Publish at September 01 2010 Updated September 14 2023
Reading fascinates Arabs. Celebrated long before the advent of Islam, which in turn made it a "central issue", it was the object of every desire in a geographical sphere often confronted with illiteracy.
Reading has been present since pre-Islamic times with the famous Mu'allaqat, poetic odes, the most beautiful of which were hung in pendants at the entrance to the tent.
Reading is also emphasized by the Koranic verb, the imperative "Read!" inaugurating the verses of the Sacred Book. Reading is therefore an omnipresent reality, albeit one that is rarely practiced. Only a tiny fraction of the elite actually read. This paradox still weighs heavily on the place of reading in Arab society. How can we reintroduce the act of reading as a key to development and modernity? And, as a corollary question, how can new technologies contribute to this revolution? Here are a few ideas to launch the debate on these essential issues.
There's no mystery about it: human civilization advances through exchanges between the cultures that make it up. But for the exchange of cultural goods to function properly, translation is essential. In this respect, Arab-Muslim scholars have long been exceptional "couriers" of cultural values, forming a bridge between the ancient sciences, Hellenic and Byzantine alike, and the West. The creation of Beit Al-Hikma (literally House of Wisdom) in 9th-century Baghdad is a striking testimony to this cultural vitality. For many years, Beit Al-Hikma was the nerve center for translations of literary and scientific works. Cordoba was the other cultural hub, with a library containing almost 400,000 books - a considerable number even for our time.
Of course, Arab scholars, Muslims and Jews often working together, did more than simply translate and disseminate works. Not only did they produce a considerable number of original works, but they also enriched the translated texts with numerous commentaries. "Traduttore, traditore", as the saying goes, except that in this case, betrayal of the adage means enrichment...
And so it is with the new digital reading modes. Content enrichment is the major advantage put forward by e-book or digital book enthusiasts. But what is it really? Enrichment? It's more accurate to speak of an abundance. And perhaps it would be useful to help teachers master it by proposing relevant pedagogical solutions.
One of the mysteries here is the attraction - sometimes scarcely believable - that digital content, mainly gaming and social networking, exerts on young people. In Morocco, as elsewhere, many students are at risk of addiction, and parents and educators are struggling to find a solution. What's more, educators are wondering how to capitalize on this craze to refocus students on learning activities and, in our case, encourage them to read. What teacher hasn't dreamed of seeing his or her pupils concentrate as intensely on a poem by Baudelaire or a passage by Mahfouz as they do on Word of Wardcraft?
The answer may seem obvious, but it's not easy to implement: by providing learners with equally attractive content! The development of what are somewhat clumsily termed serious games is a step in this direction. Does digital reading also benefit from this pedagogical effort? It's true that it's now possible to compose content with a complex architecture that holds surprises in store, but is this enough to lure young readers? We'll see. It's not always easy to strike the right balance between solid reading scenarios and attractive content.
We need to put ourselves in context to understand. Digital reading is revolutionizing our relationship with the written word, and even with knowledge. And while it's true that we haven't yet measured all the cognitive and pedagogical repercussions of this umpteenth revolution in the written word, the fact is that a new level has been reached in terms of information retrieval, analysis and appropriation. A comprehensive dossier from the French Ministry of Education reviews the issue.
" The nature of the medium and its environment influence the reading mode," write experts quoted in the same dossier. In fact, the differences, benefits and risks between paper and digital media are numerous and well known. Digital books give readers new freedom and interactivity. Readers are often invited to actively participate in the construction of the content. One of the advantages of reading on screen is the powerful functionality of hypertext, an open door to the imagination of alternative sequences, but also a potentially endless labyrinth. The need to take context into account is either a constraint or, with the dexterity of the educational designer, a tremendous asset. The reader travels through the story as the hyperlinks are activated. He or she can even multiply tracks and scenarios, as certain authors and filmmakers have already tried to do on paper. As just one example, a best-selling author like Bernard Werber is testing out these new forms of writing by imagining the future of humanity through an astonishing Tree of Possibilities. The rhythm and diversity he imbues in these tales readily bend to the templates in which today's young readers recognize themselves. But the past can also be revisited through fascinating virtual strolls. Two eloquent examples:
However, whatever the formula, the challenge remains the same: how to involve young readers, sustainably and sufficiently so that they retain what they discover, but not so much that they get lost along the way and are tempted to... zap. This is also where the balance lies, and his research may well open up a new field of didactic study for this new incarnation of a practice as old as the hills: producing signs and deciphering them.
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