Pencils to Pixels

This article makes the point that the computer is the gateway to literacy today. To be digitally literate you must be able to use a computer. This makes sense and applies to us because I do not know of one Auburn student who does not own their own computer, it is a way of life for us. Most of our homework is done digitally. Writing itself, in any context, is a technology. Writing cannot replace physically speaking, but it is a strong way for someone to get their point across. The bad thing about communicating through writing is there is no way to show emotion through writing, like there is when you are verbally having a conversation with someone face to face. Plato did not like writing because he felt like it weakened our memory. Thoreau thought that writing on paper was more effective than electrical impulses. They also state that telephone communication combined aspects of any type of writing and speaking. Baron concludes with the major fact that technology, especially computers, has changed the way we communicate and express ourselves, along with making communicating quicker and easier. They argue mostly that literacy today is defined as being able to keep up with the latest technologies.