Thursday, May 31, 2007
So Long And Thanks For All The Fish
Well this is the last official post for my NCT class. I hope I haven't gotten carried away. I think this is my 18th post in 14 or so weeks. Is that too many? Is it too few? Am I too neurotic? I guess at this point its too late to really worry about it. I have enjoyed this class. When talking to classmates about the subject I have gotten mixed responses but I think it is a really interesting summation of how the different technologies throughout history have converged to bring us our version of modern technology and mass media. I had no idea what the textbook title "From Broadcast to Narrowcast" meant when I bought it so I feel I've learned a lot. I really hated the first few chapters of the book and that put me off for the rest of the semester to be honest. I skimmed through bits and pieces but only really picked it up and read it in preparation for the exam. Then of course I was disappointed that I hadn't read more of it throughout the semester because it was really interesting. If we had skipped those chapters and stuck them in somewhere else (no suggestions about where) I probably would have been more inclined to actually read more of the text. The whole "convergence as a dialectic" and "political economy of communication" was a bit too much for me so early on in the class. I just didn't get it. The class overall has really opened my eyes up to the possibilities in journalism and made me think about where the industry is going. It has also made me more comfortable expressing my written thoughts publicly (even though only a few people will ever read it) through the blog experience. I've shared a little piece of myself with the universe. Thanks for your help Adam.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Copyright vs Copyleft: Life Without Microsoft
I enjoyed Adam's lecture this morning about open source software as opposed to proprietary software. I hadn't ever heard of Gnu/Linux much less used it but I definitely like the sound of it. Primer confused me but I found the rehashing of the time travel parody surprisingly interesting. Especially after Adam's lecture spouting the glories of Gnu/Linux: as much as we resent and criticise Microsoft and its proprietary software regime, one has to wonder if it was the advent of these very programs which provided the catalyst for a more basic/user-friendly open source program such as Gnu/Linux. Any thoughts out there? Anywhere? Anyone?
Friday, May 18, 2007
Microsoft Excel
I've never considered myself to be computer literate but I generally feel that I am able to navigate around basic programs fairly easily. Not today. I had some difficulty with the excel spreadsheet exercises. Its definitely a case of operator error rather than computer error in this case though. This task was interesting because, while I have used the very simple excel applications before, I have never had the opportunity (or the inclination) to delve any further than the standard equations. I certainly never realised it could create colourful graphs. I can definitely see how it would be useful in organising household finances, though the idea of an expenditure graph frightens me.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Global Citizenship
More rambling thoughts inspired by my textbook readings:
As a dual citizen of the United States and Australia I often feel torn between my allegience to either country. Amid the tension and turmoil that is racism throughout the United States there is one thing that seems to bind American people together - patriotism. The pride that goes with being an American citizen. The intensity of it is matched in only a few countries around the world. So as a US citizen I have that pride, like or lump it. Unfortunately, during the Bush administration that pride fits more in the lump it category. It is difficult for many to separate Americanism from the often menacing global policies of its government. For this reason I am occassionally inclined to be silent for fear of being pigeon-holed as a result of my accent. Unfortunately, Australia doesn't offer a very robust option in the way of patriotism.
I've decided rather than choosing Australian or American patriotism I prefer the idea of global patriotism. Sound like a greenie? Not really - its certainly not my intention. While I am interested in preserving and protecting our earth what I'm talking about goes beyong conservation. Its a very naive and idealistic approach to patriotism. Global citizenship - respecting and appreciating different cultures, ideas and religions without the need to change, erradicate or possess them. Not a new concept but one that I like and one that I hope I can pass on to my children (along with a healthy Earth of course).
As a dual citizen of the United States and Australia I often feel torn between my allegience to either country. Amid the tension and turmoil that is racism throughout the United States there is one thing that seems to bind American people together - patriotism. The pride that goes with being an American citizen. The intensity of it is matched in only a few countries around the world. So as a US citizen I have that pride, like or lump it. Unfortunately, during the Bush administration that pride fits more in the lump it category. It is difficult for many to separate Americanism from the often menacing global policies of its government. For this reason I am occassionally inclined to be silent for fear of being pigeon-holed as a result of my accent. Unfortunately, Australia doesn't offer a very robust option in the way of patriotism.
I've decided rather than choosing Australian or American patriotism I prefer the idea of global patriotism. Sound like a greenie? Not really - its certainly not my intention. While I am interested in preserving and protecting our earth what I'm talking about goes beyong conservation. Its a very naive and idealistic approach to patriotism. Global citizenship - respecting and appreciating different cultures, ideas and religions without the need to change, erradicate or possess them. Not a new concept but one that I like and one that I hope I can pass on to my children (along with a healthy Earth of course).
