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SalungaJ
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CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Thread started on: Nov 28th, 2009, 2:38pm » |
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CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY PART 1
DUE: Monday, 11/30/09 by 8pm
(deadline extended due to my late posting  )
600 to 750 words
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Directions: View the following clips. Review the texts we have read thus far reading this issue of the "literacy crisis" and more specifically, the role of digital technologies in perhaps promoting this crisis. Then, respond to the Writing Task below.
• Digital literacy myths?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27pXULHRNQ
• Are kids different because of digital media?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PT3vEjw5g&feature=PlayList&p=EEC508BA577F6BAB&index=0&playnext=1
• A digital literacy policy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rojxc1S4H7Y
WRITING TASK
New media technologies have undeniably altered the landscape of everyday living. Not only is the internet (and its associated tools, gadgets and technologies) part of everyday life, but this new platform of communication has given birth to a distinct way ideas get communicated. A question (or perhaps a concern) has been looming over the "digital generation" that throws into suspicion the supposed quality of their of literacy skills. Statistics citing decreasing scores for college graduates and even graduate students on commonplace literacy tests serves as the backdrop for claims that assert today's digital generation are in fact digressing in intelligence due in large part to the internet's presence. Many wonder, what are the implications of these new forms of communication on the reading, writing and thinking skills of the current generation?
Considering this background and the articles we've read up to this point, write a reflective response of 600-750 words, answering the following prompts. Definitely use a THESIS and provide supporting claims, evidence and explanations to communicate your ideas.
Part 1) To what extent do you think the "internet" promotes critical thinking in young people?
Guiding Questions
• Do you think your generation "thinks" more critically about the world given the plethora of tools, information and knowledge provided by the internet?
• Do you think more "deeply" and more "critically" about the world because of the internet?
Part 2) In what specific way(s) do you think the "internet" has changed, altered, shifted, influenced the way you "read", "write", and "think?"
Guiding Questions
• One way to consider this question is to compare how you "read"
when you are given a book, article, novel (print media) --- how
does your body & mind take on this task? In contrast, when you are
"reading" using the internet (digital media) as your "text" --- how do
you relate to this task?
• Do you think "digital media" (the internet) promotes students to
read closer, write better and think more critically? Why or why not?
Explain.
• Explain the "value" digital media has in strengthening students'
literacy skills (ability to read, write, understand, think and
communicate ideas effectively).
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Friendly Reminders:
• Edit and revise your writing before posting.
• Include word count.
• Make sure your response captures your critical thinking on this topic. In other words, do not simply regurgitate what we have discussed in class or already "know" --- but push the envelope by answering the prompts above critically.
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| « Last Edit: Nov 28th, 2009, 2:42pm by SalungaJ » |
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SandovalA1
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #1 on: Nov 28th, 2009, 6:35pm » |
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In my own point of seeing it I do believe that the internet has enhanced the way that my generation is learning how to read. And understand an article and my reason for taking that position would be since sources like the internet and digital texts. Help us to filter out data we don’t need in order to be able to find what we want or need to know on almost every topic there could be to know about. Yet it only works for those who know how to find specifically what they are searching for so the internet can be a bit tricky if the person using it has little experience using it effectively. But in general I do believe that my generation does think more critically since we are able to share our ideas over the internet which our predecessors were incapable of doing. But mainly like I mentioned earlier the internet is just a quicker way for all of to gather information without having to search through an entire text so it is like a huge informative shortcut the way I see it is a more efficient way of gathering the information that we need to grasp. And as to the way that the internet helps us become more literate as to understand what a piece of text is saying. The ideas are usually clearer in online articles explaining a message so that anybody can understand the message or the situation that is place the article. Basically physical texts are sometimes a bit complicated to understand with all the informative in it that sometimes we have a difficulty when it comes to finding the main point of that certain article while a digital text might filter out the least important things to point out the main idea more effectively or in other words less jargoned then a physical text.
And as for the way it enhances us better would definitely be in filtering out which information we might not need depending on the topic that we are doing an assignment in. As for writing I do believe that it does help improve our basic writing skills such as spelling and organizing the order of the sentences that we place in our work whether typing or writing to me there is very little difference. To me those people out there criticizing the way we learn is simply because they themselves have not fully adjusted to the digital era. So those of the generation before the internet existed might barely even know how to communicate through the internet. There those whom say that social networking is making us illiterate but with that I must partially disagree since social networking are irrelevant to education though. What effect social networking might have on the current generation could possibly have to do with time consumption such as spending too much time on things like MySpace. And to leave studying for the last minute social networking does not relate to education but it tends to have a negative effect on education if many people of this digital age spends more time on these things then they do on learning. It is not wrong to use social networks what is wrong is spending to much time on social networks some in my generation need to learn how to balance their study time with their social time you can’t do too much of one thing for example if you spend too much time on social networking you’ll fall behind in you studies but if you spend too much time studying you could end up stressing to much over school and that’s not good either that’s why there is a balance.
