If I’m ever on Jeopardy, I definitely hope the final question is about pencils because then I am sure I will be rich after reading that article.
It is interesting to think that at one time, people were having discussions like our class discussion about pencils and how they affected society. It is just not something that I have ever thought about, as if pencils have been here since the creation of man or something.. haha. Like Baron says, pencils do seem a bit old fashioned, so it’s hard to see them as a technology that people thought would tarnish the act of speaking and thinking.
Thinking that teachers did not used to like calculators and spell check because they thought that students would forget how to add simple numbers and spell is an interesting thought that I think definitely has merit. With information so readily available, it’s as if nothing truly needs to be memorized. With the press of a few letters, I can look up where the Persian Gulf is or what Shakespeare meant by asking “To be, or not to be?” It’s too easy to rely on the help of the Internet, and even easier to neglect actual learning. What truly bugs me is the use of free translation websites for language courses. This is just an example of how using resources that are readily available to you is hindering the action of actual learning.
Not only is technology making actual knowledge less valuable, it is also making truth less of a norm. This trend is outrageous, as students are warned daily about being wary of using certain sources in research. Websites can now be edited by users who may or may not have knowledge regarding the subject of the site.. and it’s just so easy to create a website that who knows what to truly believe.
In a way, things that are in a hard copy version seem to be more believable, especially more reliable when it comes to using a book as a source. Perhaps that is why the journalists that I encounter value being printed in the print edition of the newspaper so much. Being printed online has become commonplace, as anyone can truly be published online.
The other day, a member of the student government came into the newspaper office and told us about how George Mason University is about to spend $80 million to revamp Fenwick Library. This student was highly upset to hear about this because aside from building up more debt for the university, nothing about a new library filled with more and more books is eco-friendly or innovative. This student demands that the school build up a library online, with e-books instead of hard copy books.
While this all sounds great, and I fully support all efforts to reduce the use of natural materials where efforts can be made to recycle and use other means of producing things such as books and buildings, I just cannot wrap my mind around the thought of getting rid of libraries and books. Thinking that one day I could be reading all of my course material in this little MacBook of mine scares me, if only because I tend to like tradition in some aspects.
I suppose you can say I’m a bit like those teachers concerned that their students will forget how to spell. If we lose the use of hard copy texts, will people lose their ability to research, motivation to get off their butts to do work, and appreciation of the presentation of texts?
