance, the linearity of print, the use of bookmarks, table of contents, and ‘pages’ have simply been transferred onto this digital print medium.
While remediation for print is slow, there have been some changes. As Bolter (2000) states, print continues to “remake itself in order to maintain its claim to represent reality as effectively as digital and other visual technologies (p. 29). With the new developments in our school district’s Core and Curricular Competencies, companies such as Nelson Science have revamped their textbooks to provide more opportunities for inquiry and projects in Applied Design, Skills and Technology. The print textbooks have reduced amount of text and multiple entry points into the content. The varying topics and texts do not compete for the reader’s attention as they are demarcated into colorful yet clean boxes. Could we go as far to say that these changes are essentially a “snapshot of a World Wide Web page” (Bolter, 2000, p. 30)? In comparison to its online version, it still lacks many of the perks that hypermedia offers. The online version contains a supplemental audio read-through of the text and access to an interactive science skills toolkit. Could these additional affordances bypass prose altogether? It may only be a matter of time before we can answer this with the slow, but sure transformation of print.
Bolter, J. D. (2000). Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print. Mahwah, N.J.: Routledge.
Doble, A. (2015, May 19). UK’s fastest growing language is… emoji. Retrieved July 30, 2018, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/32793732/uks-fastest-growing-language-is-emoji
Kress, G. (2005). Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learning doi:https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1016/j.compcom.2004.12.004
Carri-Ann Scott
August 3, 2018 — 7:01 am
Hi, Kim.
In one of my other courses, we were recently having a discussion about how education is a slow to move, change and adapt industry. Yet we, as educators, strive to be on the cutting edge, to adapt and adopt the best methodologies, pedagogies, and technologies for our students.
I don’t think that we are evolving backwards when we are beginning to add images back into our textual context. Rather we are adapting and adopting techniques and tools to enhance current communication methods.
Particularly in the age of electronic communication, emotion and meaning can be lost in the message. The adding of graphic elements to relay intentions seeks to solve that issue.
What I find interesting is that one of the biggest reasons for this shift and adaptation is that we are losing the ability or affintiy for personal interaction. My grandchildren, all in their 20’s, would rather send me a text message filled with emoticons than talk in real time via the same device. I find it funny that we can be going back and forth via text message for 20 minutes or more when a quick, 5-minute phone call could have served the purpose more easily.
Another consideration is the growing informality of society. Digital writing is often less formal that that of days gone by (Bolter, 2000). As we change the tone of our writing, the acceptance of graphical elements to continue to personalize the message becomes more acceptable.
So, looking back to your post, what does this mean for print as a medium? I can see the future going in one of two ways.
First, items that are printed will be deemed more important that the electronic versions. This is in alignment with what I see today. Authors want to hold a book in their hands. It has meaning and value that an eBook or self-publication does not. In this case, we will always have books and, perhaps, their importance will harken back to the days were printed books were expensive and meaningful.
Second, the printed word will go the way of the Dodo. With everyone in society holding an eReader, will the contents of the WWW and the vast knowledge of humankind at their fingertips, there is no need for archaic paper. Besides, the trees they used to make paper from died out years ago from global warming, and we couldn’t take too many of the archaic texts with us to the new Mars colony due to wieght restrictions.
Depending on the headlines of the day, both scenarios seem likely. 🙁
References:
Bolter, J. D. (2000). Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print. Mahwah, N.J.: Routledge.
david nelson
August 9, 2018 — 8:34 am
Hey Kim,
I really enjoyed reading your post! Made me think about the future. After thinking about the state e-readers, I cannot seem to understand the benefit of them other than the fact that they can store a lot of information in a small portable device. As you have said, there are so many more interactive digital technologies that can offer so much more. After attending the summer institute on VR I wonder if these e-readers will skip the education field and augmented reality textbooks will take over. We were lucky enough to witness augmented reality in action when we used Microsoft’s HoloLens. We examined the human heart within augmented reality and were able to cut pieces as well as look within the brain using a digital 3d model. However, this does not begin to talk about how digital texts are remediating printed text. It almost seems like printed text is making an evolution to the next stage, which includes an element of electronic devices. The article below outlines this technology.
https://www.emergingedtech.com/2017/11/new-electronic-text-augmented-reality-textbook/
As you can see this is technology that has a lot to offer and does not require any fancy headsets. With a simple phone or tablet, a student would be able to immerse themselves in a topic with interactive models, games, and content. I believe that this is the future of text and that e-readers and digital text will not replace printed text until digital can offer something that goes above and beyond what printed text can already provide.