midterm

Accepting The Inevitable Change

Change. Defined as meaning “to transform or convert”, change is a natural aspect of life that is inevitable to occur. As technology and knowledge continue to develop there will continue to be change. If this change is not welcomed and people attempt to prevent it, everything begins to plateau. No more developing, no more improving. Although thoughts on the Internet may not as supporting as others, there is an overall view that it has changed the way people now read and research. However, in order for this change in learning to be successful, the education system must learn to adapt to the developments as well. After all, encouraging out-dated ways of learning does no good in a society that is constantly changing. Due to this, the education system would benefit from teaching students how to properly use the internet at a younger age to prevent confusion, frustration, and failure when it comes to using technology as a resource further down the road.

Before this era of technology, the way people had to read and write was a lot different. Typically reading aloud to an audience from paper, readers were forced to speak every word of the text which helped them to understand what was being read. They actually had to pay attention to the context. There was no temptation to skim over the text. In today’s world, which now revolves around reading from a screen, there is more of an emphasis on quick and convenient, rather than efficient. In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues how we are not only what we read, but how we read. He states, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski” (2008). As someone who was originally accustomed to paperback books and is now surrounded by the Web, Carr claims that such a transition has taken away from comprehension and analysis. If reading from a screen is so relevant in society today, students should be taught the right way to do so. There is a difference between high school and college students who began their education using paperback books and written tests, and younger students who are just now beginning their education. The development of the Web that occurred, forcing older students to switch to digital learning was not expected so there is an excuse as to why they were not properly taught. For the students who are beginning to learn now with written materials, they are being set up for failure. If the education system knows there will be an abrupt change in the way they are expected to read and research, why are they being taught a false method with no relevance once they reach a certain age? Instead, they should begin learning how to use the Web from the start so by the time they are expected to begin researching and reading lengthy articles they are equipped with proper methods and a full understanding.

In addition to trying to use the Web with no instructions on how to do so, there is also an inability to concentrate when using the internet. This is due to distraction. Online articles are full of advertisements and hyperlinks to other websites. Our brain loses focus when presented with these distractions. In an online article about the brain, Olivia Goldhill discusses how multitasking effects our productiveness. She states, “Gloria Mark, professor in the department of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, says that when people are interrupted, it typically takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to return to their work, and most people will do two intervening tasks before going back to their original project” (Goldhill, “Neuroscientists say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain”). When scrolling through readings on the internet and running into so many distractions, the brain tries to stay on track with reading but cannot help to glance at the multiple flashing ads. This multitasking throws off any train of thought or focus. How are students expected to be in favor of reading online when they cannot concentrate? In an article written by Jabr highlighting the problems with reading online he states that in “a 2003 study conducted at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, nearly 80 percent of 687 surveyed students preferred to read text on paper as opposed to on a screen in order to “understand it with clarity”” (“The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens”). This is not only due to distractions. Studies show that reading online actually causes tiredness and headaches, which is obviously not going to make reading online enjoyable. Also, there is something about physically holding a book that makes it easier to read and understand. As Jabr explains, having control over the text is a preference; flipping through the pages, highlighting words, writing annotations (Jabr, “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens”). These are skills taught in schools that are said to be extremely important in being able to understand what is read. Yet, schools then choose to give online readings that students are unable to practice these skills on. So they do not care. They know that they will have a hard time trying to read online, not to mention older generations are constantly complaining over how bad technology is, and it makes the Internet seems like a waste of time. Jabr explains, “Whether they realize it or not, many people approach computers and tablets with a state of mind less conducive to learning than the one they bring to paper” (Jabr, “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens”). It is no secret why that is the case. Instead of promoting online reading as a positive and convenient tool it holds a very negative reputation which will not work in the 21st century. Today’s day and age requires fast and efficient work. From schools to careers it is vital that the Internet is being used to it’s advantage. Carr states, “It has made research very quick and efficient” (“Is Google Making Us Stupid?”) as opposed to the “old days” when finding information for research papers was like pulling teeth. With that said, students need direction. They need to be informed on how to deal with all those distractions and they need to be fed positive feedback on using the Internet so they are not automatically shut down when face to face with the Web.

The issue is simple and the solution is just as simple. Technology is relevant in 2018 because it is needed. It is part of change in society that is going to continue to develop no matter what. If students were taught how to online rather than just being told what to read, there may not be such a dreaded attitude towards the frequent online reading done today. Mixed messages need to stop being given to students. Degrading the use of technology and how it brainwashes the youth then giving them multiple online readings to try and analyze is enough of a distraction without all the extra ads they are soon to encounter. The Internet is there to help society grow and increase intelligence. In “The Deep Space of Digital Reading”, La Farge quotes MaryAnn Wolf when she states “We have to be discerning, vigilant, developmentally savvy.” And of course we have to be surprised, delighted, puzzled, even disturbed. We have to enjoy ourselves. If we can do that, digital reading will expand the already vast interior space of our humanity.” This statement suggests that even though the way we read now is totally different than it was years ago, it does not have to be a bad thing. If the tools are used right and taught right from the start, these sophisticated benefits of technology will lead the world to a whole new chapter of knowledge.

