In chapter 16, Paglia discusses the many aspects of internet writing. Paglia states:
“The key to Internet writing for me is visual, not verbal. Ever since computer operating systems progressed from half-mathematical ASCII to today’s lively, colorful, high-resolution graphics HTML format, the Internet has become a mercurial hybrid of word, image, and sound.”
Although Paglia’s format of writing can be more visually appealing, it can still be difficult to capture the attention of the reader. I always see myself reluctant to read long articles online and I’d rather print them. In some ways, there is a connection that you gain with the print version that doesn’t exist while reading online. I don’t see myself purchasing a kindle version of a book anytime soon.
However, in chapter 17 Gibson makes some interesting argument. Gibson states:
“All the qualities of hypertext encourage vastly different habits of thought than does traditional print. Hypertext has been called a democratizing medium because it allows everyone access to both production and decoding. This may be said of it both internally and within its larger environment. Internally, for example, hypertext is able to show clearly interconnectedness between ideas by linking them together. Although this is not completely impossible in print, it is structurally difficult to include massive amounts of material in a single text. “
I have to agree that hypertext can create a broader reach of ideas and can be used to search more efficiently for whatever is relevant to the reader. However, it is hard to fathom the traditional textbook in the classroom not existing because of hypertext. Gibson also suggests that a shift from traditional print textbooks to hypertext will inevitably take place in the classroom. The interactivity of hypertext and its ability to create a visually and increasingly informative environment will be an integral part of education, but I don't think it will eliminate or drastically decrease the use of textbooks.
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I think that within the next few years we might see a shift in the textbook world. I think as Kindles and other types of online readers grow more popular, the textbook will fall to the wayside. If high school students could carry around a Kindle with all the text book material downloaded into it, they wouldn't have to drag clunky textbooks to each of their classes. So I think as this type of technology grow it will replace the text book market.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up with physical books, I think that our generation will have a problem understanding how to retain information by reading it over an electronic source rather than in physical print. We will not have the same ability to use highlighters, to tab pages, or photocopy pages (though we may be able to print them). If anything, it will decrease the use of the physical textbook, but I don't think that the completely electronic revolution of textbooks will shift.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts here, but keep in mind that putting a traditional book on Kindle or some other kind of e-reader does not make it a hypertext. And there are equivalents of highlighting, bookmarking, and even annotating for electronic documents. And while it is the links that make a text hyper, traditional texts have incorporated a hyper element by including footnotes, cross-references, marginalia, and mosaic forms like the newspaper front page or the Talmud.
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