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allena5
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #2 on: Nov 28th, 2009, 9:19pm » |
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In the digital age, I feel that the extent of the “internet” doesn’t pose a great deal upon critical thinking in young people. The reason being is that the way my generation uses the computer is for social networking rather than for informational things or knowledge. People primarily criticize the younger generation of spending too much valuable time on worthless technology and not on education aspects. The use of technology, specifically the internet goes fifty-fifty. It can benefit my generation if we are trying to be informed about something important or finding a site that can be of help to our educational tasks. On the other hand, the internet can be non beneficial for educational purposes if all we do is just social network and go on sites such as twitter, face book, my space, aim, e-mail and so forth. But the overall look on if the internet really provides my generation with good critical thinking skills, it fails to a particular level. I highly agree that if we read the context of our text in a book written out, we will be more enhanced in having comprehension skills as well as knowing how to find important ideas and so forth. What I do believe is that my generation tends to lean on the “digital age” rather than the “old fashion” way because in a way I feel that it tends to get the student out of doing more if they read from an online excerpt or just scopes out different sites to find answers. I believe that the young generation of today has a more close relationship with the internet than any other generation since it erupted during our time. Therefore, the generation of today feels livelier with having the internet at the palm of their hand. Being influenced by the internet can shape the way many young adults look at life in general. The older generation seems to think that with the creation of the internet and how we are so immune to it, leads to why we haven’t reached the level of “smartness” or “well skilled.” The internet has shifted the minds of the young generation by giving them the mentality that reading books and enhancing their reading and writing skills isn’t that important as to using the internet for everything they do. Although, this generation has been fortunate to be surrounded by the digital age and the invention of all these gadgets I don’t think it’s necessarily have been used in a manner of being beneficial. In a way it has altered our minds by being distracted with the digital media rather than taking care of business that is necessary. The internet is a kind of shortcut that we take to get out of things that are to complex. For example, if one was given a book to read and had to find the main concept they wouldn’t fairly read the whole book, they simply would research it online because its faster and it’s more understandable online. Lastly, the “digital age” (internet) can in fact promote students to comprehend closer and analyze the text better because with having the text be online, it allows the students to adjust to the environment and locations of the actual text. A guess could be that it’s more fun and interesting to read an excerpt online and fewer words than in a normal text in a book. In that case, it allows students to strengthen their skills of literacy than in a book.
But this doesn’t pertain to every student just particular ones. Everyone is different and all that matters is if it’s making you become more knowledgeable on certain topics and ideas. Nowadays will the creation of the “digital age” in some ways it has the abilities to communicate effectively with the young generation of the topic of literacy at times.
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MarcosA2
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #3 on: Nov 28th, 2009, 11:45pm » |
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The internet has changed my generations critical thinking levels. I believe that in a way it has made us more “lazy”. Instead of looking up answers in a book at the library we have come to this modernized library of the new century. Without having to waste papers or time its just seconds from our fingertips. Technology wise we have increased our skills yet it has become easier to read and forget rather than to learn what it is truly about. Such as stated by college professors they would rather go into depth on fewer subjects rather than scratch the surface of many. It has now become easier to not think so hard because of the internet and the ability to look it up. Not only can it be easier but another main factor is taking it as is and not thinking about the validity of the article presented online. Also it hinders us from using our skills. Such as knowing the right grammar and punctuation because the computer can check it for us. How can we learn more and increase our skills if being on the computer keeps us from using it. We never practice what we know and thus we can never get better. It would not be easy to increase our knowledge in vocabulary because it is easier to use the internet to looks up the words to use in the moment. Yes it is true that the internet is a great way of learning on the other hand. Only by sending assignments faster and wasting less trees. Yet with all the distractions that the internet also comes with, how much time and effort is really worked in to these projects. If there was more time spent on studying and homework the quality of the work is revealed in receiving good grades. Yet spending less time results in harder realities. Such as not succeeding and failing classes because there was not enough time and effort spent. Many students could be in a rush on homework and lay off studying to the last minute to enjoy time on social networks. Not thinking about the consequences of spending more time on entertainment rather than more importantly school work. Decisions also play a big part on whether or not the internet increases your ability to think critically or not. Deciding to fix your myspace may enhance you in ways of computerized skills but not much of history, science, English, or even math. If the generation now would change their mind set to their reality goals of being successful and then making good decisions to work on homework rather than their sites our education skills would be on the same playing level such as China. If my generation valued their priorities around their future and never took too much time in to these distractions we would all become successful and not turn in to the struggles that many face today. I believe that the traditional way of learning through a book was more sufficient in education wise was because of the simple fact there was no distractions to turn to. It is not a surprise that compared to the students in the past there was higher literacy levels. Many had focused on the books then went outside to play. That was the tradition in the past because there was no major gaming systems, computers, cell phones, or any distractions that was easily used. Nowadays students go home and focus all their energy on entertainment and procrastinating on homework. Thus as a result the levels of student’s critical thinking has gone down. I feel that the digital age we live in has played a big role in to making priorities change within the young generation.
