Idea Processors and the Birth of Hypertext
Entering into the “Idea Processors and the Birth of Hypertext” section of Module 4, my initial reaction was quite strongly against a statement on the ETEC 540 course webpage. On the webpage, Heim (Electric Language, 1987) is referenced for his observation “…that some scholars feel certain computer-based tools for writing and learning, such as word processors and “outliners”, are bringing us “closer to the perfectibility of the human species.” (Heim, 1987 as quoted by Dobson & Miller). While I whole-heartedly agree that technological advances including “computer-based tools for writing and learning” are expanding our ability to research on a broader scale, write and edit more quickly and efficiently, and share our ideas more easily, I do not buy-in to a notion of a “perfectibility” of our species due to technology, which I do believe some people are striving for. For one, I am a strong believer in celebrating the imperfectability of the human race and learning from our mistakes. I also believe that while technological advances are helping us develop and advance in many ways, they are also hampering our abilities in many ways as well. For example, socially, I believe we are struggling. While the younger generation is increasingly proficient when it comes to technological advances, there is the argument that today’s teenagers do not look up from their phones or other electronic devices long enough to enjoy the world around them. Others are feeling depressed due to the fact that on social media sites people tend to post about their ‘amazing’ lives, marriages, and so on. I believe we are becoming an idealizing society that sees others’ lives in fairy-tale terms and then feels disheartened about our own lives. In addition to this, the technological advances benefit a specific demographic initially and then filter down to the general public; if that general public is in a technologically developed area of the world, where there is, geographically, the ability to have access to an internet platform, and the people are living in households that are not in poverty. Many areas of the world still have very little to no access to the technology that we take for granted in middle-class households in many parts of North America.
One thing that struck me as I explored the readings for this section was how incredibly advanced Vannevar Bush’s research and ideologies were. I have been thinking often lately about how to teach my students, currently nine and ten year olds, so that they will be able to live successfully in the world they will live in as adults. Technology is developing so rapidly that I have difficulty imagining the society they will be working and living in fifteen years from now. I understand that our current systems of teaching ‘by the book’ are no longer effective, and I am happy to see our B.C. curriculum changing to accommodate new ways of approaching students to help them develop for the new world ahead of them, but I am unable to imagine what new jobs will be available for them. Obviously I have a grasp of what parts of society will look like, but the world is changing so rapidly, that I no longer feel secure in my understanding of the future. With that thought, I consider how Vannevar Bush must have felt at the time he was developing his ideas during a World War in a society where many of the technologies we take for granted had not even been invented yet. His ideas were so advanced that I wonder what his peers thought at the time. Obviously some took his ideas seriously, especially as time went by as he was quoted or referenced repeatedly in our other readings; however, how much resistance must he have come up against at the time from naysayers who could not imagine the ideas he was attempting to introduce? Ideas like “(t)he camera hound of the future wears on his forehead a lump a little larger than a walnut” and Bush’s following description of the camera’s operations must have seemed unimaginable to many at the time, but today simply brings to mind a GoPro worn by sports enthusiasts and as a helmet camera when travelling. Again, when Bush describes the working of the human mind and likens it to modern day search engines and hyperlinks, “(w)ith one item in its grasp, it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate web of trails carried by the cells of the brain” (Bush, 1945), I am again incredibly impressed by his innovative thinking. Bush’s concept that “(a) library of a million volumes could be compressed into one end of a desk.” (Bush, 1945) is one that even in 2001, when Bolter was looking back on Bush and referencing his work, was still not completely within reach as the general public could not yet access a completely electronic library. The groundwork was being laid as electronic card catalogues were being used; however, as Bolter points out, “(b)ecause the books themselves are still printed, the user must eventually leave the electronic world and set out on a physical journey among the stacks.” Fast forward fourteen years, and I catalogue search, sign-out, and read books electronically from home. Having said that, as Bolter points out, “Although we are likely to retain a broader variety of texts than ever before, texts that appeal to small or economically disadvantaged groups may still be neglected.” (Bolter, 2001), which leads us back to the idea that technological advances continue to benefit specific groups of people, or perhaps more accurately “neglect(s)” certain groups.
As we go forward in the future, I think it is incredibly important to work on preserving the past as well as less prominent and oral-based cultures. I think of the area I live in and the importance of First Nations education and culture. How will oral stories passed on by generations of elders fare as the digital age takes over? As technology races forward, we run the risk of losing stories and art of some cultural groups as we focus on innovations and the future.
Resources:
Bolter, J. D. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Maywah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from: http://www.livemargin.com/socialbook/client/reader.html#bookId=53501759e4b091bb4f80d3db&groupId=55df0140e4b0be3444bb928b&mode=group&chunk=3&offset=1
Bush, V. (1945). “As we may think”. The Atlantic Monthly. 176(1), 101-108. Retrieved 9 November, 2015 from: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/
Dobson, T. and Miller, J. (Course Authors). “Idea Processors and the Birth of Hypertext”. Retrieved November 8, 2015 from: https://connect.ubc.ca/webapps/blackboard/exe
Hi Mary:
I like the pun you used, “by the book”. Traditionally, our curriculum is taught by following the “book” or, rather, the textbook; and we teach with tradition and convention which is also regarded as “by the book”. Clever! One could also argue that we don’t use enough other media and that we rely heavily on printed text to get us through our courses. Another way we could be classified as teaching, “by the book”.
I was intrigued by Bush’s (1945) remarks and visions toward the massive task of making knowledge more accessible. It really does surprise me how spot on the foresight, intuition and predictions of some of these writers from the past are based on what technology available to us now. Bush predicted, in some form or another, hypertext, computers, the internet, online encyclopedias, and linking and collaborating within documents.
As you said, I personally have a hard time predicting what the future will be like for our learners. I don’t have the ability to forecast what the next evolution or revolution of science and technology. Perhaps focusing on developing critical thinking and analytical skills so that our learners are equipped to make optimal use of the technology available to them. Also, and as Bush (1945) hints at, we also need to be capable of accessing and using the information skillfully – avoiding what today we call information overload and possibly “FOMO” – fear of missing out.
My favorite quote from his work is, “[p]resumably man’s spirit should be elevated if he can better review his shady past and analyze more completely and objectively his present problems” (Bush, 1945, s. 6). Technology is changing, at an alarming rate. As an educator, I see my role as promoting skill development in order to accomplish this task of taking in information from past practices and applying it to the problem at hand in an efficient and effective way.
Bush, V. (1945). “As we may think”. The Atlantic Monthly. 176(1), 101-108. Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/