There were several quotes that stood out to me in the article Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers?. The beginning of the article was a little confusing, but after reading further, it started making sense.
“There never was a golden age where everybody could write well,” says Lunsford. “Writing is hard.”
I agree with this quote, writing is very hard. My students struggled with it all year. It was frustrating as a teacher because they all knew the rules of writing, they just didn't apply those rules when they would write.
"Some of the changes with writing today, Baron says, have little to do with new technology and are more the result of our increasingly less formal society."
I also agree with this quote from the article. Our society, as a whole, is not as dignified or well-spoken as it once was. We live in such a fast paced world, and we have everything right at our fingertips; being formal simply takes too long. It makes sense that in our less formal, fast paced society, writing has been effected.
I found the second article,Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?, more interesting than the first. Again, there were several things that stood out to me in this article, but I couldn't agree more with this quote!
"The simplest argument for why children should read in their leisure time is that it makes them better readers."
This past year I taught third grade, and I had several students who read below grade level. I would tell them almost everyday, "the only way to get better at reading, is to practice reading." Just like with a sport or hobby, the only way to get better at anything is to practice. All of my students, (excluding those on IEP's) left third grade reading on level.
I also preached how important it is to continue reading, "if you don't use it, you lose it." Same goes for sports and hobbies. When a person takes a break from a sport or hobby, and then restarts it, they struggle to get back to the same level they were on when they left. Reading is the same way! When a person stops reading for a while (over a summer), they struggle to get back to the same level they were once on. Eventually, if they keep practicing, they will reach that level, if not surpass it.
Web Evangelists Verses Traditionalists
I feel the continuum between Web Evangelists and Traditionalists is a bit extreme in both directions. I cannot take a stand on either side, but I will stand somewhere in the middle. Reading is reading, whether it be on the internet or in a book. It doesn't matter what form of reading children do, the most important thing is that they are reading and will continue reading.
"Some Web evangelists say children should be evaluated for their proficiency on the Internet just as they are tested on their print reading comprehension."
While I do agree with the Web Evangelists on that digital media is changing the way people read and write. I do not agree with this quote. I think our children are tested way too much as it is, and to test on internet proficiency is unfair. It is very difficult to teach technology in a shared computer lab with outdated computers or poor internet connection.
I know in the county I teach, most schools have to schedule days and times for each class to have about 45 minutes (if that) of computer lab time a week. For some, this is all the time they get using the internet. Until we can provide every student with a computer and internet access, it is unfair to "evaluate their proficiency on the internet."
"Some traditionalists warn that digital reading is the intellectual equivalent of empty calories."
The comparison of digital reading to empty calories is funny to me. The foods that are considered "empty calories" are usually the most enjoyable to eat. So if we compare digital reading to empty calories using this argument, then digital readings would be the most enjoyable to read.
It is much easier and enjoyable to read something that interests you. The older generations would search for interesting things to read at the library, the younger generations search for interesting things to read too, they just search the internet.
Karp, Josh. "Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers? | Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning." Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers? 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 5 June 2015.
Rich, Motoko. "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 July 2008. Web. 5 June 2015.
I really enjoyed reading your post, I could agree with everything you said. Your are absolutely right about reading if you don't use it you loose it. I like to read but, I also listen to book online or while driving in the car.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of kids I think that if they are reading online or doing an activity that require reading in one form or another at least they are reading. It would be worse if they were not engaged in any kind of reading.
I am sorry I did not comment on the writing part. Writing is huge, we need our students to be able to write legibly. Using digital media such as Microsoft Word and spell check is a hug plus for homework, project or any assignment kids are working on. Again I think that writing with pen and paper is great practice and needed but working with digital media and the proper software is also important.
ReplyDeleteI liked your thoughts on practicing reading in order to improve; it’s a passive way to learn. When we think about reading and learning, what comes to my mind first is comprehension of the content, not necessarily what we absorb concerning grammar, spelling, and improving our reading comprehension. I also agree with your sentiment that it doesn’t matter what we’re reading, as long as we’re reading. However, if we combine the two ideas, that we’re subliminally learning grammar and structure, with the belief that reading is reading, then does it mean that our writing will automatically take on that informal structure?
ReplyDeleteMy nephew, who just turned 4, is fascinated with ocean life, in particular sharks. He looks through shark books all the time, and typically that’s what he chooses to be read to him at bedtime. While we knew he’d learned A LOT of content, he’d also learned certain words well enough that he was able to type them into a YouTube search to look up sharks. While it wasn’t technology that enabled him to learn the word “shark,” it was technology that enabled him to take a word he knew by sight and spell it out without yet knowing how to write.
In reflecting some ways that digital media has affected my reading practices, your comment on the older generation perusing the library to find something to read, versus the younger generation searching the internet for things to read made me realize that I’ve developed a combination of the two. Although I still do it, in the past I’d only search for books by walking up and down the aisle of the library, borrowing whatever caught my eye. These days, I’ll spend some time doing research looking for books instead. Also, these days I also am much more likely to borrow an eBook online than go to the library.
I also wanted to mention that your comment in regards to stressing the importance of practicing reading to your third graders was interesting; it was in 3rd grade that I began choosing something other than illustrated books and reading daily for pleasure. It was the year that I first read the series by Laura Ingalls Wilder; which incidentally fueled a lifelong interest in her, I think I’ve read every biography written about her. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but maybe there is something about that age group and reading?
I enjoyed the first quote, mostly because I know that I am a terrible writer. Maybe it is the fact that it makes me feel better about my writing abilities. Thinking about it, maybe the reason it was thought that there was better writing is because more people were writers and they published more books. This is completely off the top of my head with no research, so feel free to correct my ignorance. I am just thinking that maybe in an age where reading was a primary form of entertainment, it would make sense that there were more writers, thus making the writing seems better.
ReplyDeleteThe last quote was also something that I thought was an odd statement as I was reading the article. When it comes to reading, is there such a thing as empty calories? Even if the story is written with a low reading level the reader still has to analyze the story and it can help them increase their reading speed for this level of writing. I don't believe there is an empty calorie version of reading.
I think that you are on the something, writing is hard no matter when or where the person in question is. I think we need to change our thinking to fit this thought. I also liked your second quote to me it summed up the article. I was thinking when I read this that this applies to the bible. I read the message version, when I try to read King James I don't understand what it says. I also thought it was funny the empty calories thing you were talking about, for some internet reading may be the most enjoyable.
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