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ChuaM5
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #4 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 10:01am » |
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I do not believe the internet promotes critical thinking in young people. Given the plethora of tools, information and easily accessible knowledge, it seems that our digital generation tends to focus more on social networks and social benefactions. Instead of hearing about how lucky our generation is for having the ability to grow up with the internet, we are more apt to hear about this questionable “Dumbest Generation.” As more social networks (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter etc.) and video games not inclined towards educational purposes increase, our generation is more likely to spend their time on those sites as oppose to more physical or mental activities. For example, when I use the internet, I do not read or think more critically then I would on paper. Actually, when I switch from traditional to digital context, I tend to automatically “dumb down” my reading level. The reason perhaps, is because we’ve grown up to understand that the internet is for pleasurable entertainment (social networks etc.) and not for buckling down for an assignment. When reading articles online, it is mostly for entertainment purposes only, as oppose to reading just to read. However, because the internet and media is the easiest place for us to get information, I believe that it does at times make me think more critically about the world. The reason being is because when watching the news or reading my Yahoo homepage, there are stories from around the world that do in fact help me think deeply about their situation. With that being said, I still do not agree that the internet helps anyone read more deeply and critically as oppose to reading text from paper.
I believe that the internet has indeed influenced the way I read text. When I read online, I tend to switch into a level 1 mode (not reading as critically) as oppose to reading an article in class at a level 2 mode (reading critically). It is to my belief that the reason being, could be from the influence radiating off of social networks. Since majority of our generation spend at least some time on those websites, when students do happen to switch into reading an article online, they tend to keep that level of reading and thinking. Therefore when it comes to completing an assignment based on an online article, I believe that it will not be as effective as doing it in class on paper. Also, I feel that other than widely enhancing our communication level and knowledge, the internet has little to no value in upgrading our literacy skills. I actually believe that the reason that there has been a wide discussion pertaining to why students are not up to the university standards, is because students are spending way to much time on the internet and therefore adapting the way they “talk and read” online to school. This could explain why so many college freshmen tend to attend remedial classes in English and other minor subjects as well. In relation, since it was discussed in the first link provided in the prompt, I wanted to express my opinion regarding whose fault it was pertaining to students’ inability to reach college level. I believe that because of the impact the internet has on us, it is not the universities fault, but our own. Since I believe that people do not think as critically, or none at all, on line, and as they adapt that way of reading to everyday life, it is obviously our fault for not moderating our time on social networks. Therefore, I believe that the internet hinders our literacy skills as oppose to promoting and enhancing them.
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EstacioA5
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #5 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 11:17am » |
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I believe that there is a shift in what students know, what they ought to know, and the affect of internet in these topics. In the three videos, they all shared the idea that context was important for considering what the students are learning through digital media literacy. The internet has to offer so much, but when it comes to students using it for personal benefits, they usually lose sight of working for your education. I think our generation uses the internet for entertaining purposes and has changed the way students think about the digital media and it causes a problem to us in terms of how we read, write, and think.
I think that the internet does offer resources that definitely make you think. Though that is the case, people are not willing to actually look into it. Yes, I believe our generations idea of critical analysis or thinking has degraded. I think that students now think that their work can be done through the internet and actual participation in thinking in unnecessary unless it was given as an assignment.
The internet has shifted the way students think most definitely because students think that since the digital media has to offer so much knowledge, they figure that they themselves don’t have to try to hard to find an answer. I have to agree with the Digital Literacy Myth video where previously, literacy would be reading and writing. Now, students have to be able to do that and be able to understand complex ideas. But the internet has altered the students thinking and gave the thought that everything is found in the internet. But there is also a sense of beneficial use of the internet. Forums online give a sense of connection to other people around the world who share the same ideas as themselves. Forums can be a form of critical thinking. There is very little interaction with things like this though, and it can prove to be detrimental when the internet’s use for entertainment.
I found it interesting when it was said that the schools foundation still holds true to the enlightenment century. Because of this, I agree that perhaps the schools have to find a new structure to keep their students in check. I say this because with the internet available to almost everyone, they--the students-- take the internet for granted and use it for social networking purposes. Yes, its important to keep in contact with your loved ones, but that doesn’t have to be every minute or so.
