Monday, September 21, 2009

Week 3 Reading Response

Reading into Baron, Wesch and Powers’ readings and videos concerning literacy and technology, I found myself relating many of the examples to many of my past technology experiences.
Beginning with Baron’s reading, “From pencils to pixels” the writer points out the evolution of word processing and it’s steps towards the general public. An interesting passage from the essay, “Writing was not initially speech transcription, and pencils were first made for woodworkers, not writers.” I feel like that passage grasps the theme of both the paper, and it’s connection to literacy. Many unorthodox paths are taken toward gaining literacy, and though pencils weren‘t originally created in hopes of advancing literacy, they have probably one the largest influences in literacy for the last few hundred years.
Illustrating the time that can be saved and the advantages of using a computer as opposed to a pad, the Web 2.0 presentation showcased the many advantages of the world wide web. While it probably wasn’t the focus, I found myself learning more about the controls and the options while accessing the internet. As a person who grew up during the rise of the internet, I found myself to the fact that computers and the internet offer an alternate to the classic pencil and pad.
Finally, upon reading into Powers’, “How to read a book” I found myself most moved by the last passage. “Everything we write — through any medium — is lost in translation. But something new is always found again, in their eager years. In Derrida’s fears. Make that: in the reader’s ears.” I found this to be very true. While an individual may write a story or a passage - especially in literature - every individual usually has a different meaning - usually different from the author’s intent.

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