Not even John Lennon could have imagined what the technological world would dream up in the not so distant future. Technology is transforming our lives - and our children's lives - in a magical way here-to-fore only seen in a Harry Potter novel.
Take for instance the book. Since Gutenberg's miraculous technology - the printing press - people have gained greater access to ideas and information. The printing press posed the same threat during the Renaissance that the computer posed (and continues to pose) in our day. Scribes were afraid of losing their jobs, just like skilled laborers were afraid they would be replaced by computer systems in our day. Both fears came to fruition.
Now the fear is the loss of books as the computer subsumes the printed word from the newspaper to the novel. Just this fall one school library announced it would sell all 20,000 volumes in its library and go digital. (See Times article here http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/do-school-libraries-need-books/)
A library without books? That shakes the very etymological core of the word library, which after all comes from the Latin word "liber, -bri" meaning "book".
But as textbooks move to online versions, exciting opportunities exist for bringing not only better graphics into the books, but moveable graphics, videos, and 360 degree photos that could transport students back to ancient Rome or the Battle of Bull Run or demonstrate how the circulatory system works. Just with the click of a mouse. New technologies, such as Kindle or the iPad are making it possible. It will undoubtedly be the way we do business in a paperless society.
What this will do to the human brain, no one can imagine yet. But what it could do for relieving some of the boredom of reading dry textbook material holds endless possibility. Now if we could just get endless electricity and computers in every household. On second thought, don't burn those books yet.
-----Melony
No comments:
Post a Comment