Personally, when I read digital media texts, I realize I have a short attention span and with the internet, I can open up many browsers and fill myself up with entertainment from places that offer games, to sites that let me listen to music and watch videos, and the original social networks (like Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) Though when I’m offered to read books as an assignment, my mind becomes set into doing only that one task, and anything relevant to it. As said by Juliette Powell, maybe there needs to be a digital literacy policy. Okay, well nothing to extreme, but perhaps there should be a self-discipline in doing work on the computer. What can teachers and professors do to acknowledge this topic and keep their students in using the internet for work? Well, postings and forums are a great idea, because it offers a sense of participation in topics and allows personal thinking. It also encourages research on the topic and enhancement in digital media literacy. The concept of all this resorts to pinpointing our generation’s problem of digital media literacy, which is our fault for taking the internet for granted and not using it to the fullest extent as our previous generations would like to hope for.
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aguilarj1
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #6 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 11:39am » |
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Part 1
The internet promotes critical thinking in young people when this tool is been used correctly to further our knowledge. The internet has brought new aspects of analyzing information in this generation. Whenever our generation reads information on the internet, we remained skeptical because of the number of sources around us. I don’t think our generation thinks more critically, we just simply have more resources we can access to base our opinions or stand points on topics (issues). However, our generation is able to analyze information more deeply because the internet provides us with several view points in forms of links. Our past generations were not as privileged, since the text was all there was and people read texts without skepticism. The internet influences the way our generation thinks because we are provided with more information than our past generations. For example, blogs about topics help students by providing both sides of an issue. Therefore, students are able to think more deeply because we are exposed with the necessary information to build our own opinion. The internet has also allowed our generation to think beyond the lines by connecting us globally and filtering information. The internet has contributed by helping students connect issues globally, creating higher levels of thinking. With the internet, we can connect globally around the world and built our knowledge on topics without having to read unnecessary information. We can debate about problems that are going on globally because this tool is providing quick access to what goes around the world in a matter of minutes and also leading us straight to the point. Texts are usually complicated to understand, but the internet has made this process easier. However, the internet has regressed our generation because we are basically given the answers. We do not have to analyze the text and think critically about the author’s claims or main point. This digital tool has provided our generation with all the answers. It has weakened our ability to think and understand texts, but it has provided us with new methods of thinking more critically and deeply.
Part2
The digital age has definitely altered the way our generation reads, writes and think. The internet has changed the way our generations reads because we are not using methods to analyze the text more critically. The internet has influenced our generations’ reading ability because it filters all the unnecessary information and it goes straight into the argument. For example, reading a text in class is different than reading a text online. In class, all we depend on is in our ability to think and understand the claims or arguments. Also, students are trying to understand the text and there’s this sort of pressure to understand the text. However, when reading a text online, there are all these links that analyze the text for us, so we depend more on the internet than our ability to comprehend. The internet does not allow students to read critically, therefore it has shifted the way we read. In addition, the internet has enhanced our writing and thinking abilities. The internet provides multiple sites of information, this information strengthens our writing and thinking abilities. The internet pushes our generation to think more critically about topics because we don’t have to stay within the context. The internet has opened this “door” where we can connect issues and think at higher levels. In fact, in my opinion the internet has imposed standards on students. Our generation is expected to have higher levels of thinking and writing because of this digital age tool. Teachers expect our generation to analyze text beyond what is stated because we can access the internet to gain more knowledge. The internet has improved our thinking, reading and writing abilities because we have fast access to the entire world. This knowledge around us (internet), is essential because it allows our generation to analyze more critically and it allows our understanding to expand beyond the text.
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GeronimoM1
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #7 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 1:31pm » |
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I believe the internet has not actually enhanced the way students of the 21st century think. Students are actually taking advantage of the World Wide Web in a way that may not really benefit them. For example, many teens and kids of this generation are too distracted by social websites or computer games. Most of their time is not used to do research or discover information that they might have not known already. But, the internet can in fact get students to think critically if only they would choose to access those websites. The internet provides information from across the globe which could be used to boost up their intelligence and to show the different points of view of a topic. It can supply kids with additional information than the textbooks they have or the books they have borrowed from the library. Therefore, the internet is capable of enhancing critical thinking, but the distractions that come with it are highly favored. As shown in the Youtube video, “Are Kids Different Because of Digital Media,” the teens interviewed clearly stated that they spend a lot of their time on the social networks rather than doing intelligent activities on the internet. Moreover, the internet has damaged the way students think, in a way that literacy rates have gone down. In addition, students are not prepared for college due to the lack of preparation in high school as well as the effects that the internet has on them. On the other hand, colleges may, “not yet figured out how to teach a whole generation of students who learned to read on the computer…It’s a different kin of literacy.” It is also on the college’s part that they have not adjusted to the technology that students are presented with. In my perspective, the internet has not really enhanced my way of thinking. I feel that it has actually spoiled my way of thinking such that I can just type in my question and the answer will just pop up, and with different websites to provide further clarification. I feel that students are no longer looking to the books to find information, which may actually be far more accurate, since on certain sites such as Wikipedia, information can easily be altered taking away from its accuracy. In conclusion, the internet has increased the amount of communication between many, but has done very little to improve the way students think.
