Digital Definitions: What is Text?

I really like the opening to Part B, takes a historic perspective as it relates to text and technology, especially how it connects learning to development. I find individuals that can see the change in front of them with such accuracy and certainty that they want help prepare others for those impending changes that they not only speak out, they try to help implement the changes (of course from their POV). Neil Postman was in a way a great "revelator," and as an educator tried to help educators prepare for the future by shifting their focus to the dynamic changes that technology brings to everyday life and what he thought those changes would mean to society and the classroom learner. In his somewhat skeptical way Postman talks about the impact and implications technology could have on learning. I found a great PBS interview to share his views as they also relate to the historic perspective of literacy. I would also recommend reading his book... "The End of Education" as way to expand your own thinking about the "New Aged Learner" in the classroom. Just keep in mind this was written 1995 and his primary focus was the impact of TV and visual media in general, a topic that we have been exploring in depth this semester. Note: I don't necessarily agree with all of Postman's views, but all of them make me think!

The End of Education: By Neil Postman




When considering the ideas of wikis and MOOCs as examples of how access to information and learning is changing the educational model as a whole... I'm reminded of why this is such a great time to be in education. Yet, there seems to be so much resistance to change that the unknown gets labeled bad and unreliable... there are still educators that believe Wikipedia is bad unreliable research source and while I don't think its the only source students should use I do think it's a good place start, especially if you use some of their references to explore a topic deeper. It should be noted the most trusted names in encyclopedias, "Oxford" and "Britannica" are on equal footing as Wikipedia when it relates to accuracy, all are about 87% and mainly do to the changing world and new discoveries, NOT bad entries. Many of the uses in technology that are implemented in my classes primarily deal with access and creating media on different websites or apps, like using Padlet as a place to develop and post project ideas that allow the entire class to comment and create... from the Padlet wall to the presentation creation site like Emaze, Presi, or PowerPoint, with research and instruction built in to scaffold the learners that need it, but not wasting the time of the learners that do Not.

My Illuminated Text:
"The moral panic about new communicative practices does not bode well for the teacher for the teacher wishing to work wieth online text production in her classroom. "