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
No Such Thing as Freedom of Speech
I've started reviewing our textbook, Communication and New Media, and comparing the lecture notes with the "appropriate" required readings for each week and I must say that I am completely confused. I'm into chapter five and looked over the lecture notes for week five and they don't match up. So, do I focus my review on the book or on the lecture notes?
On a completely different tack I was reading the bit on page 88 about poor Upton Sinclair. The passionate and disgruntled left-wing journalist who wrote The Brass Check in 1920. The basic idea running through the Brass Check seems to be the sell out (or prostitution as Sinclair implies) of journalism to big business. This brought to mind a talk I attended earlier this year at the Somerset Celebration of Literature. It was called "Freedom of Speech: The Highs and Lows of Journalism". It was led by journalist/writers Phil Brown, Karen Brooks, and Michael Jacobson. One of the first statements thrown out was "there's no such thing as freedom of speech as a journalist" which immediately peaked my curiosity and made me realise that my idea of journalism is too idealistic to be realistic. It seems Sinclair was right on the money after all. There were a lot of little journalistic philosophies given at the talk such as: "if it bleeds it leads" and "if in doubt leave it out" and repeated twice: "people should think about what they say rather than say what they think", but I found Karen Brooks' thought especially endearing. As a columnist, while she doesn't always agree 100% with what she writes, she sometimes writes an article to evoke thought and response. In my little idealistic world I think that's what more journalism should be about. Less propaganda and more thought provoking.
Perhaps the internet will help pave the way for this type of journalism - but will it put food on the table?
Anyway, back to the drudgery that is our textbook.
On a completely different tack I was reading the bit on page 88 about poor Upton Sinclair. The passionate and disgruntled left-wing journalist who wrote The Brass Check in 1920. The basic idea running through the Brass Check seems to be the sell out (or prostitution as Sinclair implies) of journalism to big business. This brought to mind a talk I attended earlier this year at the Somerset Celebration of Literature. It was called "Freedom of Speech: The Highs and Lows of Journalism". It was led by journalist/writers Phil Brown, Karen Brooks, and Michael Jacobson. One of the first statements thrown out was "there's no such thing as freedom of speech as a journalist" which immediately peaked my curiosity and made me realise that my idea of journalism is too idealistic to be realistic. It seems Sinclair was right on the money after all. There were a lot of little journalistic philosophies given at the talk such as: "if it bleeds it leads" and "if in doubt leave it out" and repeated twice: "people should think about what they say rather than say what they think", but I found Karen Brooks' thought especially endearing. As a columnist, while she doesn't always agree 100% with what she writes, she sometimes writes an article to evoke thought and response. In my little idealistic world I think that's what more journalism should be about. Less propaganda and more thought provoking.
Perhaps the internet will help pave the way for this type of journalism - but will it put food on the table?
Anyway, back to the drudgery that is our textbook.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Microsoft Word
I didn't have any real problems with this tutorial assignment. I have a background in office work so I had a general idea of how to navigate around the Microsoft Word program. Most of my work has been on specialised medical programs though so the tutorial did highlight some issues I hadn't come into contact with before such as tracking changes to a document and the mail merge. I had fun with this task. I did not attend the tutorial this week so when I had problems I had to rely on the "Help" function offered in the program and this did manage to get me out of trouble. I think this tutorial task has been helpful and I will definitely track the changes I make to my next academic essay.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
NCT Academic Essay
Digital Literacy – Destruction or Evolution of English Language?
From the battle of Edington where the Wessex of Alfred the Great fought for the kingdom of England and the survival of the English language in 878 (Hindley, 2006), to Shakespeare’s verse to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, it’s quite a journey. It’s clear that the English language is always evolving. The world is getting smaller, borders are becoming blurred and language is allowing for this. Does it allow for technology though? Is digital literacy simply another chapter in the evolution of the English language? It is obvious that digital literacy has impacted the English language over the last ten years however this paper will focus its discussion on whether that impact has been positive or negative and whether those influences will have a long-term evolutionary impact on the English language.
Throughout history the question of language evolution has been directed at correct usage of words and the evolution of meanings, interpretation and, when deemed irrelevant, the extinction of entire words. Bruce's literary transformations diagram (Bruce, 1998) demonstrates that, from primitive symbol systems to virtual reality, every transformation or evolution in the development of literacy has been driven by a development in technology (Guest 2002). Text messages, as a new technology, however involve the omission of punctuation and capital letters, intentional misspellings, and essentially creating a hodge-podge of letters, symbols and numbers to convey an idea.