The internet has worsened the way students read, write and think. For example, when they read they tend to scan the text more than fully reading it. They get these habits from scanning over comments, text messages and blogs. Moreover, they are unable to annotate the text that appears on their screen as opposed to printed media, where they can underline, highlight and write on the margins. It is quite easy for their eyes to wonder when reading digital media. Therefore, they will not be fully concentrated on the text. When dealing with writing, students are starting to get used to typing their work over hand writing. This affects them in a way that it takes away from their ability to spell for they know for sure that the red swiggly line will pop up and they can easily just right click and choose what is the correct spelling of the word it. When hand writing, or doing in class essays, there is no red swiggly line. Students are on their own to determine if the word is correctly spelled or not. Moreover, when dealing with thinking, students are spoiled by the internet. They simply just have to type in a name, key term or even the complete question and the computer will generate a vast amount of websites that contain that information. On the other hand, with a book or textbook they must flip through the different pages and such. The internet and digital age is starting to take away from students’ ways of learning.
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SalcidoA1
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #8 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 3:30pm » |
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I really do not think that the internet promotes critical thinking in young people. I believe it does the opposite and causes young people to think less. The internet simplifies everything to make things easier for people. It provides the answer to any question in seconds so this leads people to think less and not try. People don’t have to think critically to solve a problem anymore because the answer to everything can be found instantly without any thought. This generation doesn’t really use the internet to think deeply or critically about a certain topic. They use is to be lazy and not think about what they do at all. Also this generation gets very distracted with the internet. It has so much information and so many links that cause people to look away from what they were doing or reading. Also it becomes a distraction while doing homework because this generation is focused a lot on social networking like Myspace, Facebook, and instant messaging. So this becomes a huge distraction while their trying to work. They could be working on an essay and get an instant message and get distracted by their conversation and forget about their work. Also while people are looking up information pop ups come on the screen and tempt people to look at them rather than studying or concentrating on important things. The internet does not help this generation think critically about the world at all. We have all the resources to be informed about the world and what is going on but it is hardly used by young people. I really don’t think this generation even cares about what is going on in the world as much as they care about themselves and their social life. They do not use the internet to their advantage to be knowledgeable and think critically but they use it for their own personal purposes. The internet is full of distractions and simplified information that causes people to hardly think critically or not at all.
I think the internet causes us the read, write, and think less. Since the internet simplifies everything and takes out useless information it makes people read less and doesn’t help to teach close or critical reading. The internet is useful and it does help make life much easier however it doesn’t improve our reading skills by giving us the straight answers. We no longer have to look in a dictionary to find the definition of a word and we no longer have to research by reading books or articles. People in school most of the time don’t even read the novels they are assigned to read because they can read a summary of it in sparknotes. While reading on the internet people become very distracted by all the other things around the screen and it doesn’t help in reading closely. It causes people to read and think less about what they are reading. Also the internet does not help people in writing. It makes them think a lot less when typing because they can use shortcuts. While talking on the internet people don’t fully type out words or phrases they use a lot of acronyms and abbreviations to communicate. This causes people to write less and some people continue to write that way in school and in their everyday life. The internet causes people to forget how to really write and it make people lazy to fully spell out a word or a sentence. The internet causes people to read, write, and think less than they really should.
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LagadeJ5
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #9 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 5:18pm » |
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In our transition into the 21st century there are many aspects and features that are inundating our society with an increasingly deeper and wider breadth. From the simplest of items we are able to do the most complex of tasks as well as observe and analyze from countless angles. With the quick and abrupt integration of digital media and all its technologies our global society in its different communities has reacted in various spectrums of ways. Specifically with the new generation that is currently maturing with the “internet” there has come questions of what should be done and what should we do as well as how the internet is affecting us. In this sense I believe that our generation has adapted well to the available information, yet we are not taking advantage of the accessibility of it all and are easily distracted. Mass media that is so prolific throughout the web has also helped this by shifting our thoughts to simplicity and generality.
I believe with the surplus of information and Google it has helped our generation to think more critically and become more aware to the problems and news within the world. Unfortunately for every beneficial aspects of the internet there are even many more distractive features. Obviously the most notable is messenger applications as well as friend networking websites. Technology and the internet have created a society capable of accomplishing anything relatively easily, but it has also made a ridiculously lazy mass of people. Teenagers to young adults now as a generation do not naturally accomplish anything without being forced or compelled to do so; that being school or work. It is honestly hard to say what we want to do and what is actually needed because this is nothing we have encountered in our past. On the surface our generation is taking all this accessibility of infinite information for granted as we get easily distracted and are directly getting blamed on it. As we dig further though we see that no side is exactly getting any progress because our limited attention is being played quite easily and with the people that are actually concerned, they are not figuring out any solution and continue to complain. In a huge contribution this is aided by how the “internet” and technology has affected and altered us and separated us as a generation from all previous people.
