One of the main premises of this course, as Postman observes, is that language is a technology in the sense that it is a practical art—an invention to facilitate communication. Moreover, it is a practical art that has played a central role, some claim, in shaping human consciousness.
(1.5 Thinking about Text and Technology)
“pantextualism” -Scholes
How will post-print society redefine text in order to reflect the malleable, ever-changing writing spaces of the Internet?
In the early 1990s such students may have been considered failures, Postman argued, but as communication technologies shift so too does the balance of power. Indeed, it is very clear in the contemporary moment that children who grow up with screen media will prove more adept at negotiating the image-based, multi-sequential learning environments of the present. Indeed, more recent research suggests that exposure to interactive audio-visual media, such as video games, develops a number of skills that are desirable in today’s information economy (e.g., Beavis, 2015; see also the work of MET faculty such as Suzanne de Castell
and Jen Jenson ).[1.5] Thinking about Text and Technology
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