Research Project

Taking the notion of reciprocal relationships between communication needs, invention, and practices as a scaffold, extensively research a particular development in technologies for writing and reading and the implications it had on literacy and education. You may work with a partner if you wish.

You may produce either a video documentary, a podcast, an infographic poster, or a written piece based on your research. Regardless of medium, you must contextualize the technological development historically and culturally, taking into consideration the needs that such a development addressed and the existing practices that shaped it. You will also suggest what implications this development may have had for literacy and education.

The technical requirements for this assignment vary depending on the chosen mode of delivery.

• For video documentaries: The video should be 7 minutes long (+/- 1 minute of leeway) per person, excluding credits. Credits and references should be added at the end of the video. This is important; the video should work as a standalone piece.

• For podcasts: The audio should be 10 minutes long (+/- 1.5 minutes of leeway) per person, excluding credits. Credits should be given at the end of the audio. The references can be added in a separate document or in a post to your personal webspace. The URL of the reference document should be mentioned in the audio recording.

• For short articles: The written piece should be 1750 words (+/- 250 words of leeway) per person, excluding references. The written piece should conform to APA style.

• For infographic posters: The poster should be designed in P1 size (Canadian standard: 560 x 860 mm or 22 x 33.9 in). The purpose of this assignment is not to display textual data in a large format but to translate the information into a predominately visual mode, to tell a story visually. Use https://www.dailyinfographic.com/ as a reference. This is the only assignment that must be personal. The piece should be created in PDF format, and it should include all the references employed for its production.

Assessment Criteria:

• All elements of the assignment are present and the technical requirements observed, depending on the mode of delivery.

• Direct reference to outside sources should be made.

• Content must be accurate.

• Production choices support delivery of content in a clear, engaging fashion.

• Copyright law must be followed in use of visual and written materials.

• Primarily scholarly sources should be cited. (What is a scholarly source? Read this article.)

• Bibliographies are expected to be in APA form and must be included in the video credits and with the script. Information and some online instruction guides can be found at: APA

Purpose of the Work

• research a particular development in technologies for writing and reading and the implications it had on literacy and education

  • contextualize the technological development historically and culturally

  • consider the needs that such a development addressed and the existing practices that shaped it

  • suggest what implications this development may have had for literacy and education.

Fourth round of thinking... 

1. How was predictive text technology conceptualized, developed, and integrated into digital word processing?

Third round of thinking... 

1. How was predictive text technology conceptualized, developed, and integrated into digital word processing, and to what extent has it affected literacy education in general?

Second round of thinking... 

Refining my research questions:

1. How was speech-to-text technology conceptualized, developed, and integrated into digital word processing and what challenges and implications does this integration pose to literacy education today?

2. How was predictive text technology conceptualized, developed, and integrated into digital word processing, and to what extent has it affected literacy education in general?

First round of thinking...

Potential Research Questions:

1. What is speech-to-text technology? How was it initially conceptualized, then developed and integrated into digital word processing? How is it changing literacy and inclusive ed?

   • Upside Down, Left to Right

     • The letter press and move-able type printing process was slow and thoughtful. Therapeutic, putting it together piece by piece. The product is great, the process is enjoyable.

     • Old school, highly mechanical, parts hard to find to maintain

     • “The digital age does remove us from the tactile work – the hands on – and I think there is a longing in our soul to get back to that.” 6.05

     • European universities are bringing back letterpress studios – gaining traction?

2. To what extent has predictive text technology affected human writing?

   • “Might the Microsoft Corporation be functioning as a modern-day Caxton on a global level, in the sense that it is changing English spelling practices around the world by providing the most popular suite of office tools with default settings in US English?” [5.2] The Calculator of the Humanist: Word Processing and the Reinvention of Writing: ETEC_V 540 65A 2024W2 Text Technologies: The Changing Spaces of Reading and Writing, n.d.)

Potential Resources/References:

• [5.2] The Calculator of the Humanist: Word Processing and the Reinvention of Writing: ETEC_V 540 65A 2024W2 Text Technologies: The Changing Spaces of Reading and Writing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/151736/pages/5-dot-2-the-calculator-of-the-humanist-word-processing-and-the-reinvention-of-writing?module_item_id=7553219

• McLuhan titles are The Gutenberg Galaxy and Understanding Media.

• “Paper and the Printing Press” in Empire and Communication, Innis (1950)

  • “the cultural disruptions that he saw as driven in large part by the force of technological change”

• Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film—YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6RqWe1bFpM&t=109s

  • “There are no quick highlight and change sizes or type faces like we can do on a computer” 1.37

  • “Technology has really changed things. You can change things in an instant” 1.52