How and what technology has changed the way we read and write

Introduction

It is interesting that modern technology has enhanced the way we learn how to read and write. What is also interesting is that how our literacy has been influenced by the changing technology such as the computer screen, mobile phone, I-Pad and more. This essay paper would be highlighting how literacy has changed the way we read as well as my personal experiences with the changing technology that has changed the way I read and write. The argument that would surround the essay would be based on Dennis Baron’s article about how technology has made drastic changes on how we learn how to read and write.

Conclusion

Dennis Baron argues that literacy technologies has changed the way we read and write but has also hampered our ability to rectify spelling and grammatical errors on our own. Baron also mentions that writing technology will continue to evolve as time progresses.

Pencils, pens and papers

For centuries, man have written with pencils, pens and papers. According to the article from Dennis Baron, writing with pencils and pens on paper was the earliest form of literacy that has spanned even from ancient times. Writing with pen and paper backdated from the times of Ancient Egypt. Writing with pen and paper continued to become the tool of literacy and the only source to learn how to read and write until the Renaissance, when printing technology became available.

Printing

How and what technology has changed the way we read and write

When printing technology became available during the Renaissance, books were being able to be printed out in large numbers despite having no running electricity. These wooden machines were able to print a large number of books per day and since then, books became the number one source of reading during the Renaissance but people still continued to learn how to read and write from pen and paper. Printing continued to be directly the number one source to reading and printing books but it was superseded by the Internet and electronic books devices like Kindle, I-Pad, Zook, making books digital. However, printing technology still continues to this day.

Typewriting

Typewriters were invented somewhere in the late 1880s and it continued to be in use until the 1980s. Typewriting became the source of learning how to read and write until the late 1980s, when computers were invented to succeed the typewriter. Computers with word processing software were able to rectify errors easily compared with typewriters in which typing or spelling errors were cumbersome to rectify. If one made a mistake in typing with a typewriter, he or she would have to type the document all over again. Word processing software could rectify spelling errors and grammatical errors as easy as a right click. The good thing about the typewriter is that it reinforces our ability to learn how to read and write correctly, especially spelling words correctly. Word processing documents would hamper our ability to read, write and spell on your own.

Computers & The Internet

Computers were invented somewhere in the 1960s but it was not for commercial use until the 1980s. Before the 1980s, it was strictly for the use of the United States Military. However in the late 1980s and early 1990s, that all changed when computers and the Internet became available to the public for personal and commercial purposes. Universities began adapting computers and the Internet. Other technologies began to surface like cell phones and other electronic communications devices.

Social media sites, blogs, and electronic devices

Since the introduction of the Internet and computers to the public, electronic devices such as cell phones have evolved as well as Internet sites. Now, we use cell phones that have Internet capability known as smartphones. We have social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This has enhanced our ability to learn how to read and write in a very drastic way. However as mentioned earlier, it has hampered our ability to read and write on our own and we have become too dependent on technology to rectify spelling or grammatical errors.