--- On Sun, 2/15/09, Brian Lee <blee@mph.net> wrote:
> Here are my reasons...
>
> - 15 pg English paper can not be done on wiki or blog
> - 5 pg book report can not be handed in on a blog or wiki
When I was in the classroom, I taught English and History. When I specified a length, I specified word count, not pages. This eliminates the font game; ie a paper in Courier looks longer than the identical paper in Times New Roman.
> - Writing a paper for class in college requires you to
> write in a word
> processor
> - Accounting requires the use of Excel
Writing a paper in college requires critical thinking. I have taught this using word processors, wikis (use headings as sections, which become paragraphs), and presentation software (each screen corresponds to a paragraph), flow charts, outlines, index cards, etc. Allowing the final format to determine the creative process is an unnecessary limit.
Our accountants do not use Excel. They use Quickbooks. While some accountants might use Excel, not all do. Accounting requires a person understand the needs of their clients, and the way current tax law applies around those needs. Then, a good accountant uses a software tool to set up a system that automates as much as possible.
>
> -- SNIP --
>
> I still believe in understanding the basics is very
> important. It will come
> in handy when they go to college. My brother who was in
> the Navy once
> observed personnel input data into Excel, and did the
> calculations on a
> calculator because they didn't know how Excel is used.
This sounds like more of a training issue than an argument for teaching Excel at all levels.
For what it's worth, I had a book published last year. I was given chapter templates, and support from my editor at working with them. And there was still a production workflow where people took my drafts and converted them into a print-ready format. The point: I'm a fairly adept technology user. I know my way around a word processor. Yet, when there were elements that went beyond what I knew how to do (ie, how to convert a word processed doc into a print-ready format) my publisher didn't train me how to do it (and if that had been a requirement I would have found a different publisher); they gave me what I needed and used in-house talent to do the rest.
RE publishing in general: when the web to print workflow is cleaned up, the current disruption of the internet on print media will seem small in comparison. And it is coming. We recently worked on a project where we helped to build out an infrastructure to support open content. The workflow of easy web to print is firmly in the sights of many people; sites like Lulu.com are an initial foray into this space, but more is coming.
And at that point, getting books on demand from web-based resources will become accessible. And that's when the fun really starts.
Cheers,
Bill
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