View source for Fax Machine

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[[File:Fax.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Old Fax Machine]]

'''When was it invented?'''

The fax machine was invented in 1843 by Alexander Bain. He invented the Electric Printing Telegraph which ended up being the first fax machine. Bain was able to gain a patent for his product, protecting it from improvements on regulating and producing electric currents as well as timepieces by other people. In addition, this patent was for electric printing and signal telegraphs. Initially, the image was not the best quality, but many improvements have been made by others such as Frederick Blakewell, Giovanni Caselli, Shelford Bidwell, Elisha Grey, Alexander Muirhead, to corporations such as AT&T and the US Military. The fax machine sends data over a telephone line or radio broadcast from one location to another. The data can come in the form of a text, line drawings, or even photographs.

[[File:fax1.jpg|500px|thumb|left|Brief History of the Fax Machine]]

'''When was it first used in education (how)?'''

Since the fax machine is able to transmit information from any location to another within a few minutes, I would imagine the educational use of the fax machine was to transmit test information from the school to the board. Additionally, it would be a way to send information about a student between schools and other institutions that work closely with the schools. These might include doctors (for medical records), psychiatrists (for assessment), police, etc. 

'''Shifts in mode/modalities?'''

The fax machine has gone through many changes; from black and white to colour, to decreasing the time it takes for a fax to send information to another location. Fax machines also became part of a multi-functioning system, where the machine prints, photocopies, scans, and faxes.
 
'''How do these technologies reshape education or transform literacy, learning, or social orders (changing roles, authority & power-relations, exclusion & inclusion, ideology)?'''

In a way, the fax machine reshapes education to be exclusive, rather than inclusive. As stated earlier, if confidential information pertaining to a particular disability that a student might be identified with, is being shared between two parties, then it would be evidence for excluding them from participating in regular classroom activities. For example, if a student was diagnosed with a learning disability, and was recommended by others to be part of the Resource or Home School Program, then they would be excluded from the regular mathematics and literacy curriculum that their peers would engage in, and instead they would be engaging in a special mathematics and literacy program that is different from their peers. Additionally, if there was a pupil who was expelled from one school for a misdemeanour, and this information was transmitted to surrounding schools, this pupil might not have an opportunity for admission in a different school near their house. Through this quick and easy accessibility of confidential information amongst schools and institutions, students are affected long before the staff and administration even meet them face to face. 

'''Connections to literacy paradigms?'''

I see a connection with the technocratic paradigm. As de Castell & Luke (1983) write, “[s]tudents are diagnosed, prescribed for, treated, and checked before proceeding to the next level of instruction, which corresponds to a theoretical level of advanced literate competence”. Similarly, if the purpose of the fax machine is to transfer information from one institution to another, then the information on the student would be for the purpose of diagnosing them with a medical condition or a developmental, mental, learning, or behavioural disability. Educators thus, are required to write Individualized Education Plans for students, and prescribe them with possible solutions to aid their learning with this diagnosis. 

'''References'''

Bellis, M. (2019, March 21). The Fax Machine is Much Older Than You Think. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-fax-machine-1991379

De Castell, S., & Luke, A. (1983). Defining ‘literacy’in North American Schools: Social and historical conditions and consequences. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 15(4), 373-389.

MacDougall, R. (2016, March). PDF. London.

The eFax Team - * The eFax team is here to assist businesses by providing them with unmatched customer service and content to help them succeed. We are the world’s #1 online fax service. (n.d.). Fast Fax Facts: A Brief History of the Fax Machine [Infographic] (?). Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.efax.com/blog/brief-history-of-the-fax-machine 

The History of Fax (from 1843 to Present Day). (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://faxauthority.com/fax-history/

The Invention of the Fax Machine. (2020, January 17). Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/invention-fax-machine

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