Week 2 SLP



Week 2 SLP

Introduction

From Pencils to pixels as described by the name reveals the stages of literary functions and technologies. This =well written essay was published in the year 1999 as a chapter in Century Technologies. Penned by Dennis Baron this essay explains the phases that were involved in the expansion of “communication technologies”. It has been an observation that during the last 3 to 4 decades that major focus of teaching and learning remained on simple reading and writing styles, but with the advent of science and the many technological inventions, the simpler reading and writing arena became multi faceted.

This paper will discuss the historical aspects of the various objects that contributed to the modern day inventions in the field of learning and writing. A brief view of the literacy practices that I experience in my day to day life span discussing the attitude of my peers and family towards these mediums.

Discussion

"From Pencils to Pixels" is a historical part of the pack. It revolves around recognizing the effect of the novel technologies that emerged with the passage of time. Pencil was described as the basic tool used in the learning and writing stage. Although it was designed initially to mark lines for measuring the lengths of the paper; it is now considered as the basic tool for a child to learn writing. Children are taught how to hold a pencil, make letters from them and start the journey of their learning phase (Steve, K. 2010). Considered as the most omnipresent writing tool till date, pencils are described in the essay as the origin to man's advanced learning and writing skills. He also underlines that it was the pencil which never changed, however it was transformed to pens, and then with the advent of technologies computers took the place which was once enjoyed solely by the pencils.

In this essay Dennis Baron takes a modest stand announcing that people should be watchful of the hyperbolic prophecies that depict the future of computers. According to Baron the phases or stages involved in the expansion and progress of literacy and the varied effects of technologies on it all the way through time originate from the pencil. He states that the advancement of the pencil was not at all very different from the stages involved in the invention and advancement of computers. He also discusses that how the novel discoveries and creations were once supposed as something out of this world and now are the basic necessities for mankind. In this context he used the examples of Telephone and Pencil.

History of Pencil and Telephone

Using the certain common technologies as the example baron has tried to convince the readers by notifying that example of Telephone as an important tool in the modern communication knowledge. According to him, the invention of the telephone signifies the process of shaping the communication technologies and the variations it underwent with the passage of time (Steve, K. 2010). He describes that initially, telephone was considered as an ...