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Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy Page: 1
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An excerpt from
Digit al Lit eracy Introduction to
by
Paul Gilster Excerpt
by
Copyright © 1997 by Paul Gilst er
This mat erial is used by permission of
Trish Watson
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. NC State University
Raleigh, NC
Introduction
"Now, at t he t urn of t he T his century has been one of change and
growth, and media and communication have
new cent ury, Web been among the most rapidly developing. At the
t echnol ogies are repl acing turn of the last century, theatre, the telegraph,
and the newspaper entertained and informed
TV, t elephones, and us. By the 1930s, movies replaced theatre as
popular entertainment, and telephones had
newspapers as t he primary replaced telegraphs as primary lines of
means by which we are communication. In the 1950s TV replaced
movies and, later, newspapers. Now, at the turn
inf ormed and ent ert ained." of the new century, Web technologies are
replacing all three —TV, telephones, and
newspapers—as the primary means by which
we are informed and entertained.
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy Page: 2
As each of these changes has occurred in
media and communication, so too the mindset of
the consuming, enjoying, learning public has
changed along with them. Paul Gilster, in his
book Digital Literacy (Wiley, 1997),
describes how this latest change is occurring
and how we can more readily take full
advantage of the opportunities and adapt to the
"Our abil it y t o adapt t o t he new possibilities, and sometimes dys-abilities,
Web as it adapt s t o us wil l we encounter as we rely more and more on the
Web.
det ermine it s f ut ure and
Our ability to adapt to the Web as it adapts to
our own." us will determine its future and our own. Gilster
is concerned, as the book jacket describes, with
providing "Internet novices with the basic
thinking skills and core competencies they'll
need to thrive in an interactive environment so
fundamentally different from passive media
such as television or print.
Below Meridian reprints two sections from
Gilster's book. One, titled "The Spinning of the
Web," covers some basic history of the
medium—where it comes from. The other,
"Interacting with the Media," gives some
examples of the Web's potential—where we're
going. To transcend passive media, to go
"… we must operat e t he beyond "electronic print" into truly dynamic
networks, we must operate the Web as
Web as dynamic t hinkers no dynamic thinkers no longer content to have
l onger cont ent t o have information and entertainment merely presented
to us.
inf ormat ion and
As we teach the next generation of Web users
ent ert ainment merely about the networks available to them, we are
present ed t o us." also giving them the opportunity to learn a
mindset that can allow them to stretch and
explore the potential of this interactive medium.
If we can help our students live up to the
potential Gilster describes, we can hope one
day that a final media/communication merge
will erase the distinction between what it means
to entertain and what it means to inform…
To page 2 of 9
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Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal
a service of NC State University, Raleigh, NC
Volume 2, Issue 2, July 1999 ISSN 1097-9778
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Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 2 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digit al Lit eracy
Copyright © 1997 - This mat erial is used by permission of John Wil ey & Sons, Inc.
"The net must do all
t his quickly enough
t hat we, wit h our
modernist
impat ience, don't
become disenchant ed
and f ind somet hing
else t o do wit h our
t i me. "
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 2 Page: 2
"The key
development
behind t he Web
was Berners-Lee's
creat ion of
HyperText
Transport
Prot ocol, or
HTTP."
To page 3 of 9
Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 3 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digit al Lit eracy
Copyright © 1997 - This mat erial is used by permission of John Wil ey & Sons, Inc.
"Remarkabl y, in a
relat ively short
period of t ime,
we're moving f rom
an Int ernet t hat
resembles an
endless rummage
sal e t o one t hat in
st riking ways
resembles a library,
t hanks t o URLs."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 3 Page: 2
"…programmers
Marc Andreesen and
Eric Bina, conceived
t he key concept
t hat would change
t he Int ernet int o
t oday's mult imedia
powerhouse."
To page 4 of 9
Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 4 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digit al Lit eracy
Copyright © 1997 - This mat erial is used by permission of John Wil ey & Sons,
Inc.
"Mosaic did f or t he
World Wide Web
what Macint osh
and Microsof t
Windows did f or
deskt op
comput ers. It
democrat ized t he
process."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 4 Page: 2
"The t rend in
Int ernet sof t ware
development is t o
make it ever more
t elevision-like,
combining it s
already powerf ul
f eat ures wit h t he
live-pict ure model
of t he broadcast
net works."
To page 5 of 9
Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 5 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digit al Lit eracy
Copyright © 1997 - This mat erial is used by permission of John Wil ey & Sons,
Inc.
