Gets interesting when nouns change to verbs (ala Google to google) .. interesting hybrids such as cybertroqueur and cyberattaque.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 2 April 2010 18:21, ken price <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kenjprice@gmail.com">kenjprice@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">Apart from the political spin on language (my favourite being the<br>
"40th anniversary of human invasion of the Moon"), there are many<br>
changes in the use of language in technology happening before us.<br>
<br>
For example<br>
<br>
- "Have you got a USB I can borrow?" as a request for a USB memory<br>
stick, rather than the actual USB port or bus.<br>
- The use of "radar" or "laser" as a synonym for a speed camera based<br>
on that technology.<br>
- The term "blog" being used by newspapers for what most of us would<br>
call a single blog posting on a blog.<br>
- 30 years ago boasting about having a "plasma" in your lounge room<br>
would only happen if you were busy separating blood or were a<br>
physicist with a rather substantial bunch of equipment to produce a<br>
magnetic field to contain the ionised plasma in question.<br>
- "An MP3" referring to a song in MP3 audio file format (we never<br>
refer to "an Excel" though we do use the term "a PowerPoint" ...wonder<br>
why).<br>
<br>
"Upload" and "download" seem to be used interchangeably by some<br>
people, and I've lost count of how many times I've heard TV programs<br>
ask me to "log on" to their website - when they just meant visit it.<br>
<br>
Many old textbooks show an entirely different meaning for CPU than its<br>
current meaning.<br>
<br>
Perhaps we should also mention regional pronunciations as part of the<br>
language issues of technology?<br>
<br>
The acronym "URL" - I've heard this pronounced as the common "you are<br>
ell" , as "ural" and also as "earl" (very common in one profession)<br>
<br>
"GIF" occurs as both "giff" and "jiff"<br>
<br>
While it's perhaps out of our area, "quark" is usually pronounced to<br>
rhyme with dark, but also in its original form which rhymes with pork.<br>
<br>
I guess this adds more complexity to an already complex area...<br>
<br>
ken<br>
(DoE Tasmania)<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5">On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 5:09 PM, Roland Gesthuizen <<a href="mailto:rgesthuizen@gmail.com">rgesthuizen@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> No Donna, you did raise a good point and thanks for raising this. I am being<br>
> careful here not to pick on any one issue, broadening it from the original<br>
> hacker vs cracker debate to something more interesting .. What many call a<br>
> settlement, others call an occupied territory. What many describe as<br>
> pioneers, others describe as invaders. What many describe as illegal<br>
> migrants, others describe as desperate refugees. What some hide as<br>
> government owned, private and confidential, others may report as being in<br>
> the public interest. What the media describes as a balanced debate,<br>
> scientists describe as pandering airplay to crackpots.<br>
><br>
> Even our very real world of IT is not so black and white. Crikey, what some<br>
> call a benevolent security filter, others describe as the great firewall.<br>
><br>
> Should students be aware of this language play and be guided to identify the<br>
> associated tensions. There are some powerful groups and corporations that<br>
> like to think they can control our thinking and steer opinion. Humanities<br>
> teachers have to juggle the spin put onto our language all the time. Would<br>
> anybody on the list like to share how they deal with this?<br>
><br>
> I have my doubts that common usage should dictate the ideas of what we<br>
> should teach. That is not to say that we cannot describe what people<br>
> generally think. I bump into this every year when I start to describe<br>
> information and data to get students to think about these terms as as IT<br>
> professionals do, not as a lay member of the public. Any valid claim for how<br>
> we should use a term should probably be based on sound arguments, not<br>
> popularity.<br>
><br>
> Regards Roland<br>
><br>
> On 2 April 2010 10:48, Donna Benjamin <<a href="mailto:donna@cc.com.au">donna@cc.com.au</a>> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> On Sun, 2010-03-28 at 18:33 +1100, Mark KELLY wrote:<br>
>> > I fear the battle is already lost; 99% of the<br>
>> > population simply does not know or care about the difference: and they<br>
>> > win.<br>
>><br>
>> But you are IT teachers, teaching IT students, who surely should at<br>
>> least be exposed to the notion there is a difference?<br>
>><br>
>> Or should I just pull my head in?<br>
>><br>
>> Common Usage is not always Correct Usage.<br>
>><br>
>> I fort youse guise mite no that.<br>
>><br>
>> --<br>
>> Donna Benjamin - Executive Director<br>
>> Creative Contingencies - <a href="http://cc.com.au" target="_blank">http://cc.com.au</a><br>
>> ph +61 3 9326 9985 - mob +61 418 310 414<br>
>> open source - facilitation - web services<br>
>><br>
>> _______________________________________________<br>
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><br>
><br>
><br>
> --<br>
> Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College<br>
> <a href="http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au</a><br>
><br>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change<br>
> the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead<br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
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<div class="im">> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and<br>
> <a href="http://www.vitta.org.au" target="_blank">http://www.vitta.org.au</a> - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers<br>
> Association Inc<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
</div>Dr Ken Price MACS ACCE Professional Associate.<br>
President, TASITE<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College<br><a href="http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au">http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au</a><br><br>"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead<br>