Category: Readings

03 Readings – Vannevar Bush’s ‘As We May Think’

The general idea behind Vannevar Bush’s article, ‘As We May Think’ is that technology is always developing and evolving. We might not be in a time where new inventions come about, developing a whole new line of product, but instead, we live in an era where tools are constantly being improved and technology is always improving.

Image from http://digitalphotographysecrets.com/camera-equipment/choosing-camera-and-lens-equipment/

Image taken from: http://digitalphotographysecrets.com/camera-equipment/choosing-camera-and-lens-equipment/

Take photography for example. The first camera was created in 1840, which could only take black and white photos. In recent times however, camera technologies keep advancing and newer and newer equipment are always being released. Right now, these additional functions of the camera don’t seem to have a huge impact on mankind. However, if you compare the cameras of today, versus the first camera that was ever invented, in the context of how the camera is being used, there is a noticeable difference.

  1. The equipment of cameras has improved tremendously.
  2. The development of film and the development of digitalized images have a large difference. We don’t need a dark room or hours of manpower to develop photos anymore.
  3. The introduction of video recording into cameras.

These are just a couple of notable advancements that have altered/developed the use of a camera. In this sense, it is possible(on some level) for us to predict the future of the development in technology, by keeping an open mind and a creative perspective.

Reading 01 – Researching Your Own Practice:The Discipline of Noticing by John Mason

An interesting piece by John Manson, entitled, ‘The Discipline of Noticing‘. The key idea in this article is ‘to notice’. Noticing, as simple as it sounds, could actually be one of the hardest things to do.

Manson’s explains that noticing is something that doesn’t happen intentionally. It comes and goes, and there is no guarantee. The most you can do is increase the likelihood of it occurring by exercising discipline to notice things around you. And by noticing, it means to say that a person who has noticed an occurrence should be able to re-tell the story to others or to himself. To actively mark that occurrence as a valuable piece of information to be reflected upon. That, is noticing.

Image taken from http://www.chestwear.com

There are so many things that we are aware of, but have never really noticed. For example, if I asked you to name one of the items on the back of a $20AUD bill, could you do it? Because I can’t. We look at these pieces of paper frequently, and have been doing so ever since we could remember. And yet, we still can’t recreate an image of a $20AUD bill in our minds.

Noticing isn’t as easy as I thought it was. Mindblowing stuff. Now, to test if you were noticing, answer this question: What is the title of the article?

Reading 01 – ‘Blogs in Media Education’ by Adrian Miles

Education has had a large influence on mankind. The process of learning was practiced by reading books or some sort of tangible, hard print. However, with the emergence of the internet and today’s innovative technology, learning can occur in other platforms, and not just in books. In ‘Blogs in Media Education‘, by Adrian Miles, the main takeaway point of this piece is the use of blogs as a tool of education.

There are several characteristics that blogs possess, which make it a suitable platform for a learning environment. These are several traits of blogs that have sparked interest in me.

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