GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS: Exploring Communication Methods and Technologies

December 7, 2001
GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS
Exploring Communication Methods and Technologies
Grades: 6-8,9-12
Subjects: Language Arts, Technology
Related New York Times Article
"The 30-Year Path of E-Mail, By KATIE HAFNER", December 7, 2001
Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students learn about the emergence of e-mail as a popular communication tool and explore its impact on society. Students then consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of different types of communication tools in various creative contexts and explore the invention and evolution of these tools.
SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:
45 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Students will:
Respond to a scenario about different forms of communication; brainstorm different types of communication tools and technologies.
Learn about the creation, popularization and impact of e-mail by reading and discussion the article "The 30-Year Path of E-Mail."
Consider the relationship between communication tools and technology and the times and places in which they are used in developing and performing skits.
Research the development and evolution of various communication tools.
RESOURCES / MATERIALS:
student journals
pens/pencils
paper
classroom board
copies of the article "The 30-Year Path of E-Mail" (one per student)
ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:
WARM-UP/DO NOW: Students respond to the following prompt (written on the board prior to class): "List three friends whom you spend time with on weekends. Now imagine that you are getting ready to go out for the night when you hear on the radio that the concert that you and your three friends were planning on going to tonight has been cancelled. You need to inform them of this information and make alternate plans for the evening. Which communication device would you most likely use to contact each friend? Why would this device be the quickest way to reach this person?" Have students share their answers, recording on the board the various communication tools that students list. (Keep a tally next to each to show how many students would use each one.) Then, as a class, brainstorm other traditional and nontraditional communication tools from various cultures and time periods (e.g., Morse code, smoke signals, postal mail, telephone, Navy flags, drums, telegraph, etc.) Keep a list of all of these communication tools and technologies on the board for reference later in class.
As a class, read the article "The 30-Year Path of E-Mail," focusing on the following questions:
Who invented e-mail? How and why did he do this?
What are some of the advantages of e-mail that are cited in the article?
What are some of the "perils" of e-mail?
How does David Walden use e-mail to "hide"?
What was the first network mailing list?
Describe some of the e-mail programs created throughout the past 30 years. Why was each created?
Why was it hard at first to sell businesses on the concept of e-mail?
What is "technocentrism," and how does it affect the usability of e-mail programs?
Divide the class into groups of two or three. Have each group select one of the communication tools from the list on the board, making sure that no two groups choose the same tool. Then, give groups the following task: In order to highlight the unique nature of the communication tool you chose, create a skit that places this tool in an unexpected time or place (e.g., e-mail in the Aboriginal outback, or smoke signals on Wall Street). Your skit should address the following questions (written on the board to guide students as they write their skits):
What features does this mode of communication offer that are unique to it?
How might these features be advantageous in the context you have chosen? How might they be disadvantageous?
What mishaps might occur with this tool, either as a result of the intrinsic nature of the tool or because of its function in the time and place you have chosen?
How would the use of this tool affect the way that the people in this context communicate?
Encourage students to think of creative scenarios for their skits. Some suggestions for scenarios include:
Depicting a salesman trying to sell this tool to someone who does not understand why it would be useful (e.g., selling e-mail software to a Native American tribal chief).
"Rewriting" a historical event to include this tool (e.g., George Washington e-mailing his father to tell him that he chopped down the cherry tree).
At the end of class (or in a future class), each group should perform their skit.
WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Each group researches the basic history of the invention and evolution of the communication tool or technology explored in their skit. Research information should be creatively presented in the form of a poster or other visual to be displayed in the classroom.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What communication tool do you use most in your everyday life? What do your parents use most? What do your grandparents use most? What do you think accounts for these differences?
Have you ever tried to teach an older person how to use e-mail or another Internet application? What was your experience like?
Do you worry about the privacy of your e-mail or just accept that e-mail is not a secure mode of communicating?
Do you agree with the article that people tend to "hide" behind e-mail? Do you think this is good or bad? Why?
Have you ever had a misunderstanding over e-mail? What caused it? How was it solved?
EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on initial journal response, participation in class discussion, thoughtful completion and performance of group skit, and research-based poster or other visual depicting the invention and evolution of a communication tool.
VOCABULARY:
trajectory, mainstay, profoundly, perils, cyberspace, ominously, unwitting, icon, sedate, flaming, appellations, technocentrism, ubiquitous
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
Write and perform two skits, each depicting an argument between an employee and employer regarding the same event. Have one skit take place "in person," with the two actors working out the problem face-to-face. In the next skit, have the characters e-mail their comments back and forth. In creating your skits, consider the differences between these two interactions in terms of language and tone. Evaluate the skits as a class. Encourage other groups of students to act out a similar scenario using other forms of communication.
Create a timeline of e-mail from its invention until today. Include the events cited in the article, as well as any other important events you might find in your research. When possible, provide an "interface" showing how each different e-mail program looked and what features it offered.
Create a dialogue depicting the implications of one of the "perils" of e-mail cited in the article (e.g., e-mails being retained in archives, sending an e-mail too soon or the wrong person, or catching a virus). Focus not only on the problem but on creative ways one might solve it and limit the damage caused. Perform your scene for the class.
Create a children's book about a long-term e-mail correspondence between two friends. Use the book "Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence" as a model for your book. Try to enhance the story with artistic images and techniques like those used in "Griffin & Sabine."
Compare the romanticized "chat room romance" in the film "You've Got Mail" to real-life situations in which people have been scammed by an Internet relationship. (Many have made the news, although you may personally know people who have experienced this first-hand.) Write an essay critiquing the film's depiction of Internet romance and explaining why you think movies should or should not portray this phenomenon in such a manner.
Netiquette is the set of rules governing proper Internet behavior. Create a netiquette pamphlet that includes information on such topics as when to use or not use a mailing list, how to decide whether you should really forward a message to friends, and the proper amount of time one should allow to lapse before replying to an e-mail.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
American History- Research the life of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telegraph and telephone. Script an interview with Bell, using your research as a guide. Include answers to questions such as: How did Bell invent the telegraph and telephone? How was each invention first received by the public? What was each device's initial application? How did the telephone finally catch on?
Civics- Find out about the laws protecting the privacy of postal mail. Create a comparable set of laws addressing e-mail privacy. Then assess the practicality of each law, explaining whether it could be enforced and how.
Economics- Learn about how America Online became the world's most successful Internet service and content provider. Give a presentation to your class using the Internet boom of 1996 as the focal point to explain how AOL took off. Create a chart of significant data, such as number of subscribers each year since 1996 and features provided through the service each year, to accompany your presentation. You should also include company news when appropriate, such as the resignation of C.E.O. Gerald Levin in early December 2001.
Social Studies/Mathematics- Create a survey to find out about the ways in which people communicate. Ask questions about their usage of e-mail, land-line telephones, instant messaging services, cellular phones, beepers, and other communication devices. In addition to questions about usage preferences, ask subjective questions about how they feel the Internet has changed the way people communicate. Ask people of different ages, genders, and professions. Compile your data and create graphs depicting some of the trends you observed.
Copyright 2001
The New York Times Company