While there are those who believe text messaging is negatively impacting the English language, Gibson’s affordance theory offers an alternative perspective. This affordance theory explicates that in any setting the usage of an object is limited only by the affordances given to it by its user (Gibson, 1979). A spoon affords eating. Water affords drinking and bathing, but also drowning (Maybin & Swann, 2006). The affordance theory extends to symbols and words as well. Their use is only limited to the creativity or inventiveness of their user. Gibson’s affordance theory also transcends English and is relative to all languages.
A recent study of text-messaging Hong Kong university students showed a percentage of students mixed the traditional language of Chinese with English words when sending text messages, creating a language they call “Singlish” (no, this word is not in your spell checker). The same study noted that most Hong Kong students found it easier to send a text message in English than in Chinese (Lin, 2005). With this in mind perhaps text messaging is actually lengthening the scope of the English language.
The Dictionary of the Future features a definition of thumb-typing which blames text messages for the possible evolution of “curiously small fingertips” over the next million years, but not the evolution of English language. This dictionary’s definition for texting includes the creation “of new social patterns and habits, as well as new language and lingo, as we struggle to compress our communication to fit into the 26-character limit” (Popcorn and Hanft, 2001). By this definition then, rather than simply evolving or inspiring creativity within the English language, texting is introducing a new language complete with jargon and lingo. The Hong Kong students’ Singlish is a perfect example of this.
Courier Mail journalist, Melanie Christiansen, tells us of a new English syllabus being introduced in Queensland schools. The new syllabus will include digital literacy in addition to the three R's. Leading the charge for digital literacy is Professor McWilliam who says "When a young person writes 'c u l8r', you can either look at it as bad spelling or as an impressive short messaging capacity. In the digital world being able to communicate quickly is essential; sometimes spelling can get in the way." (Christiansen, 2007).
Many disagree, mainly parents, with the decision to include digital literacy in the school syllabus. They believe the existence of digital literacy in the syllabus detracts from the traditional curriculum where the emphasis is on reading and writing using proper sentence structure and correct spelling.
Digital literacy has already had a perceptible impact on the writing skills of many recent university graduates, with an obvious decline in the writing skills of IT graduates in particular. Ben Reeves, president of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) blames this decline on the fact that email and text messages are often the main form of written communication for many recent graduates, especially those in the IT industry (O’Keefe, 2006). An introduction of a course requiring a more formal writing style into the IT syllabus could be the answer for these students.
Linguistics professor Crystal believes text messages have had a positive impact on language and have even contributed to its enhancement. He says text message expressions have done more than just add to constructions of the English language and the roughly 200,000 words in common use today. " They extend the range of the language, the expressiveness... the richness of the language," (Ulaby, 2006).
From the battle of Edington where the Wessex of Alfred the Great fought for the kingdom of England and the survival of the English language in 878 (Hindley, 2006), to Shakespeare’s verse to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, it’s quite a journey. It’s clear that the English language is always evolving. The world is getting smaller, borders are becoming blurred and language is allowing for this. Does it allow for technology though? Is digital literacy simply another chapter in the evolution of the English language? It is obvious that digital literacy has impacted the English language over the last ten years however this paper will focus its discussion on whether that impact has been positive or negative and whether those influences will have a long-term evolutionary impact on the English language.
Throughout history the question of language evolution has been directed at correct usage of words and the evolution of meanings, interpretation and, when deemed irrelevant, the extinction of entire words. Bruce's literary transformations diagram (Bruce, 1998) demonstrates that, from primitive symbol systems to virtual reality, every transformation or evolution in the development of literacy has been driven by a development in technology (Guest 2002). Text messages, as a new technology, however involve the omission of punctuation and capital letters, intentional misspellings, and essentially creating a hodge-podge of letters, symbols and numbers to convey an idea.
While there are those who believe text messaging is negatively impacting the English language, Gibson’s affordance theory offers an alternative perspective. This affordance theory explicates that in any setting the usage of an object is limited only by the affordances given to it by its user (Gibson, 1979). A spoon affords eating. Water affords drinking and bathing, but also drowning (Maybin & Swann, 2006). The affordance theory extends to symbols and words as well. Their use is only limited to the creativity or inventiveness of their user. Gibson’s affordance theory also transcends English and is relative to all languages.