If we compare and contrast the closest relation to the internet to what we have done prior to its birth we would look closely to printed media such as books, magazines, and newspapers. Observing the techniques and teachings of teachers with printed materials it has mostly been done with novels, short stories, and the like. This is of course different than studies with magazines and newspaper articles which is pretty much identical to online articles. Thoughts have not really shifted or have been altered; it has really been adapted to that of the internet. Many of the techniques and ideas we use for magazines and newspapers have adapted and are now used for internet articles as another medium of information that is invaluable. The internet has also allowed us to not just be satisfied with one point of view or singular information; we are allowed to search up different point of views and different evidence to help support or help broaden our views. These simple tools really do help us improve the way we read, write, and learn because there are various means to count on. In terms of context and learning it has helped provide an easily accessible fountain of information for teachers and students to use, which is updated constantly without problems.
In the end the real problem about the internet is the distractions it provides for us and how we deal with it. It is just a new way for us to access different materials and now it is our job as a generation to learn and adapt so that we may use it accordingly. There is nothing we can do to stop this, but there is many things we can do to help promote, push, and utilize the internet for education and aid.
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KPhinsavanh
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #10 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 5:53pm » |
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In my own opinion, I feel as if the internet does not promote critical thinking in young people. Although the internet is there to provide tools, information, and easily accessible knowledge, it seems as if we're taking advantage of it by focusing more on the social networks. Because we are offered so much with the internet, we would think that our generation is the luckiest because we have the ability of growing up and learning things from the internet. But instead, we get questioned for being the "Dumbest Generation." The available social networks such as Myspace, Tumblr, Facebook, etc. and including video games are all not working towards building education in our heads. Instead it just takes up more of our valuable time that can be used for more physical or mental activities. Personally, going on the internet is my away time from having to do any work. Before i know it, I’m drained in the internet because without even realizing it, hours have passed by, my study/work time has been passed up. That just gives an example as to why people can be said to be "dumbed down." But then again, internet was grown on to us as if it was there for our social entertainment and not to be useful for educational assignments. The articles being read on the internet by young people are mainly about famous singers or actors and their life drama, not about what’s really going on in the world. The information that really matters. So with that being said, I simply do not agree that the internet helps anyone read deeply or more critically than reading text from paper.
The internet surely has influenced the way i read certain text. When i read text online, i want to read it because i get to choose what I’m reading and of course i find it interesting. When it comes to reading educational text from the classroom or from an assigned book, i feel obligated to read it, which makes me less anxious to be into the text. My level of reading is effected by the articles i read online because most of the articles are written at the same level, so i can understand everything equally. Basically saying that i can read 6 different text and i wouldn’t need to higher my reading skills. While the internet is widely enhancing our social level and highering our knowledge, it is hardly working on strengthening our literacy skills. Which gives a believable reason as to why it is being discussed that students are not living up to the University Schools standards, because students are draining themselves in the internet and adapting to the way the text comes off as. This can even be a reason as to why incoming college freshman start off with taking remedial English classes and other subjects as well, instead of starting off where freshman are suppose to. When i say that young people are draining themselves in the internet i mean that the internet is spoiling us so much that we get to the point where we feel as if we don’t have to fully type out a word or write a complete sentence. For example, people would shorten words like "tomorrow" to "tmrw" or phrases like "I don't care" to "idc". Even when it comes to figuring out the difference between "you're" and "your". No one cares to write it properly because we'd all understand what they're trying to say one way or another because its what people would call "internet talk". So in my opinion, and from my life-time experience with the internet, i feel as if it isn’t enhancing my reading or thinking level. My literary skills are just becoming "dumb downed."
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gines2
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #11 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 6:48pm » |
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I believe that today, in the 21st century that this "Digital Age" has definently changed and influenced the way we read, write and think. Nowadays, studuents or more so, our youth take adavantage of the fact that our generation is filled with technology. For example, the internet is a huge advantage in our century. The internet has damaged the way our youth think... In the video, "Are Kids Different Because of the Digital Media", these teenagers explained how they would use the internet for "socializing" with many websites. They would rather do that than take upon whats more important, like enhancing their literacy skills.
