ramy's blog

On a typical night after dinner, I open up my laptop to check my e-mail. Yes, I have a smart phone, but I’m not glued to it (yet). What could be a five minute check of my e-mail can lead to endless distractions. I see an e-mail from a friend, a sale at a store I’d like to check out, and a Facebook message I need to read. Checking one e-mail account can easily lead to checking another, then checking Facebook, and then checking the news. One article leads me to another, and I find I can spend a lot of time on the web. What I’ve noticed, though, is that the more time I spend scanning websites, the more scattered and restless I feel. Being online is a terrible thing for me late in the evening, because I find that my mind is running too fast for me to sleep. In the summer, I spend hours reading novels nearly every day. But during the school year, I feel stressed and pressed for time, and often the little reading I get done online is all I will get in a day. There is no denying that the Internet has caused a major shift in the way we share and receive information, and even the way we spend our time. But is this change having a positive or negative effect on those who are using it?

Losing an Ability to Think

In a July/August 2008 issue of The Atlantic, writer Nicholas Carr admitted that he has noticed a change in the way his mind works and processes, and struggles to concentrate on long texts that used to be easy for him to become immersed in. See the full article: Is Google Making Us Stupid? With a little reflection, I think many people would agree that they feel the same way. He notes that the Internet has become the source of most information he takes in every day, and his mind is beginning to expect that constant stream of pieces of information.

The setup of web pages with flashing advertisements, littered with links to other articles and pages of a similar topic, leads consumers of the Internet to think in choppy, constantly interrupted patterns. Sadly, the media are motivated economically to promote and continue this constant distraction and redirection. There is no immersion of thought focused on one topic that is required when reading a book. The result is adults and teenagers who now find it very difficult to focus their minds on just one topic for any length of time. Playwright Richard Foreman reflects, “I see within us all (myself included) the replacement of complex inner density with a new kind of self—evolving under the pressure of information overload and the technology of the ‘instantly available’” (Carr, 2008). The shift is truly a loss in the rewarding cognitive ability to be immersed in deep reading—and, therefore, into deep thinking.

While adults can recognize this change in themselves, today’s teenagers and children have never known another way. A 2008 New York Times article discusses the effect on teens here: The Future of Reading. As recent standardized tests scores in reading have declined or stayed level, some critics point to the amount of time teens spend on the Internet as a contributing factor. In 2007, the National Endowment for the Arts reported a disheartening decline in the number of teens who report that they read for fun (Rich, 2008).

Moreover, adults and teens alike are shown to have poor media literacy skills when determining whether a website is a reliable source. In a study at the University of Connecticut, where 48 participants were given a spoof website, 90 percent reported that it was a reliable source (Rich, 2008). Even with the amount of time time on the Web, teens shows surprisingly low skill levels. The Educational Testing Service has developed an iSkills test that requires students to solve problems by searching for answers on the Internet. Of the 20,000 students who have taken this test since 2006, only 39 percent have scored at a “core functional level” in Internet literacy (Rich, 2008).

Embracing an Inevitable Change

On the other hand, some say this is a sign that students need to be taught these skills in school. As the world changes, the schools should adapt in turn. It may not be an easy transition, but some supports encourage Internet reading as beneficial to teens. For instance, teens who may be spending their time watching tv are choosing to read and write—even in the context of blogs, e-mails, etc., at least they are reading. The digital skills they are developing may even help them in their futures when they are searching for digital-age jobs. Other nations have embraced this further than the United States: beginning in 2009, some countries have begun assessments of digital literacy for their students (Rich, 2008).

If children and teens are already choosing the Internet as a source of information and entertainment, how can we respond? Supporters of the Internet believe that the amount of information available is actually a benefit. Skimming a few articles and blogs takes a fraction of the time of reading a book, and can give a wider coverage of information. Again, this makes the skill of identifying reliable sources essential. So if students are adapting to this avenue to get information, it follows that they must be taught the skills think critically about the information that is presented to them. For more information about teaching media literacy skills, see my previous Media Literacy post.

Not only can the Internet provide a great breadth of information, it can support students, and adults, who struggle with reading comprehension. Rich (2008) mentions one teen, Hunter Gaudet, who was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade. He benefits from the short articles and uses search engines heavily to find bits of information that he will later compile for his report. Reading expert Sally Shaywitz affirms Hunters feelings and suggests that the images support on the web can make it more accessible for people who are not fluent readers (Rich, 2008).

This, then, opens the door to another group of Internet users who are not fluent readers: children. Search engines are constantly looking for ways to improve, and children are models for them to see where to take their next step. Children struggle to think of a keyword that helps them get the information they are looking for. Search engines have responded by suggesting related searches and providing searches with more visual support, such as Google’s Wonder Wheel (Olsen, 2009). Teachers can support their students by teaching them effective search techniques. Google for educators has some great resources for teachers, including printable posters that give search tips and expose students to tools such as Google Book Search and Google Scholar. Explore it more at http://www.google.com/educators/index.html.

Maybe You Can Have It Both Ways

There are many times when I don’t know what I would do without the instant wealth of information available to me on the Internet. I use it, I enjoy it, and I know it’s here to stay. As educators, I believe it is our responsibility to embrace it as a tool: teach our kids how to use it properly, think about it critically, and remember it’s not the only option. Along with that, I want my students to develop a love of books and the ability to get lost in a story. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, and I think we will all be better off if we can embrace both.

References

Carr, N. (2008) Is google make us stupid? The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/.

Olsen, S. (2009) Google seeks to help children search better. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/technology/internet/26kidsearch.html.

Rich, M. (2008) The future of reading literacy debate: R U really reading online? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=1.