Module 2

This module is focused on writing technologies, the history of the book, and the future of books and narrative. You will learn about key concepts related to theories and practices of literacies, reading, and information use. You will also be able to define and critically analyze the role of books as objects of text and how the history of the book as a material object and as an agent of intellectual and social change helps us understand contemporary online and multimodal narratives.

You will read articles by Hastreiter, Delemos and Piazza that discuss the future of books and how technology is impacting them. 

Activities in this module include 

• Watch video clip 

• Digital Literacy Snapshot mini assignment

• eClass live Check in 

Digital Literacy Snapshot

Description / Instructions:

• Assess your digital literacy experiences focusing on how you engage with web communities and online platforms.

• Reflect briefly on how these experiences have shaped your digital identity.

Task:

1. Reflective Narrative: Record a short narrative (no more than 7 minutes; 3 minutes is perfect!) about your digital literacy journey. Include key platforms (like Hotmail, E-Bay, ICQ, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, etc.) that have been part of your journey and how they've influenced you.

2. Multimodality: Ensure your video has some voice (you speaking), music or sound effects, images etc…that represent your digital journey.

3. Post Creation: Publish your video and embed it on the class blog. Title your post "Digital Literacy Snapshot" and tag it with your name. NOTE: you can use any video platform to host your video or simply upload it to the blog.

4. Reflection: On the blog post, include a brief reflection (1 paragraph) on creating your video of your digital literacy journey.

The purpose of these activities is to give you an opportunity to apply the concepts you have learned to real-world scenarios and to engage in discussions with your peers. 

This module is designed to give you a better understanding of how technology is affecting the way we read and write and the way books are being produced and consumed today. I am looking forward to your thoughts!

• Hastreiter, N. (2017). What’s the Future of Books, The Future of Everything. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofeverything.io/2017/04/17/future-books/ 
• Delemos, R. S. (2021, September 13). TikTok for Viral Book Marketing: Self-published authors are increasingly flocking to the platform to market their books. Publishers Weekly, 268(37), 69.
• Gunter, D. (2023). AI, the new frontier - opportunities and challenges: Artificial intelligence is the future for all industries - especially scholarly publishing. Research Information, 4–6. https://login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=172906330&site=eds-live&scope=site   

I encourage you to analyze how these historical insights inform contemporary digital and multimodal narratives, reflecting on how the "book" continues to shape our understanding of literacy and information use in the digital age.