HISTORY -EDUCATION- HIP-HOPS : MASTER PRECIS

TALKING-LISTENING AND READING have been part of the academic culture since the beginning,  but written assignments - the five paragraph essay, the research paper, reading responses - were not.

In the earliest universities, which coalesced in a handful of European cities around a thousand years ago, books were scarce, movable type was non-existent, and education was organized around oral  instruction and examination.

The words ''lecture,'' ''lecturer'' and '' lectern '' all derive from the Latin verb ''Lego'' which typically means '' to read. ''

In the medieval university, lectures involved teachers reading to the students from a book, sometimes  the only copy the institution had. 

Sometimes professors added their commentary to the reading, sometimes they did not. Some students were expected to write down what they heard, some merely to listen.

At times, writing was discouraged.

The World Students Society thanks Professor Clay Shirky, a vice provost at N.Y.U., who has been helping faculty members and students adapt to digital tools since 2015.