Disclaimer* Do take note that this is me thinking outloud and probably not very clearly or concisely aka A pondering ramble.

A happened upon a post on the digital urban blog. They have identified several buzz words from papers then have written in the past. Grand. However, there are several buzz words that are on the way out… one being the word Digital!

“Buzz words on the way down…

Digital – technology that uses discrete (discontinuous) values. By contrast, non-digital (or analog) systems use a continuous range of values to represent information. Slightly worrying as that’s the name of the blog, it just feels a bit 90’s…”

hmm. Something to think about. This for me is poor timing. For the past few years I have been defending the term e-learning. It is often perceived that e-learning is dull and boring. To some extent that has been the case in the past (putting lecture notes on blackboard or moodle is not e-learning, its boring and unimaginative (shame on you people- you know who you are…). I see e-learning as enhanced learning, and yes this is usually supported by/through the use of information and communication technology. In my previous job and in my role as committee member on the e-learning group for museums, libraries and archives I have tried to tackle this assumption head on. I do believe that this perceived view is very hard to shake, is this something that is going to happen to ‘digital’ …‘oh it was a buzz word from way back when, it’s the stuff geeky folk do’

In my professional, personal, virtual and analogue life, I am fully immersed in all things digital. Digital learning, Digital Humanities, Digital Networks, Digital Digital Digital. Am I out of date? Is the word digital passé? (perhaps if you say it too many times it does become a tad tiresome) I’ve always been slow to catch on with things like fashion, films, and to be honest anything deemed hip and new. But in the digital world I had assumed I was ahead of the curve in some instances.

But perhaps, this is a good thing. Perhaps the word digital is no longer a buzz word because it has become embedded in how people think and feel. It’s in everyday use, and it is a part of everybody’s lives. I hope this is the case, and not that I’m a bit slow.