Are New Technologies Redefining our Notion of Literature?
Society has been completely changed by technology throughout history. Over the past years, inventions and innovations of advanced ICT components such as computers (desktop and laptop), iPads, smartphones, iPods and the internet have completely turned around. The interaction of people in society at large, and most importantly, the way educators work in schools and Higher learning institutions globally (Sutton and Brian 81). ICT implementation in research and learning institutions has been on the rising demand as it is currently very pivotal in the success of the learners and researchers. The 21st-century society demands a technologically advanced information data endowed with a series of information that is easily accessible. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Dissemination and access to information across the world have been achieved in various ways. The information systems consisted of messengers riding on horses that went from town to town, passing information to different territories. Due to the invention and innovations such as the printing press machine by Johannes Gutenberg and postal systems in the 15th century, the ancient ways were dropped. More efficient ways were adopted (Waycott et al. 1205) The transfer of information and news since then have highly developed with time and coming to fruition by the late 19th century.
The introduction of personal computers drove the rapid rate of change of technological transfer, unlike the days when computers were owned by the governments and state organs only. A technological shift preceded a set of the industrial revolution making the growth of personal computers and the internet take a new look in the society, adding value to the research and academic fields. Many technological transformations have since occurred in the way in which information is being accessed and transferred. Instant messaging and blogs for personal communication have too followed suit. For instructors, there are new soft wares like Angel/blackboard and podcasting (Wetzl 116). The latest information and communication assets have professional change assessments of the value, access, and quality of literature information.
Volumes of the various literature materials have been simplified compared to the past, thus, simplifying the literature review process over the years. Furthermore, the quality evaluation of journal publication and other literature materials have been enhanced due to increased focus on the journal literature and concomitant interest (Wetzl 120). These changes have been in terms of the classroom look and writing materials and information dissemination processes. ICT has enabled editors to publish acceptable articles by overcoming the page limit of prints of hard copy articles. Of course, by overcoming the print limits, editors can achieve higher revenues from their work because many writers and readers can access the materials easily.
In the 21st society, telecommunication advancements (computers & internet networks) are widely recognized as essential resources driving the socio‐economic developments for the world’s developed and developing nations, including the education sector (Ashraf et al. 240). The impacts that information and communication technologies have had on society and culture is the breakdown of boundaries, enhancing the ease of information access. In the context of literature, these advanced technologies have made it easier to share information through the internet now than it was ever before (Vijayakumar 240). The literature resources have been made available on the internet through shared models such as eBooks, electronic libraries, internet cafes, and telecenters.
The introduction of social media has also broken down boundaries to form a single website that enables discussion of books and literature via book sharing modules such as Twitter Book, Blog Books, and Book-tubes (Wetzl 117). Reading and writing have also been made simple. In the context of literature content coverage in various fields, the analog articles and ISI perhaps did not have in-depth coverage and citation errors as provided by modern platforms such as Google Scholar that errors automatically. However, developing countries have faced infrastructural and environmental constraints limiting their ability to covert access of ICTs into benefits in terms of usage and application.
The ICT resources available in the developing countries are accompanied by adverse effects on the users as many of the users are not aware of the information they are exposed to on the computer when they are doing their research (Sutton and Brian 85). The users end up carrying the data from virtual to real life. On the same note, ICT has blurred the distinction between the readers and writers. Authors not being informed of those using their articles and the purpose of using them. Plagiarism, lack of intellectual property rights, and other malpractices in the field of academia have since emerged as writers cannot control how readers react to or interact with their work. The use of distorted information finding its way in literature research, thus, misleading many people.
The use of technology in academia can no longer be ignored as researchers, lecturers, authors, and students demand more technology than ever before in many aspects of their lives. They need it in doing their research, assignments, literature reviews, lecturing, and peer reviews. Technology has since seized to be just a medium. It plays both management and resource role that dictates editors, authors, and institutions to embrace and incorporate the new technological changes. This can be achieved by enhancing the academia, research, education institution courses, and literature review environment with appropriate interactive resources with well-incorporated management support. For the case of university/ college learning, a combination of academic programs in the courses that they offer with integrated technology programs.
The institutions need to transform their traditional educational resources into digital platforms such as online access to books and virtual classes. New technology has positively influenced literature in many forms. First: ease of accessibility; various materials can be delivered online very first and anywhere. Second: Flexibility in the sense researchers can take articles of their preference at their pace and time. Third: Feasibility; many materials can be accessed at a minimum cost. The commercial publishers that are pulling their article contents out of their aggregator databases to provide their unique journals should be monitored to protect the prospective users and curb monopoly emergence in the industry.
All in all, various technological changes experienced worldwide will put some traditional measures of content quality to decrease. Currently, many journal publications have dispensed paper publications and have holistically embraced only online products. It’s worth noting that new technology has also brought some negative influences on the literature access in the various platforms that ICT provides. Proper Management and close monitoring such as intellectual property rights granted to authors of different articles.
Works Cited
Ashraf, Md Mahfuz, Paul Swatman, and Jo Hanisch. “Some perspectives on understanding the adoption and implementation of ICT interventions in developing countries.” The journal of community informatics 3.4 (2017): 234-245
Sutton, Brian. “The effects of technology in society and education.” (2013): 78-87
Vijayakumar, S. “Using technology for brainstorming in a writing class: An innovative approach.” Journal of Technology for English Language Teachers 1.2 (2011): 234-245
Waycott, Jenny, et al. “Digital divides? Student and staff perceptions of information and communication technologies.” Computers & education 54.4 (2010): 1202-1211.
Wetzl, Ana. “Digital education in Eastern Europe: Romania’s modern affair with technology.” Computers and Composition 27.2 (2010): 112-123.