Journal 4: Mini Research Essay

My original concept for the Mini Research Essay was to make my foray into futurology by predicting whether e-Readers are here to stay. I began my research with comparisons between e-Readers available on the current market – mainly the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Amazon Kindle. This opened up the issue of whether the e-Reader will survive despite the increasing popularity of tablet computers. For example: will anyone want to purchase an e-Reader when an application is available on the iPad or another tablet computer that performs exactly the same task as an e-Reader?

While this was a fascinating topic of study, there was very little scholarly research on the issue. I found a plethora of magazine articles both comparing e-Readers to one another, as well as comparing e-Readers to tablet computers. Yet, there were not enough credible sources for my argument to extend beyond the realm of surface research.

To really delve into the world of e-Readers, I needed to shift my focus to that of e-Readers in academics. I’ve found several credible studies which address both the negative and positive aspects of incorporating e-Readers and/or e-Reader applications on tablet computers in an academic environment.

At first, I was unconvinced that this issue is widespread – but according to an article by the Association of American Publishers, “For February 2011, e-Books ranked as the #1 format among all categories of Trade Publishing (Adult Hardcover, Adult Paperback, Adult Mass Market, Children’s/Young Adult Hardcover, Children’s/Young Adult Paperback).” The article, entitled “Popularity of Books in Digital Platforms Continues to Grow, According to the AAP Publishers February 2011 Sales Report,” goes on to say that the e-Book format is “generating fresh consumer interest in – and new revenue streams for – ‘backlist’ titles, books that have been in print for more than a year.”

Such an active public interest in e-Books confirms the importance of e-Readers as a new means receiving information. And though schools are not always know for remaining on the leading edge of technology, they cannot simply ignore the public’s widespread acceptance of a new technology with the potential to enhance the learning environment. Thus, I have found several studies and articles published by prestigious universities on the issue which address both negative and positive aspects of e-Readers in academia.

Renee Boettner

Journal 3: Writing, Teens and Web 2.0

Tim O'Reilly's article, "What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software" addresses the definition of Web 2.0. One of the main requirements (or "core competencies," as O'Reilly labels them) for a Web 2.0 tool is "trusting users as co-developers." This is a revolutionary idea when compared with the giant software companies of past decades. Instead of hoarding the secrets of program code, Web 2.0 allows virtually anyone to harness internet-based APIs and create new mashups. This leads to another core competency, closely related to the idea of trusting users: “harnessing collective intelligence.” When more people have access to the building blocks of new applications, the more opportunities there are for creativity and innovation.

This is all very exciting, and allows our technology-rich society to change at a speed unprecedented in past centuries. Yet, does the new generation, who have grown up in the era of computer and the Web, understand the significance of this shift in the philosophy/business model of software companies? The article, "Writing, Technology and Teens," published by the Pew Research Center, suggests that they do not.

According to the article, 60% of teens do not consider “electronic personal communication” to be writing. This includes text messaging, e-mail, IM and social networking sites. To anyone who functioned in society before the dominance of the internet or the invention of the cell phone, this may be shocking. The fact that the majority of teens who participated in the study do not consider their daily textual electronic communication exemplifies the disconnect between their generation and the understanding of the impact technology has made on the way we live.

It is not unusual for a teenager to look shocked when a parent or older relative tells a story about being stranded in his or her youth, only to receive the query, “why didn’t you just use your cell phone?” I witnessed this very exchange recently when my younger cousin heard his father, my uncle, telling such a tale. When my uncle looked askance at being asked about using a cell phone before they were even invented, my teenage cousin provided an answer: “oh, your battery must have been dead.”

This real-life incident displays how those who have never been forced to survive without the modern convenience (or nuisance, according to some) of instant communication via cell phone, cannot comprehend life without it. Perhaps as they gain maturity, they will come to appreciate how technology, particularly the internet and all of its Web 2.0 applications, has revolutionized how we perceive text. In the meantime, those of us who remember life without cell phones or the World Wide Web need to remind those who don’t to appreciate the technology we are surrounded by. Just think – maybe power outages aren’t so useless after all.

Renee Boettner

Journal 2: On "From Pencils to Pixels"

In Dennis Baron’s article, “From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technology,” he chronicles some of the major points in the history of writing technology. He reminds readers that the first form of writing technology was actually the process of writing itself.  Before the invention of writing, there was no way to keep records of the happenings and stories of oral culture. Writing revolutionized cultures, allowing them to go from oral to literate societies.

Baron then describes several subsequent developments in writing technology. The example that most piqued my interest was the introduction of the typewriter: “…in 1938 the New York Times editorialized against the machine that depersonalized writing, usurping the place of ‘writing with one’s own hand.’” Today, the New York Times uses the advanced computer program InDesign to publish its newspapers. If a journalist turned in a hand-written story for publication in 2011, I’m sure he or she would receive some disbelieving looks or possibly even a reprimand from the edior. For that matter, a story typed on a typewriter would be just as shocking in a modern-day newsroom.

Whenever a new technology is introduced, like the typewriter, it takes time for it to be accepted by society. Humans tend to distrust new technologies, which explains the New York Times’ initial resistance to the typewriter. However, as the typewriter gained mainstream use by increasingly low prices, it became necessary to use typewriters to remain competitive in the newspaper business. As any technology becomes the standard for an industry, those who are reluctant to try the new technology are often left behind.

 The same stages of acceptance at work in the case of the typewriter apply to not only the modern era, but to all human history. When writing was first invented, there were very few people who could understand or produce it; there was an elite literate community. It was not until writing started to be used for additional purposes, such as recording religious rites, that more people became literate and writing became an accepted technology. This process repeats itself time and time again, with each new technology either adding to previous technology or replacing it entirely.

Renee Boettner