Lateral Multidirectional Literacy

A strategy much needed for deciphering and navigating in the new digital literacy, is lateral- multidirectional thinking. This literacy marks a shift from the more structured, well planned traditional book- like literacy.

Unlike the closely structured book environment in which the amount of information and the order of presenting the information are predefined, the net environment is open to rearrangement.

Linear structures following sequential logic, give room to non- linear, hypertext, associative structures. On the one hand this loosely netted structure fosters creativity and is open to new creations and interpretations, on the other hand the new open- ended exploratory environment is dynamic and even chaotic.

New cognitive skills are needed in order to navigate freely, yet mindfully among the many sites, and from site to site, while using the hypertext. The ability to focus, as well as integrative and summative skills are necessary in order to reconstruct knowledge out of huge chunks of information arrived at in an unstructured manner.

It is getting harder and harder to separate the ideas of literacy and digital literacy. The terms have become almost synonymous in referring to the ability to search, filter, and understand information in today's highly technical world.
Lateral literacy goes one step further and includes the ability to branch out, to jump from topic to topic, and to assimilate information from a number of different sources and media. However, the student can easily become lost in a universe of education for educators, search tools for the searcher, and any number of aids for those who have been left behind in a rapidly changing literary world.

Although this clip is aimed primarily at young males, it brings to light questions about our changing world and what it means to be literate in it. Perhaps we have to much faith in the "Google Generation" to navigate in this new world. Perhaps there needs to be more direction given to the form literacy takes in our future.

Are kids different because of digital media?

The world around has changed so much! Digital media has forced us to learn to multitask, has forced us to make a choice between what good and bad information is. Kids are spending more time sitting in front of the computer jumping between different websites trying to connect with the world. Can we survive without the current technology? Teachers and students would not be able to interact without the help of all the Digital Media that they depend on. Video taken from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PT3vEjw5g

Linking to other websites from a business perspective

http://technology.inc.com/internet/articles/200702/links.html. Read this article which is aimed to businesses and their infinite power over web marketing. It describes tips for a businees to take full advantage of linking other websites to their own. It is an easy and inexpensive way for businesses to "connect" to the consumer. If you ask me is a way for business to pray on the innocent web browser. Picture yourself on a beautiful summer day, surfing the internet for that new miracle pill that will make you lose 20 lbs in 2 months. You are thinking of the fun time you will have at the beach in the new bathing suit, when you get the shipment of the "miracle pills". You start searching for "miracle pills" since you can't remember the name. You chose a website that jumps out at you, "Do diet pills really work"? (taken from http://www.googobits.com/articles/952-miracle-pills-do-diet-pills-really-work.html). Now you have started your journey. From there you notice a related article about Diabetes, which has been in your mind lately. You decide to check it out. There is another related website about Stress relief. Let's face it, who does not want to be relaxed, so you decide to check it out. Somehow you end up viewing vacation destinations. Now you end up where you want it to be, in a white sandy beach, in a new bathing suit. The weight loss out of your mind, the pills completely forgotten and your pocket feeling a lot lighter. Your originally product search ended up in the abyss of the forgotten, and all thanks to the webmarketing that has taken you in a journey you did not know you were embarking.

Changing Face of Literacy

The concept of literacy and education has come a long way from the "Three R's" we were taught about when I was a child. From books and stories, we have morphed into a "Google Generation"; a digital world full of images and sounds that can be both confusing and intimidating.

Even more daunting is the concept of educating our children in this new age. In their article Connecting the Digital Dots Barbara Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne Flannigan speak to the challenges of an outmoded education system trying to "teach" students who can run circles around them, online and off. There is a definite mismatch in the linear thinkers produced by the book learning generation and the multi-directional approach that seems to be ingrained in the youth of the future. Those of us who are struggling to assimilate are in danger of being left behind or even run over by the little feet racing along the information super-highway.

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Endless Media, next generation of online image search

“Endless Media™ - See What You Think”
Toronto / Düsseldorf, Dec. 2008. Stock photo agency Masterfile Corporation has just launched its revolutionary new user interface, Endless Media™, heralding the next generation of online image searching.
The project has been under wraps for more than a year with Masterfile’s development team while the company applied for international patents on the unique methodology and its underlying logic.
Endless Media's innovative features deliver new dimensions in image searching for industry professionals. It is simple, fast and efficient - enabling users to streamline their existing workflows.

It reduces typing, eliminates “unproductive” mouse clicks and annoying pop-up windows while providing a unique display methodology that makes the site easier to navigate. Users can search deep in the collection without ever getting lost.
John McDonald, Masterfile’s Vice-President of Product Development and the technology’s creator, says “Think of it as visual logic for designers with the extreme speed of a desktop application. It’s a ‘type less and see more’ paradigm where users follow their own visual instincts to direct the search. There is nothing out there with its speed and simplicity… and this is just the beginning.”
Beyond the speed of the application, there are many new features built into it, including:
An “endless” horizontal image display eliminates the concept of “pages.
The site’s unique design logic prevents users from losing their place when they refine their search within results.
A powerful history feature allows users to review any of the images they’ve previewed a few minutes ago, or even a few months ago.
An advanced and improved SimSearch ® automatically displays visual similars as well as images from the same shoot whenever a user previews (enlarges) an image.
An innovative ”pairing” feature allows users to use any image to find other visually similar images of a different subject. This feature is ideal for rapidly selecting multiple images for communications media based on a visual theme or design.
There is support for hundreds of lightboxes and up to 4 active ones to enable users to save images for multiple projects/concepts in one pass.
Says Masterfile President, Steve Pigeon: “A year ago I said we were working on something that would make our competitors weep. This is it. We have taken the search for images to an entirely new level. With Endless Media™, you can see what you think.”

Taken from http://www.stockphototalk.com/the_stock_photo_industry_/2008/12/masterfile-endless-media-announces-the-next-generation-of-online-image-searching-endless-media.html#more

Endless tunnel of information

Have you ever found yourself travelling in an endless tunnel of information? Take the wrong turn and you will undertake a different journey. One tunnel will take you to another. One word typed in search will make the difference between finding your destination or being taken on a different path. With so much information at your fingertips, so many options available at the touch of a keyboard, it is a wonder we do not opt for the old fashion style of research. Give me back the encyclopedias, give me back the books, give me back the sanity.

Taken from http://7art-screensavers.com/screens/alien-magical-matrix-3d/find-yourself-in-the-endless-pseudo-matrix-3d-alien-tunnels-spinning-and-wirling-around-to-change-your-perception-of-the-earth-environment.jpg

Lateral Multidirectional Literacy

Lateral Multidirectional Literacy at a glance. How many times do we open a website just to find ourselves on an endless journey! Opening a web page can be the beginning of an exciting and/or a frustrating experience. The internet surfer must be prepared to spend quite a bit of time chasing after the information that was originally sought out. If only we could have an instruction manual to avoid all the headaches.
Taken from http://www.pocnetwork.net/images/Webdesign_colage.jpg