Re: Sam Clemens is dead

[Stuart Selber <sselber -at- MTU -dot- EDU>]

Perhaps one of the problems in debating the merits/demerits of paper/online
is to attribute too much power for change/hope/usefulness directly to the
technology. I'm currently working on a model of hypertext use in classroom
settings/sifting through lots of interview data and student projects. My
sense is the value that we place on printed and online texts is as much of
function of environmental influences as technological ones. The "best"
online help systems won't be useful to folks unprepared or unwilling to
use them, and so on......That doesn't mean we shouldn't work on
understanding how people use online space--we also have to understand their
working environment and how they may be encouraged and/or discouraged
(implicitly or explicityly) to engage it. Just a thought....

Stuart
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 *   Stuart A. Selber                                                    *
 *   Department of Humanities             906-487-3252 (voice)           *
 *   Michigan Technological University    906-487-3347 (fax)             *
 *   Houghton, MI 49931-1295              sselber -at- mtu -dot- edu                *
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