Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Linear Text

Technology has made a new form of linear writing called Hypertext. When written on paper, text is linear. Digital text is different. Digital is more flexible, it can be virtually anywhere. With technology growing digital text will change all forms of writing. It can even change the way we learn information.

In the video I watched it says we are the web, the people control what is being uploaded worldwide. With writing evolving we are able to create sources of information and show it to the entire globe. By using HTML we can create programs to publish all kinds of info by video, text, or sound. The people can create Blog sites that the individual himself can have complete freedom to upload whatever his heart desires. By using HTML we can constantly change the content on his site whenever he wants. Digital text can do better. Form and content can be separated. XML was designed just for that. Title does not define the form. It defines the content and virtually all other elements in the document. So the data can be exported, free of formatting constraints. With form and content separated, users don't need to know complicated codes to upload content to the web. With XML it facilitates automated data exchange, two sites can "mash" data together. A perfect example of this is Flickr Maps. I am able to see the world without actually exploring it, or know where I am going when planning my next vacation in another country. Who will organize all this data? We will. I will. With this in mind we have to rethink some things. We have to rethink copyright, with newer and more sophisticated technology being created daily people need to get the respect for their accomplishments. Rethinking authorship by knowing that as technology gets more advanced fewer people will take this occupation solely due to the fact that books will now be read on paper, but on screens. Rethink identity in a way that technology will change the way we read by replacing papers with a screen, or reading the newspaper will change to learning the information on my iphone. Rethink ethics by changing the way we learn information from written text on paper, to learning everything from digital text on a computer. Rethink aesthetics by appreciating the beauty of technology and how it can take different shapes and deliver what we need from it. Rethink rhetoric by influential speeches being delivered in completely different ways and possibly to an even larger audience than ever before. Rethink governance in a way that with technology the government can be able to have more of hold on the people through multiple ways, or be able to reach people in danger in a more quicker and effective manner. Rethink privacy in a way that with the worldwide web anything uploaded will be seen throughout the world to all kinds of audiences. Rethink commerce in a way that with technology having an increase in demand every time something newer and better is created, we have to find better and faster ways to deliver the products in a broader scale so everyone can enjoy.

In the article I read educators are trying to change the way we educate the youth. With ideas of using leading 21st-century learning methods and tools, while combining it with the best of traditional classroom learning. Educators argue that this new and improved way of learning can’t be established due to the fact that today’s school system has rigid schedules, inflexible facilities, and fixed boundaries between grades. If we are to use the new 21st-century education, then we have to change the schools physical appearance by creating more flexible learning spaces that can be rearranged to fit different class sizes and subjects, to even changing the units of time than the typical 50-minute class period.

In order to give myself a better understanding on how technology has grown over the years, I decided to interview my grandpa who is 60 years old. I asked him how he had to rethink the way he gets things done, and how he had to learn with the more advanced technology. I brought up the topic Banking and the first thing he told me was "it got easier". I learned that compared to today's banks, making transactions was a big hassle. Everything major had to be done in check, no credit card, no online site. He had to physically go to the bank and handle the paper work there. Today's banks transactions could be as easy as visiting the website. I asked about how the government changed, he said "the government is a lot stricter". With technology so simple compared to today's, the government wasn't able to "check' on the people's daily web use. The government wasn't able to be more involved with the public's interest as to compared to now, the government is able to view anybodies web history. I asked about business and he responded "it's never been better". Despite today's economy he made clear points on how business grew. Businesses weren't able to reach a broader range of consumers compared to today. With the help of today's technology, businesses across the globe are able to promote their product and successfully sell their product. Their are more advertisements in TV, radio, web, and on the streets thanks to the advancement in technology.

In the video it shows how primitive technology was. It shows how mostly everything was rethought. From workout machines to bikes, from TV's to cameras. Everything has changed to a more advanced and sohpisticated form. An exapmle of how technology was rethought is how video games changed from being a simple black and white pixel "pong" game, to changing into a complex interactional colored picture video. With the advancements made in technology it is possible to listen to your favorite songs where ever you go instead of being home playing your song on a record player.

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