From Pencils to Pixals

The computer is the new gateway to literacy. Writing like any tool in technology takes practice and time to learn how to use and perfect. Yes the pencil is a technology because it is a new tool that allowed people to write to convey their messages and ideas with each other. Plato thought that with the ability to write that our memories would weaken. With Thoreau using the pencil to connect his ideas when he was in the woods led him to wright some of the nation’s most famous books. Thoreau used the pencil to engage others in his type of thinking through his writing. The telephone drastically improved communication. People were able to communicate over long distances in very little time. However one cannot really compare the phone to the pencil because they could be used for completely opposite tasks. Through writing on the computer it has been easier to commit fraud, causing another dilemma in today’s society. Baron says that eventually anyone can learn how to use the computer, it just may not be the smartest way.  Literacy is defined as people needing to change and advance with literacy and new technologies.