A pamphlet full of good information beats the hell out of some $10 blogger cramming “10 Ways to Rob Time From Your Day With Useless How-To Crap” and “Top Ten Reasons Why My Opinion Matters to You” down my throat. Power to the printing press, Johann Gutenburg!

Anne Trubek suggests an interesting notion of how technology could help a select few who have a hard time grasping penmanship and letter formation/recognition. However, to make broad sweeping generalizations for the rest of her son’s and future classmates (as well as entire generations of writers) that hand scripting is irrelevant to learning and expression is ludicrous. There are pros and cons to all media used to translate thoughts and feelings into tangible creations, even voice transcribers. There’s nothing wrong with oral tradition as a source of origination, but it’s not for everyone. I prefer to work with the voice audible only to me that propels my fingers. I will note, too, that in fifth grade I barely passed my penmanship tests until my father sat me down and showed a me a concept of tracing semi-circles to form the tops and bottoms of letters. As it turned out I was writing “left-handed” arcs with my right hand, which is why it looked so messy. Once I practiced a this new method a few times, letter formation clicked for me, and I’ve had beautiful handwriting ever since. Perhaps Trubek’s son just needs some good old-fashioned practice and a new way of A) holding his pencil B) making semi-circle arcs, or C) entertaining the notion that he may have dyslexia. Instead of handing him a voice transcriber and screaming Web 4.0, she may want to clarify his needs. I’m all for bringing new technologies into the classroom, but ignoring rudimentary tasks for the sake of abandoning challenges on students is weird. That’s like saying fat kids who have to exert extra effort in gym class to keep up have a full license to play Wii Fitness instead. Sounds very “You-Gee Ut-Oh!” to me.

‘nough said.

The world is rife with connections to irritate, enrage, and deflate our initiative to better the world. While it’s good to recognize them, it’s time to personalize solutions into the media “You” so that able people have a clue as to what they can do next individually, then as a group. We’re a sleepy bunch and need a Top 6 e0mailed newsletter how-to manual for everything from how to shop to what to think; waking up and doing something is no different. The next cover should be (Do) Good– and the Call to Action should be a true one, not a “click here to save 15%.” Infiltrate that.

A pamphlet full of good information beats the hell out of some $10 blogger cramming “10 Ways to Rob Time From Your Day With Useless How-To Crap” and “Top Ten Reasons Why My Opinion Matters to You” down my throat. Power to the printing press, Johann Gutenburg!

Anne Trubek suggests an interesting notion of how technology could help a select few who have a hard time grasping penmanship and letter formation/recognition. However, to make broad sweeping generalizations for the rest of her son’s and future classmates (as well as entire generations of writers) that hand scripting is irrelevant to learning and expression is ludicrous. There are pros and cons to all media used to translate thoughts and feelings into tangible creations, even voice transcribers. There’s nothing wrong with oral tradition as a source of origination, but it’s not for everyone. I prefer to work with the voice audible only to me that propels my fingers. I will note, too, that in fifth grade I barely passed my penmanship tests until my father sat me down and showed a me a concept of tracing semi-circles to form the tops and bottoms of letters. As it turned out I was writing “left-handed” arcs with my right hand, which is why it looked so messy. Once I practiced a this new method a few times, letter formation clicked for me, and I’ve had beautiful handwriting ever since. Perhaps Trubek’s son just needs some good old-fashioned practice and a new way of A) holding his pencil B) making semi-circle arcs, or C) entertaining the notion that he may have dyslexia. Instead of handing him a voice transcriber and screaming Web 4.0, she may want to clarify his needs. I’m all for bringing new technologies into the classroom, but ignoring rudimentary tasks for the sake of abandoning challenges on students is weird. That’s like saying fat kids who have to exert extra effort in gym class to keep up have a full license to play Wii Fitness instead. Sounds very “You-Gee Ut-Oh!” to me.

‘nough said.

The world is rife with connections to irritate, enrage, and deflate our initiative to better the world. While it’s good to recognize them, it’s time to personalize solutions into the media “You” so that able people have a clue as to what they can do next individually, then as a group. We’re a sleepy bunch and need a Top 6 e0mailed newsletter how-to manual for everything from how to shop to what to think; waking up and doing something is no different. The next cover should be (Do) Good– and the Call to Action should be a true one, not a “click here to save 15%.” Infiltrate that.