The Media Equation: Improving Design Through Understanding

This week I read chapter 1 in The Media Equation by Byron Reeves and Clifford Nash. I found this chapter to be an interesting examination of human technology interaction. The concept of the media equation was developed based on a research study “Social Responses to Communication Technologies” (Reeves and Nash 5). The study discovered, “In short, we have found that individuals’ interactions with computers, televisions, and new medias are fundamentally social and natural, just like interactions in real life”( Reeves and Nash 5). The idea that people respond to and interact with computers is something that I see daily with colleagues and students who talk to their computers, especially when the technology is not doing what they want it to do or not functioning properly. One aspect of the article that I found particularly interesting and valid for my discussion of wikis is the influence of the media equation on the development of media. The design of the media in this case can be improved by examining how people respond to the use and functions of the wiki. The wiki needs to create “positive responses including a feeling of accomplishment, competence, and empowerment” (Reeves and Nash 9). By examining wikis and other media through the lens of the media equation, we could improve how people use the media and in turn the functionality of the media. If the media is easier to use and creates a positive response from people it will make it easier to integrate the media into education. I know a lot of my colleagues would be more willing to try to integrate technology into their classrooms and curriculum if they associated with a more positive social response.