My parents are artists, and a few weekends ago we were discussing Nooks, Kindles, and the possible disappearance of books. My mother who is an avid reader and lover of all things book-like, has a legitimate fear that one day all books will be electronic. I believe there are some that are resistant to the change in technology -- perhaps the Baby Boomers and +/- 10 years of that generation. I also believe there are those that fear a technology take over that will eliminate anything and everything tangible and real. I think I fall somewhere in the latter category, right alongside my mom.
As far as Baby Boomers go, my mom is no stranger to technology. As a graphic designer she had to take community college courses in order to learn Quark, Adobe Photoshop, Publisher, and other publishing software mostly for the Mac. Her days of sketching everything on the light table were done, and her profession did a 180ยบ. Picasso turned into Picasa overnight, and the fine arts part of Bachelor of Fine arts seemed to disappear for my mom in the blink of an eye.
Even as I take this course, I find myself battling the technology movement because as much as I love my Nook, I don't want books to disappear. I don't want art to become digitally drawn and painted on a tablet. I don't want my students to not know how to write in cursive -- did you know they're eliminating that from curriculum?? For as much as a technology helps us move forward and link with people all around the world, I also feel that it takes away from reality. We are constantly separated by a screen.
With that being said, it's impossible to deny the opportunities technology has afforded our students: blogs that connect them to real authors (Richardson's class communicating with Sue Monk Kidd), to real people (Skype, Cisco), to microscopic worlds (cameras that connect to microscopes and project images), and to access curriculum through wikis 24/7. I would not trade my laptop and the tools it gives me for anything, and to be able to communicate with relatives across the country and world is amazing. When I think of Digital Natives vs. Immigrants, I have placed myself into the Immigrants category.
Technology is a great tool; we just can't forget that it is a smaller -- yet very integral -- part of a larger world.
(Another post will follow, relating to our curriculum/readings.)
I like this post. I, too, do not want paper to disappear. Richardson commented on this in his interview video and that he doesn't really understand the fascination with paper books when there are Kindles and other readers out there. As a journalist, the feeling of pen to paper is like nothing else when I'm jotting notes or brainstorming. It becomes more of an art and a creative path. I don't want to be limited to font sizes and colors, but rather express myself through my own hand.
ReplyDeleteJohanna,
ReplyDeleteFirst I want to tell you your blog is beautiful. I love the interface and graphics that you have used. I also love your uses of technology in a creative manner such as your poll in your first post. (I wish I had seen your blog earlier!)
Anyway, your topic of picasso v. picassa is extremely relevant. I agree with you that I do not want to lose cursive writing as part of the curriculum. Just yesterday, I was tutoring a 3rd grade student and he asked me if he could practice his cursive. I obliged him and I was able to see him craft each letter on its own. When students write in print, they do not give their handwriting much thought, however cursive enabled the student to metacognate his handwriting and create a script that defined himself.
In addition, I am not a fan of nooks of kindles. I absolutely adore books in their print form. I love getting a new book and opening it for the first time. It is a feeling that one can not receive on an e-reader. I am old fashioned in that manner.
I'm really glad that I'm not the only one that feels like it's truly a crime to lose books. In Richardson's texts as well as his interviews he's alluded to paperless classrooms, which I suppose is great from a 'go green!' perspective, but there is something about touching pen to paper -- as you said Sandra -- that cannot be recreated through a tablet. Louise, it's great to hear that child is actually asking to learn cursive! I had a student last year tell me that I had to erase what I wrote on the board because he couldn't read cursive ... my reaction was not professional (let's say), but I was so taken back that I told him to learn. My handwriting is a combination of cursive and print.
ReplyDeleteHere is a perfect example of a book that would never translate well into eink. The title is The Invention of Huge Cabret by Brian Selznick, and it is a graphic novel with over 200 pages of hand sketched drawings ... it won the Caldecott Medal.
Jacket: click here
Illustrations:
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
... the book is set to come out in theaters this year, and will be directed my Martin Scorsese!