Influence of communications technology on literary practices

Influence of communications technology on literary practices

Introduction

The concept of literary practices defines a powerful tool that facilitates the conceptualization of the inherent link between reading and writing practice and the social structures within which they are engraved and which they are aimed at molding. Contrary to the common assumption that literacy practices are restricted to just the superficial choice of a word, it also encompasses a careful consideration of the possibilities that this perspective offers for new theoretical understandings in terms of literacy. Moreover, forces such as affordances, constraints and technological determinism have greatly influenced literary practices and have shaped the methods and approaches to learning and teaching over time.

Communications technology as an aid to literary practice

The use of communications technology to facilitate learning and teaching had largely been implemented as a gesture of faith. As a result, there is insufficient reliable, credible and quantitative evidence to prove its positive impact on the learning activities of students. In order to justify the development of communications technology, sufficient evidence needs to be collected to effectively prove its benefits (Haertel & Means, 2000).

Although communications technology forms only one component of the literary setting, it is inarguably the most significant of all as it provides to the learning and application of other subjects in the school curriculum a range of special features. For instance, it is a universally acknowledged fact that it is mainly owing to communications technology that students are able to enjoy quicker and easier access to massive universal resources for the collection of relevant knowledge and information.

In addition, communications technology has also encouraged the automatic processing of data and this has greatly facilitated literary practices by offering a range of conveniences. The convenience and comfort of being able to amend work whenever required is another gift provided by communications technology. Apart from this, the learner is able to request immediate feedback and this helps them to determine how successfully the learning outcomes have been achieved.

Affordances and constraints

Many case studies and a number of research projects suggest that extensive access to communications technology returns clear benefits as far as motivation among students is concerned. However, the approaches used in these researches are inconsistent, especially when considering the methods chosen for evaluation and the variables adopted for analysis.

Didactical learning is primarily aimed at stimulating change in the abilities of students. The student's individual abilities are determined by their potential for action in a given setting and according to their dispositions, understanding, skill set and expertise (Greeno, 1994, p. 339). The setting or learning environment that teachers establish for their students is specifically designed to enhance learning among students. Therefore, in order to meet the desired learning goals, students utilize their inherent abilities as well as the supporting features that exist within the learning environment.

The key attributes of the supporting features are categorized as affordances and constraints (Greeno, 1998, pp. 9). The affordances are all the identifiable attributes that are present within the environment and they primarily determine ...