There is a wonderful collection of images over on Flickr collected by a group called “Writing Machines.” It is easy to forget just how many different styles of typewriters existed before things went electronic and now digital. You can explore the group’s pool of images here.
I often apologize to people about my messy writing. In fact, long ago, I determined that it could basically write in code if I just, well, wrote. It seems like good penmanship (penwomanship?), is going the way of the dodo, according to a recent Associated Press article, “Cursive writing may be a fading skill, but so what?” My own handwriting may well beg the question as to whether or not the education system ever taught writing past the third grade, but is this a skill that children need to prove their good character in the future? Does handwriting only matter when we are without electricity or a decent charge in our laptop or our cellphone (or other texting device)?
There is a interesting short interview over on Salon with Dennis Baron, author of A Better Pencil. In his book, Baron looks back across history at how every advancement in communications has been met with a level of fear and suspicion, particularly from those who are strongly invested in the medium that is being displaced by the new one. At the heart of this reaction, according to Barron, are issues of power and control:
” The more people use technology, the more people communicate, the more people in power become concerned with how to control that use. There are two forces pushing against each other. Whether it’s government or religious organizations or schools controlling what children do online or parents controlling what their kids are doing with communication technologies or groups online self-organizing and deciding how to control what does and does not get expressed — it’s similar to what happened when printing presses became a major means of communication or when radio and TV became major communication players. How do you license, how do you control what gets said on the air?”
Hi all,
The Papyrus to Cyberspace broadcast raises a host of issues relating to our long-term relationship with books and the anxiety provoked by the idea of leaving behind books as objects to be flipped through, fondled and, well, smelled. We may be able to carry a thousand books on a Kindle or read pages of our favourite newspaper on small little screens, but do we get the full aesthetic experience of musty old paper or wet newsprint? To respond to the sterile nature of electronic books, the fine folks at smellofbooks.com have developed some products to help us deal with loss of B.O. (book odour). Check out their aerosol e-book enhancer on their website!
Here’s an interesting Firefox add-on I just found.
http://www.hyperwords.net/index.html
What you should notice if you explore some of the material on the site is that it attempts to build upon Doug Engelbart’s work!
The New York Times ran an interesting articleon June 17th, about Paul Otlet, a Belgian library who some claim may have invented one of the first models of a hypertextual system as well as theorized a networked system that bears some resemblance to what we now see as the world wide web. As we delve into some the history of hypertext in Module 4, it is interesting to consider Otlet’s work, which dates from the late 19th century.
You may need to have a “free” account with the NYT to view the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/science/17mund.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=1
I use this video with Teachers and Teacher Librarians when I am trying to stress the importance of information literacies and our need to understand them. Hope no one has posted it earlier.
Michael Wesch is Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE[/youtube]
Deb
Here is a great little resource that seems to be of great interest in my aggregator these days. ANIMOTO is a web based digital media generator that is quick and easy to use with impressive results.
Deb
I thought this was kind of interesting and fun to play with. Sitepal suggests that the speech capability of the avatar keeps customers more engaged and at your site longer. I’ve been using recordings of sample problems posted onto a moodle site and getting similar feedback from students.
Tris
Ever since I was little I have been fascinated by the shapes and look of the letters of the alphabet. I used to doodle the letters in all different sizes, “fonts” and colours whenever I got a chance. I even taught myself to write with both my right and left hands, just to see how different the letters might look!
One day, I was surfing youtube and came across this video. I think it’s great for several reasons. I love the fluidity with which the older brother creates his letters – they look like works of art! I also love watching the younger brothers attemts to recreate the letters. His are equally beautiful but in a different way. I think one of the greatest privileges a primary teacher has is that of watching little people learn these most basic building blocks of our culture.
I hope you all enjoy the video, too!
Cari Wilson
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