  As much as instructors of all sorts cherish some kind of learning text (e.g., textbook, manual, video) to provide a framework for knowledge, are there people who actually read the manual ? It’s true, I’m a reading glutton, and I’ll read anything! Product labels are especially fun – in particular when misspellings create great humor. E.g., for all you Francophones, I recently bought bouillon cubes that gave the following instructions. “Pour un couillon instantane…! !” That is just too rude!! Anyway, I have been known to read a textbook (although I have yet to read a computer manual).
Like everyone else, I skim for salient points and then I construct my understanding based on headings and summaries. By and large, knowledge rises from reading meatier texts (such as the books you are reading this term) to engage the mind/soul (though by “text” I also refer to all multi-genre or multi-media forms also known as multiple sign systems). Once I’ve engaged the mind, I talk (a lot) to like-minded and non like-minded persons, I write – thoughts, poetry, and snippets of prose – I research and investigate, I dance, play music, and sometimes sketch…all to engage the senses.
Finally, when the two, mind and body have sufficiently been stimulated, I feel like I’m on my way to becoming literate in the field. With enough practice, I may even become fluent. One kind of textbook that may differ from all others is an on-line textbook or manual. (Did you know that there is a pre-service teacher this past term who did her practicum on-line ? ) While I’ve been actively using on-line language tutorials to learn php, or html – or simply going straight to the “how-to” sections of learning sites – something that was “transparent” to me was just made very visible today. The interesting point that one of the other instructors (Kedrick James) mentioned in our meeting was the unusual capacity that hypertext may play in creating a “ganglia” of knowledge – where a nucleus (i.e., question) exists without the usual “end” in sight (i.e., answer). When surfing through the excellent textbook source found on line called urlLink Language Across the Curriculum, we find a very good place to begin the understanding of the importance language and (multi) literacy plays within every discipline.
To attempt to “grasp” through a single course of study (i.e., LLED 301) or textbook the breadth of the meaning of literacy, the role that forms of language and media play in education, and the techniques that may be utilized to build competency, may be more than one can reasonably achieve in short order! Nevertheless, surfing an on-line “text” (especially when one is asking questions) offers something entirely unique. What if, for every foreign word we were to come across in any given “text,” a link took you to yet another site that explained the term (historically, semantically, etymologically)?
Or a researcher’s name is mentioned urlLink (i.e., Vygotsky), or a body of research urlLink (i.e., Semiotics) ? In other words, what would a story or textbook enable if hyperlinks were to carry the “narrative” from one point of reference to another? In the on-line textbook under the heading called urlLink Context, there are four subheadings, each contributing knowledge and skills for teachers across discipline areas. Of the four distinct areas, Gender, Age, Multi-cultural, and urlLink Use of language, I was particularly interested in the notion that specialized vocabulary often creates a barrier for understanding key concepts. I certainly encounter specialized language each time I try to teach music skills to non-musicians.
The barrier that the language holds often seems insurmountable, for each special term (while resembling common usage, such as “beat” or “rhythm”) creates an impasse for the learner. It is only when learners experience the language through listening to and making music that the vocabulary no longer guards its secrets. I was also interested in the heading urlLink Reading Strategies where three key questions are explored, namely, Why teach reading? What is reading? How can I tell if my student has a reading difficulty? As well, one finds urlLink strategies for reading and urlLink on-line resources for reading.
Another excellent section called urlLink Grammar contains a succinct history of the English language! All of these wonderful bits of information are a handy source of knowledge…nevertheless… A few last thoughts continue to drift in and out of consciousness. How will the use of hyperlinks affect the regular "reading of a text? " I remember when someone came up with the idea for DVDs to contain pop ups that you could click on, which would take you instantly to the director’s POV or some such info source.
I tried one and hated the "interruptions" with the little pop ups (you could turn those off) right away. I wanted the narrative in its entirety the first time round but the second time viewing was fun to click and learn.
The last thought deals with the phenomenon called the “digital divide.” It is no surprise that we live in a urlLink digital divide, and advocacy for literacy stretches beyond “reading and writing” (once conceivably thought of as an “alpha-numeric divide”). We cannot ignore social, political and economic forces, anymore than we can ignore the role we play in bringing justice to those forces in the classroom. Each time a “teachable moment” is missed that draws attention to the medium of words, computers and other forms of literacy, we forego the opportunity to empower children with the most basic of tools. And that’s what words (ostensibly technologies) can do. Empower the individual with a voice and a way of thinking! Did you get through this text without clicking on a link??
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