[Year 12 IT Apps] Hacking through the classroom IT Language

Fri Apr 2 19:20:16 EST 2010

Gets interesting when nouns change to verbs (ala Google to google) ..
interesting hybrids such as cybertroqueur and cyberattaque.

On 2 April 2010 18:21, ken price <kenjprice at gmail.com> wrote:

> Apart from the political spin on language (my favourite being the
> "40th anniversary of human invasion of the Moon"), there are many
> changes in the use of language in technology happening before us.
>
> For example
>
> - "Have you got a USB I can borrow?" as a request for a USB memory
> stick, rather than the actual USB port or bus.
> - The use of "radar" or "laser" as a synonym for a speed camera based
> on that technology.
> - The term "blog" being used by newspapers for what most of us would
> call a single blog posting on a blog.
> - 30 years ago boasting about having a "plasma" in your lounge room
> would only happen if you were busy separating blood or were a
> physicist with a rather substantial bunch of equipment to produce a
> magnetic field to contain the ionised plasma in question.
> -  "An MP3" referring to a song in MP3 audio file format (we never
> refer to "an Excel" though we do use the term "a PowerPoint" ...wonder
> why).
>
> "Upload" and "download" seem to be used interchangeably by some
> people, and I've lost count of how many times I've heard TV programs
> ask me to "log on" to their website - when they just meant visit it.
>
> Many old textbooks show an entirely different meaning for CPU than its
> current meaning.
>
> Perhaps we should also mention regional pronunciations as part of the
> language issues of technology?
>
> The acronym "URL" -  I've heard this pronounced as the common "you are
> ell" , as "ural" and also as "earl" (very common in one profession)
>
> "GIF" occurs as both "giff" and "jiff"
>
> While it's perhaps out of our area, "quark" is usually pronounced to
> rhyme with dark, but also in its original form which rhymes with pork.
>
> I guess this adds more complexity to an already complex area...
>
> ken
> (DoE Tasmania)
> On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 5:09 PM, Roland Gesthuizen <rgesthuizen at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > No Donna, you did raise a good point and thanks for raising this. I am
> being
> > careful here not to pick on any one issue, broadening it from the
> original
> > hacker vs cracker debate to something more interesting .. What many call
> a
> > settlement, others call an occupied territory. What many describe as
> > pioneers, others describe as invaders. What many describe as illegal
> > migrants, others describe as desperate refugees. What some hide as
> > government owned, private and confidential, others may report as being in
> > the public interest. What the media describes as a balanced debate,
> > scientists describe as pandering airplay to crackpots.
> >
> > Even our very real world of IT is not so black and white. Crikey, what
> some
> > call a benevolent security filter, others describe as the great firewall.
> >
> > Should students be aware of this language play and be guided to identify
> the
> > associated tensions. There are some powerful groups and corporations that
> > like to think they can control our thinking and steer opinion. Humanities
> > teachers have to juggle the spin put onto our language all the time.
> Would
> > anybody on the list like to share how they deal with this?
> >
> > I have my doubts that common usage should dictate the ideas of what we
> > should teach. That is not to say that we cannot describe what people
> > generally think. I bump into this every year when I start to describe
> > information and data to get students to think about these terms as as IT
> > professionals do, not as a lay member of the public. Any valid claim for
> how
> > we should use a term should probably be based on sound arguments, not
> > popularity.
> >
> > Regards Roland
> >
> > On 2 April 2010 10:48, Donna Benjamin <donna at cc.com.au> wrote:
> >>
> >> On Sun, 2010-03-28 at 18:33 +1100, Mark KELLY wrote:
> >> > I fear the battle is already lost; 99% of the
> >> > population simply does not know or care about the difference: and they
> >> > win.
> >>
> >> But you are IT teachers, teaching IT students, who surely should at
> >> least be exposed to the notion there is a difference?
> >>
> >> Or should I just pull my head in?
> >>
> >> Common Usage is not always Correct Usage.
> >>
> >> I fort youse guise mite no that.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Donna Benjamin - Executive Director
> >> Creative Contingencies - http://cc.com.au
> >> ph +61 3 9326 9985 - mob +61 418 310 414
> >> open source - facilitation - web services
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
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> >> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
> >> http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology
> Teachers
> >> Association Inc
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
> > http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
> >
> > "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
> > _______________________________________________
> > http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> > IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
> > http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/infotechindex.html -
> > Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
> > http://www.vitta.org.au - VITTA Victorian Information Technology
> Teachers
> > Association Inc
>
>
>
> --
> Dr Ken Price MACS ACCE Professional Associate.
> President, TASITE
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html -
> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
> http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers
> Association Inc
>

-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"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
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