A professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Baron seeks to provide the historical context that is often missing from debates about the way technology is transforming our lives in his new book, “A Better Pencil.” His thesis is clear: Every communication advancement throughout human history, from the pencil to the typewriter to writing itself, has been met with fear, skepticism and a longing for the medium that’s been displaced. Far from heralding in a “2001: Space Odyssey” dystopia, Baron believes that social networking sites, blogs and the Internet are actually making us better writers and improving our ability to reach out to our fellow man. “A Better Pencil” is both a defense of the digital revolution and a keen examination of how technology both improves and complicates our lives.

Great sentiments. I’ll have to pick up “A Better Pencil.”

Even in my classroom, I’m seeing the possibilities of how my 8th grade students can increase their communication awareness/abilities due to their admittedly abundant use of new forms of web media that frankly scares the bejesus out of most folks over 25.

Interesting times indeed.