September 5, 2006

Hypermedia

 

Right Vs. Left Brain

        Since I learned the alphabet song, my most predominant mechanism for learning about history and life in school has been through reading novels, textbooks, articles¿all forms of physical, written text. Thus, at the start of the article, I, passionately, answered ¿yes¿ to all of the rhetorical questions that inquired whether the age of technology and electronics has entirely displaced the supposedly arcane age of printed text in literacy. As a generation, students in today¿s day and age have become significantly lazier in most aspects of life, as illustrated by an appalling level of public knowledge of government, to the current highest percent of obesity in America ever-in part due to the replacement of physical exercise with staring at computer and television screens. Initially, I agreed entirely with Postman and his praise of ¿the first great revolution in education, from an oral culture to the age of writing and the alphabet, and the second, initiated by the printing press, but is dismayed by the third, which he calls the electronic revolution¿ (Bump, #5). However, I realized in retrospect that, at the time, I failed to understand that my position was quite biased, as I had never truly experienced or taken a genuine interest in hypermedia, through virtual gaming or any sort of interactive world. Thus, upon continuing the article, I found myself opening my perspective to a whole other type of learning, which was virtually foreign to me otherwise. I even realized that the left side of my own brain had dominated my thinking much of my life and learning, and was suffocating the right side of my brain, even as I read the article, disallowing me from considering another point of view.
        The idea of hypermedia to educate has been scoffed at as just another mechanism to dull students¿ reasoning and rhetoric skills with images and sounds amusing the ¿reader,¿ instead of forcing them to think and analyze. However, once I entertained the idea that hypermedia could actually be a more comprehensive form of educating, liberating ¿visual literacy and other kinds of multiple intelligences rather than stigmatizing all those that don't culminate in abstract theory,¿ it finally occurred to me that if the exact same words found in printed text can be complemented by images, sounds, etc., then would that not only provide the information, but also enhance the entire learning experience, exercising the entire brain? (Bump, #8). If education can be reformed to force students to become more complete individuals, who are adept in both ¿left¿ and ¿right¿ brain performance, then future leaders of the world, and subsequently society, will only become healthier. Because I naturally tend to be a more ¿left-brained¿ person, the analytical approach explained by Lanham that ¿Thinking' in behavioral terms -- with all the reliance on appearances, local knowledge, private interest, that it brings with it¿ caught my attention (Lanham, 245). Perhaps, exercising multiple parts of the brain simultaneously is a way to strengthen our both our intellectual and emotional proficiency. One cannot survive the world, its hardships, events, relationships, and other life experiences without being emotionally mature; book knowledge is not enough to live life.
        Although the article helped me understand an entirely different perspective, I found myself at a crossroads about the issue as I could now see both sides of the argument. Is there a way to develop a more complete foundation in all aspects of learning so as to prepare students to enter the world, without entirely abandoning some of literature¿s greatest printed treasures? I propose an education that mingles the two channels of learning to allow students to embrace the future of technology, while having knowledge of and appreciation for their ancestors' preservation of history. I sincerely hope that my education leads me to learn more about hypermedia and its advantages, while still honoring my allegiance to literature.