Our teens today do not use the internet to their advantage in a way where it will help them to intellectually gain more knowledge. The internet is world wide, therefore many young children have the access to any thing that they stumble upon over the internet. Some times, these information that are freely given out are information that these children should not be reading. Therefore, our digital age is corrupt. The internet does not really challenge any of us because we are given the answers to any thing we search up on the internet. It does not allow us to actually think for ourselves and to actually get our answer on our own. For all we know, students could always be cheating on all their essays, reports, etc. in class. The internet has access to every thing that we need to know... which is good, but at the same time, is a detriment for our knowledge. There are so many students out there who have become lazy, because of being distracted by our digital age, and they ahve so much potential.
The internet is supposed to be replacing all the textbooks that these students use in school, in a good way. Turns out, students and young children are being distracted by other sociable websites throughout the internet. This being said, it does not really effect and strengthen students' literacy skills. Instead of actually learning more and doing their school work, the internet has corrupt their minds into wanting to focus more on social websites such as Myspace, Youtube, Facebook, etc. Its a great idea to communicate with eachother, but education should always come first. Most students do not even do any of their school work beacuse they are "too busy" socializing and surfing through the internet.
Many students have set this "mind-set" that they never have to do any of their (school) work because they believe that they have the internet to do everything for them. Like I said, students and many young children have become lazy because they are not only having the internet catch all the information for them, but they expect any type of technology to basically do all of their work. Back then, every one strived to work hard and never took education as an advantage. Today, technology should be a gift for our generation and our society to be working extra harder for this world and our people to be on the right track and in the right place. Instead, we are using technology in various negative ways. Students need to get on their feet and actually do their work. Rather than sitting around, surfing through the internet socializing and playing with other digital equiptments.
I undertand that the internet is full with information and easy access to anything for anybody... but in the end, it has not enhanced our knowledge in the way in how to read, write and think to our fullest potential.
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AquinoA5
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #12 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 8:33pm » |
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The internet has most definitely had an effect on the way the current new generation thinks, reads, and processes information. The effect the internet has on this generation is that we have learned many different ways to process information out of the normal reading books and extracting information. This generation thinks more critically than past generations because we have to be able to process information when surfing the internet. Otherwise, people would be overwhelmed by doing the simplest tasks online. The internet’s main purpose is to serve us with the utmost convenience when gathering information or generally socializing amongst others. However, just because the internet has made things easier for everyone, it does not necessarily mean we have become “dumbed down” or stupefied. There is much more information being thrown around the internet which causes us to have to think about what is considered to be important or unimportant information. I believe the internet has caused me to think deeper and more critically about the world due to the fact that information is that much more open and available to us. Rather than having to watch the news and wait for information on a certain subject that is in some other country, we have the tools at hand on the internet to simply search for specific information and filter out exactly what we want and do not want to know. An example of a situation can be the war in Iraq. Rather than watching the news and waiting for all the talk of politics to pass, I can go to Google.com, enter in “War in Iraq” and have all the results come before me on the screen within a matter of seconds.
As the internet has changed the way we think and process information, it has also changed the way we read, write, and think about text, both digital and printed. Personally, as I read printed text, I find it easy to be distracted, the same goes for reading digital text, but not as much as printed text. With digital media, we can highlight whatever we want with a click and movement of the mouse. However, it is not so simple with printed text. We cannot simply erase what we highlight or write with in pen, but we cannot annotate text online either. Reading from printed texts and digital texts both have their pros and cons, but I would rather read digital text.
Computers and the internet have caused students to read closer and write better, but I do not believe it has caused us to think more critically. With the internet, the information is given to us as a whole and if there is anything that is missing, it can be simply searched through a search engine. With “writing” on a computer, the keyboard makes it easy to create text in a flash. Studies show that the average typing speed of the average computer user is 33 words per minute. I would imagine writing has a much slower speed than the average type speed. Erasing words on paper can be a hassle whereas hitting the delete key on a keyboard is a simple task.
Digital media has made understanding of things much easier for people. With the birth of YouTube, other video websites, and streaming digital media, a more convenient way to present information has come about. With this different way of presenting information, this is also possibly another type of literacy that involves processing information outside of text. Visual information is usually easier to interpret than text. Having literacy in this type of aspect has strengthened our other forms of literacy because of the fact that digital media is still a form of information. It is just interpreted from a different angle than with text.
The birth of the internet has brought upon this generation a whole new world of information to be learned and this may be why some might think we are a less educated group of people than the older generation. We may know less in other areas, but we know more in terms of computer use. When computers were first introduced, people were required to take typing classes. Nowadays, typing is an extremely common skill that exists. To graduate high school, “computer literacy” is required and it is not limited to typing, but it is expanded to being able to use common every day programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel. As time goes on, computer literacy will no longer be required anymore because it will simply be so common that it is expected for anyone and everyone to have. With the age of the internet, knowledge is literally at our fingertips.