A recent study of text-messaging Hong Kong university students showed a percentage of students mixed the traditional language of Chinese with English words when sending text messages, creating a language they call “Singlish” (no, this word is not in your spell checker). The same study noted that most Hong Kong students found it easier to send a text message in English than in Chinese (Lin, 2005). With this in mind perhaps text messaging is actually lengthening the scope of the English language.
The Dictionary of the Future features a definition of thumb-typing which blames text messages for the possible evolution of “curiously small fingertips” over the next million years, but not the evolution of English language. This dictionary’s definition for texting includes the creation “of new social patterns and habits, as well as new language and lingo, as we struggle to compress our communication to fit into the 26-character limit” (Popcorn and Hanft, 2001). By this definition then, rather than simply evolving or inspiring creativity within the English language, texting is introducing a new language complete with jargon and lingo. The Hong Kong students’ Singlish is a perfect example of this.
Courier Mail journalist, Melanie Christiansen, tells us of a new English syllabus being introduced in Queensland schools. The new syllabus will include digital literacy in addition to the three R's. Leading the charge for digital literacy is Professor McWilliam who says "When a young person writes 'c u l8r', you can either look at it as bad spelling or as an impressive short messaging capacity. In the digital world being able to communicate quickly is essential; sometimes spelling can get in the way." (Christiansen, 2007).
Many disagree, mainly parents, with the decision to include digital literacy in the school syllabus. They believe the existence of digital literacy in the syllabus detracts from the traditional curriculum where the emphasis is on reading and writing using proper sentence structure and correct spelling.
Digital literacy has already had a perceptible impact on the writing skills of many recent university graduates, with an obvious decline in the writing skills of IT graduates in particular. Ben Reeves, president of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) blames this decline on the fact that email and text messages are often the main form of written communication for many recent graduates, especially those in the IT industry (O’Keefe, 2006). An introduction of a course requiring a more formal writing style into the IT syllabus could be the answer for these students.
Linguistics professor Crystal believes text messages have had a positive impact on language and have even contributed to its enhancement. He says text message expressions have done more than just add to constructions of the English language and the roughly 200,000 words in common use today. " They extend the range of the language, the expressiveness... the richness of the language," (Ulaby, 2006).
Among so much debate it seems that digital literacy is not the destruction or the evolution of the English language. While text messaging may be a new technology, instead of transforming or evolving English, I believe it is simply creating a new jargon or slang. Digital literacy fits all the characteristics of slang. “Its rejection of formal rules, its comparative freshness, common ephemerality, and its marked use to claim solidarity”, as well as establishing a person’s social identity (Spolsky, 1998) make it more closely related to slang than formal English.
Digital literacy is here to stay like it or not. Its unobtrusive, quick and easy usage of language has assured its longevity. Whether using complete words or witty abbreviations, it’s difficult to surpass its ability to connect intimately to another person without verbal or body language. Evolution or the creation of a new language – either way it means change and change is the one thing guaranteed to make many uncomfortable. The impact of digital literacy on the future evolution of the English language remains to be seen.
REFERENCES
Bruce, B. (1998, May 6th 2007). "New Literacies." from http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/jaal/Sept_Column.html.
Christiansen, M. (2007). Can't spell, can text? gr8 m8! The Courier Mail. Brisbane. March 29th 2007.
Gibson, J. J. (1979). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, Publishers.
Guest, P. (2002, May 4th 2007). "Teaching English in the Digital Age." Literacy transformations, 2007, from http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/centres/sc/guest.htm.
Hindley, G. (2006). A Brief History of The Anglo-Saxons. New York, Carroll & Graf Publishers.
Lin, A. (2005). "Mobile text-messaging among Hong Kong College Students." Fibreculture Retrieved April 25th 2007, from http://journal.fibreculture.org/issue6/issue6_lin.html.
Maybin, J. and J. Swann (2006). The Art of English: Everyday Creativity. Glasgow, UK, Palgrave MacMillan.
O'Keefe, B. (2006). "Gen Y's Written Skills Fall Short." Retrieved April 2007, from http://www.careerone.com.au/jobs/job-search/pid/1630?matrix=1141682488822.
Popcorn, F. and A. Hanft (2001). Dictionary of the FUTURE. New York, Hyperion New York
Spolsky, B. (1998). Sociolinguistics. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Ulaby, N. (2006). "OMG: IM Slang Is Invading Everyday English." Digital Culture Weekend Edition, Sat Feb 18th 2006. Retrieved 5th May, 2007, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5221618.
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