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Jada Booth
Professor Tripp
ENC 3417
31 March 2017
I Can Make It Better

The evolution of Literacy is undeniable. The are many focus points that prove

this statement, just by taking a step back and realizing how little we use a pencil. At

one point of time a pencil was considered new technology, that did replace a style

or a practice for writing. Not only was it considered a replacer, but a pencil was not

easily attainable, and was expensive. Today a pencil is hardly even utilized, for now,

what was once considered new, is now history. Technology has now shaped literacy

and the practices associated with it forever. There has been one type of technology

that has had the same intention, but has evolved in its own way. Whether it be what

its attached to or how it is built, the keyboard has managed to last this long, and

seems to only be getting better and remodeled.

Christopher Latham Sholes, Frank Haven Hall, Carlos Glidden and Samuel W.

Soule were the inventers of what was considered the first successfully

commercialized typewriter back in 1868. This came into play after years of using

the printing press, or handwriting being your only option. The point of the invention

was to separate frequently-used pairs of typebars so that the typebars would not

clash and get stuck at the printing point. Before them, there was Pellegrino Turri,

who also patented one of the first keyboards. His sole purpose was to allow the

blind to read. Discussing the typewriter which had more hands in its development
and how it initiated the purpose and the evolution of the keyboard that would

forever alter the way we practice literacy is interesting.

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Based on the mission of one of the first patented type writers, and comparing

it to the mission of the four inventors of the heavily commercialized typewriter,

there is an obvious trend to see something, and say, I can make it better. John

Jones had his contribution in the birth of the keyboard, through his contributions to

the typewriter as well. Jones created his typewriter to also help the blind, but this

typewriter allowed printed figures through pressing a dial. Jones also had the I can

make it better attitude. Per the Typing Through Time article it was a great idea,

but handwriting was a faster technique. In 1861 there was Father Franklin Azevado

who made a type writer with kitchen ware and wood, knives to be more exact. With

his invention imagining that it did not cost much to make, it was cheaper. Reverend

Ramus Malling Hansen, also a church figure created a typing ball, his invention did

not necessarily do anything differently, but it did take on a new shape, as implied in

the name. Hansens invention was consumed heavily across Europe in 1909. The

expansion of this type writer, that also had a new shape to it had begun to reshape

how we practice literacy.

By the early 1950s through 1970s, the computer began to become consumer

friendly, by this time the typewriter had already spread, and become a norm in any

household, workplace, or everyday life. As the computer began to emerge, and

slowly began to push the typewriter out of the running, just as the pencil was done,
there was a shift in literacy practices all over again. The Model M is what was

replacing the typewriter, that was once in high demand. According to Typing

Through Time this keyboard was a mechanical keyboard, and used the highest

quality construction, giving typists the satisfaction of tactile feedback, acute

accuracy and comfort. The only draw backs on this keyboard was that the Shift

and Enter keys were reportedly too small for most users preferences. As

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history never fails, there will of course be someone to fix that flaw in this keyboard

function. With this new technology that was hitting stores such as Apple, Radio

Shack and Commodore these computer graced households as fear swept across the

world. The article titled When People Feared Computers called it

Computerphobia. The fear stemmed from physically touching the computer or of

damaging it and what's inside it, a reluctance to read or talk about computers,

feeling threatened by those who do know something about them, feeling that you

can be replaced by a machine, become a slave to it, or feeling aggressive towards

computers. In order to get over these fears it took society to get their feet a little

wet in adapting to this new tool for literacy practice. It was suggested to either get

use to the new technology, by playing with it, and being okay at making mistakes,

or taking computer classes. According to the Understanding Computers in a

changing Society by Deborah Morley, the use of computers generally required a

lot of technical knowledge and the use of the Internet was reserved primarily for

researchers and educational institutions. There were a few good reasons or

opportunities for learning how to use computers, the average person was quite

unfamiliar with them.

Discussing the evolution of keyboards being attached to two completely

different technologies pieces, yet serving the same purpose is almost pointless. If

you think about the way each impacted society, then the thought is useful. With the

typewriter, having multiple reasons as to why it was invented, from allowing the

blind to be a part of the writing phenomena, and to make writing faster. This

development did not only display the obvious, which is introduced a new way to

write, but also allowed efficiency in shorthand, and allowed more women to enter

the professional world. It became the tool that women workers used as their tool

with the title of a clerk. This allowed businesses to expand faster, and sped up life.

The media industry was more accessible, so news was spread

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faster, books were being published at a much faster rate. These factors contributed

to the change in literacy as it was accessible to more of society. The computer,

which is like typewrites, but is powered by memory circuits, microchips, and hard

drives, still has a keyboard attached to it. This keyboard made typing a whole new

meaning. For now, typing speed is measured, and there are no limitations on the

time it takes for you to type, being that it consists of tapping keys and knowing

which ones to tap. Now, not only are keyboard classes offered for the working class,

but in schools. With the evolution of the typewriters to a computer, it has changed

the function of a keyboard, and what it navigates. Being that courses are offered at

a middle school level, offering students the knowledge and skills oh how to brush up

on their typing skills, and how to become literate in many of the office documents,
that are offered on a standard computer device. This was back in 2006, since then

technology has evolved even more. We now have Keyboards on cellphones that

once had 9 buttons you would have to tap until you get each letter you needed to

form a word to sentence to message.

Transitioning to having cellphones that had a keyboard layout, to now in

2017 almost every cellphone is a touch screen keyboard. An era that not only has

touchscreen keyboards on cellphones, but also on computers, IPad, and Tablets.

With cellphones, it allows text messages to be drafted faster, so fast that slang has

become a part of majority of societies daily literacy practice. The keyboard now has

features to it, such as emojis. Instead of using words about how you feel, or even

explaining, people use images to display their reaction. In a sense, it seems that

this evolution is minimizing communication, or making it too brief. If one thing is for

sure the development of keyboards has maintained their role to where they have

been a part of many evolutions not only for

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themselves. They have constantly been used as a tool for the new technologies that

have been commercialized, that have caused expansion, and they have completely

changed and developed new literacy practices. Such as utilizing a typewriter,

computer and learning the new techniques associated with them. Same goes for the

cellphones and the keypad that has evolved with it as well. Also, the thought of

including a keypad on a cellphone was stemmed from a keyboard. No matter the

technology the keyboard has been the tool, that has allowed technology to function.
With each evolution, the keyboard had to have become a part of individuals daily

literacy practice, and had to be understood to be efficient.

Literacy practices will always be altered, due to evolution being constant. It

just so happens the keyboard will always be a necessity in technology. Ever since

the start of the idea of not using a pencil, each new technology can only function

with a keyboard. At this point life, would not be able to function without this tool

that is heavily depended on. The keyboard has truly altered literacy that much. This

is a time where technology is guiding literacy practices and being infused in

everyday life. The tool that is making all this possible is the keyboard. The Keyboard

has been a part of many evolutions from functions to placement.