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Edwin Molina
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #13 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 9:41pm » |
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1)
As far as I’m concerned, the internet encourages little to no critical thinking. My generation was born into the beginning of the digital era. This era is the most advanced, sophisticated, and developed age that man has ever encountered, yet the generation born into it has not taken advantage of the godsend commodities presented forth onto them. The digital era started with the uncovering of the internet, which was intended to make the exchange of information faster and more available on a world wide stage. Now the internet is a never ending source of information that has been exploited for what seems to be solely for social networking, media, and music downloading. Even though the extent of what can be accomplished by using this powerful tool is infinite the youth has taken it for granted and ultimately has changed the way they look at education for the worse.
This generation spends too much time using the computer, cell phone, and mp3 player. In the video “Are kids different because of digital media” all the kids say that they spend a lot of time texting on their phones or socializing on their computers. Instead of spending time researching information and studying for a test they are wasting valuable time chatting with friends they’ll see the next day in school. What does this say about the way the internet promotes critical thinking? Sadly, this causes people to blame the internet for contributing to child hood obesity, high school drop outs, and the mindless loss of years and years off the lives of the youth. How can we allow our kids to spend 5…6…7 hours of their day on MySpace, Face book, and YouTube throwing years out the trash, for what, for nothing.
The internet is hurting the youth, our future leaders, and the ones who will care for us when we are all too old to care for ourselves. The internet is turning the generation born at the same time it was, into incompetent, unreliable, uneducated individuals. There are only a few people who take advantage of the information presented by the internet. These people go on the internet to learn, find out about new things, and to find opportunities for both education and jobbing purposes. They are the ones that will become successful, the ones that will make a difference, and the ones that will lead our country into the future.
2)
In my case the internet has influenced me in almost everyway possible. Everyday I get on the internet to find out something new that I haven’t already learned. Everyday I go to the ESPN website to see how my teams are doing. Everyday I get on MySpace to see if I have a message. Everyday I get on the internet to see the clearance items at my favorite retail stores. If I want to find out what movies are in the movies or what good movies are coming up I go on the internet. Almost every thing I do revolves around the facility that the internet allows me to accomplish tasks at hand. The internet has become such a big part of my life that I can’t see me living in a world where the internet does not exist. I agree with Juliette Powell in the video “We need to put a digital literacy policy in place” because I believe that the internet has become such a big part of the individuals of this generation that we need to implement this tool and mean of information in the classrooms. We need to be taught subjects through the internet and more importantly how to use the internet to adapt to the up and coming future. We need to become really familiar with the computer and the internet because it will soon be necessary, and will become a requirement to be able to utilize and understand the internet in order to be successful and to be able to function to the fullest extend in the advanced technological world of tomorrow.
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princessariel
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Re: CLASS POST #8: DIGITAL LITERACY
« Reply #14 on: Nov 29th, 2009, 10:47pm » |
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I believe that the internet has a big influence on the way students think and on their critical thinking skills. The internet provides many different sources to study and to use from. For example when writing an essay, the internet has many web sites that provides plenty information for what ever topic you have. In my view the internet is much more convenient then old text books. I would much rather look up the information on a site such as Google then wasting time flipping pages in a book to find little facts that I need.
The internet on the other hand can be a detriment to a student when it comes to learning. It depends on what type of student it is, and what priorities they put first. Some students would log on to myspace or aim first then getting facts for an up coming assignment due. They would spend so much time on all the irrelevant things that by the time they get to the thing that was some what important their work would not be to the students full extent, because they have wasted so much time aiming and too tired to try their hardest on their homework. A student such as these need to stay with sources such as text books and papers to read and study from to prevent them from being distracted by other things instead of their work.
Put in the hand of that right student the internet can be a very helpful source to them. The internet if used correctly can be much faster and easier then looking up things inside a book.
After looking at the video “Myths of Digital Literacy”, I believe that us as a world has not changed when it comes to the way we learn we new and different things, a student does take on a new topic any different from the way a student in the 50's did. But I believe that since the world is becoming so advanced with new and different things that teachers and professors should approach their lesson in that same way by using and involving some of the new things that has been created such as computers and hand held, and to eventually and slowly move away from text books. Books is not what this generation is use to, so approaching them with books can be a failure to some students.
After watching the short video “Are kids different from digital media”, I agreed with a lot of what the kids were saying about how it is the internet and media is very fun and easy to get attached to quickly. I also agreed with how now a days it is rare to see a student getting all their sources from a book rather that the internet. In this generation we use the internet much more then we use text books. Yes the generation is changing, but all generations will change, but the out come of the students like all the knowledge and information they know after they are finished with school is just the same as the last generation. We have just managed to find a way to make learning easier.
I agree totally with every thing that Juliette Powell talks about in the short video “Juliette Powell we need to put a digital literacy in policy place”. She talks about how we basically should bring the media and internet uses inside of our places of learning, to create a better learning environment. Since the world it self is changing and advancing on many different levels then I believe that the learning environments should as well.
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