"If t he Web is t o
compet e wit h
t el evision (and,
we hope, drive up
t he int ellect ual
st akes), it must
make maximum
use of t he t hings
t hat dist inguish it
f rom t radit ional
f orms of cont ent ."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 5 Page: 2
"The Web is about
int eract ivit y, t he
abil it y of t he user
t o choose
inf ormat ion
pat hways and
explore t hem wit h
new-f ound ease."
To page 6 of 9
Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 6 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digit al Lit eracy
Copyright © 1997 - This mat erial is used by permission of John Wil ey & Sons,
Inc.
"The experience is
vivid, al most an
out -of -body
j ourney, f or what
t hey've done is t o
move bet ween one
exist ence, def ined
by t heir daily
rout ine, t o
anot her, def ined
by it s presence on
t he papers and
screens we al l use
as input devices
f or our t radit ional
inf ormat ion."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 6 Page: 2
"Thus hypert ext 's
great pot ent ial is
int eract ive. It s
l inkages can
lessen t he
separat ion
bet ween what we
consider news on
t he one hand and
our own
experiences on t he
ot her."
To page 7 of 9
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 7 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digit al Lit eracy
Copyright © 1997 - This mat erial is used by permission of John Wil ey & Sons, Inc.
"The pict ure we
build is f ormed
by accret ion; we
l earn in snat ches,
put t ing t he st ory
t oget her link by
link."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 7 Page: 2
"It behooves good
Web page
designers t o
al ways keep a
map of t he sit e in
f ront of us,
because t he Web
challenges us
wit h it s many
dif f erent ways t o
explore it s
riches."
To page 8 of 9
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 8 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digit al Lit eracy
Copyright © 1997 - This mat erial is used by permission of John Wil ey & Sons, Inc.
"A good Web sit e,
t hen, is one t hat
cont inually
updat es it s
cont ent ."
"If I were
wat ching a
t elevision account
of his expl oit s, I
would need t o
t une in at t he
scheduled t ime.
On t he Web, I can
check at a t ime of
my own choosing."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 8 Page: 2
"…he's linking t o
t he t elephone
syst em t hrough an
acoust ic coupler
t hat f it s ont o a
convent ional
t elephone
handset . That 's
t he onl y way ont o
t he Int ernet ,
long-dist ance over
t he rare out back
pay phones."
To page 9 of 9
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 9 Page: 1
| Table of Contents | About Meridian | Resources | Archive |
An excerpt from Digital Literacy
Copyright © 1997 - This material is used by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
"One hyperlink is
as cl ose as
anot her on t he
World Wide
Web."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: Page 9 Page: 2
"Learning how t o
t urn t his hybrid
medium t o your
advant age means
mast ering a set
of t ool s designed
expressly f or t he
purpose of
cat aloging and
ret rieving Web
resources."
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: A uthor Page: 1
| Table of Contents | Review Board | Resources | Archive |
Digital Literacy
Paul Gilster
Paul Gilst e r is a freelance writer specializing in computers
and technology. He is the author of six books about the
Internet, all from John Wiley & Sons: Digital Literacy
(1998), The Web Navigator (1997), The New Internet
Navigator (1995), Finding It on the Internet (1994), The
Mosaic Navigator (1995) and The SLIP/PPP Connection
(1995). Gilster has also contributed frequently to numerous
technology and business magazines, and has published
essays, feature stories, reviews and fiction in a wide range
of publications both in and out of the computing field. For
the past twelve years, he has written the weekly "Computer
Focus" column, which now appears in The News & Observer
(Raleigh, NC). Before turning to writing full-time in 1985, he
was, at various times, a specialist in medieval literature, a
commercial pilot, and the owner of a wine shop. Even his wife
got confused.
[email protected]
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 M eridian: Jul99: D igitalLiteracy: A uthor Page: 1
| Table of Contents | Review Board | Resources | Archive |
Digital Literacy
Trish Wat son
Trish Wat son is in her final semester of the MS Technical
Communication program at NC State. Her studies, research,
and work experience focus on research communication
channels among researchers, students, and the general
public. She has taught ENG333, Communication for Science
and Research, and has been a research assistant for the
Center for Communication in Science, Technology, and
Management, in the College of Humanities and Social
Science. Her thesis examines the factors influencing
participation in an electronic journal for student research at
NCSU.
[email protected]