Cordell Brown

October 8, 2018

English 151

Comparative Article Essay

The internet has been a vital tool to making life in the twenty first century much more efficient and expedites the users access to information. Yet, there are those who believe that the internet is detrimental to our brains and makes us lazier. As the years go by and there’s more integration of the internet into our everyday lives, the effects it has on our brains are unknown, positively or negatively. The internet has benefited the education system and continues to do so as we make more strides to increase the technology we have.

On the side of the argument that the internet is hurting our brains, writer Nicholas Carr believes that it has damaged our ability to read longer texts and retain them. Attention to articles has decreased from the readers, even Carr said, “Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do” (Carr, paragraph 2). I can attest to this as I too feel that trying to read off a computer screen becomes increasingly less appealing the more I continue to do so. This issue can be a result of people associating the internet with efficiency and think they can quickly skim things and still get the same out of the article as if they read it. Carr sees the internet as a world full of distraction wherever you find yourself, on news outlets, emails, shopping websites, etc. These distractions manifest themselves through hyperlinks, pop up ads, notifications for applications, and other advertisements used to break articles or line them on the side. An example of this is, “A new e-mail message, for instance, may announce its arrival as we’re glancing over the latest headlines at a newspaper’s site. The result is to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration.” (Carr, paragraph 19). I can see how this can be seen as a distraction but I don’t feel it is nearly as disruptive to our attention as he makes it seem. Simply looking at the notification and deciding if it’s worth looking at in the moment takes all of maybe five seconds, and then you can go right back to what you were doing. Interestingly enough, Carr even praises the internet in his article, “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes.” (Carr, paragraph 3). This is the main defense for the internet, it has made tasks such as this one become something we can do at any time in the matter of seconds. But then Carr goes on to say this, “My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.” (Carr, paragraph 5). This isn’t an issue of the internet affecting our brain, it’s more so accountability of the reader to ensure they retain the information and don’t rely solely on their skimming. To fix these issues in a classroom setting, I would suggest providing a platform where there are ad blockers on the devices the students have if provided by the school. This would eliminate the issue of advertisements distracting the student from getting their work or research done.

There are also those that support the internet and don’t believe that there is such a big issue with it’s incorporation into education. Writer Paul La Farge suggests that the fears that people are currently having in regards to technology have been mentioned before. He believes that if anything, with the correct method in which it is executed, “ [the internet] has the potential to expand and augment the very contemplative space that we have prized in ourselves ever since we learned to read without moving our lips.” (La Farge, paragraph 4). With proper integration of the internet, he believes it will only enhance the part of our brain we have already set aside for reading and comprehension. Then La Farge brings up the fear that Socrates had in regards to writing in the fifth century and counters it with, “We may not keep the Iliad in our heads any longer, but we’re exquisitely capable of reflecting on it, comparing it to other stories we know, and forming conclusions about human beings ancient and modern.” (La Farge, paragraph 5). Fears of advancement ruining our current mental abilities has been something that has been going on for centuries, but each time there’s an advancement in technology we prevail on top. Using the technology to our advantage, not allowing the technology to become the only thing our minds rely on to do our thinking. Once again, he makes a reference to human history when he says, “… yet a quick look at the history of books suggests that we have been wandering off all along. When we read, the eye does not progress steadily along the line of text; it alternates between saccades—little jumps—and brief stops, not unlike the movement of the mouse’s cursor across a screen of hypertext” (La Farge, paragraph 6). Not only does this show that the internet isn’t the sole reason we skim but just accentuates that flaw in our nature when reading text. And in a study provided by the writer, “…a 2011 study by the cognitive scientists Rakefet Ackerman and Morris Goldsmith suggests that this may be a function less of the intrinsic nature of digital devices than of the expectations that readers bring to them.” (La Farge, paragraph 10). This backs up a point I made in the previous paragraph where I said it is an issue of the accountability of the user that they thoroughly read the text and don’t expect to get the same result out of skimming. My resolution to the issues that La Farge mentions for the non believers, hold accountability for how effective the information they retain is and don’t assume new technology is bad for our brains until there is viable proof to back that up.

Another aspect of technology that comes with the internet is the ability to multitask and effectively have more than one train of that at a time. In the article NOW YOU SEE IT by Cathy Davidson, she makes the comment, “Multitasking is the ideal mode of the twenty-first century, not just because of our information overload but because our digital age was structured without… one stream of information we pay attention to at a given moment” (Davidson, 6). We have so many various outlets to get our information from that trying to focus on just one would mean you miss out on what all the other ones have to offer. Another very accurate yet simple statement made by Davidson is, “You can’t take on a twenty-first-century task s with twentieth-century tools and hope to get the job done” (Davidson, 7). This sums up how important it is to keep up to date with modern technology as trying to write a research paper without the internet would take days if not weeks longer than if you had access to it like today’s society does. She also then brings up the broader range of influence has had on our world beside just education, “With the internet, we have seen dramatic rearrangements, in a little over a decade, in the most basic aspects of how we communicate, interact, gather knowledge of the world, develop and recognize our social networks and our communities, do business and exchange goods, understand what is true, and know what counts as worthy of attention.” (Davidson, 11). If it weren’t for the advancements in communication the simple luxury of being able to communicate with classmates or teachers in regards to work missed or questions on assignments would not be possible. Making school just that much more difficult if there were unsure aspects on an assignment or homework. Davidson wants integrate internet and technology more into our education system as she says, “So it’s long past due that we turn our attention to the institutions of schools and work to see how we can remake them so they help us, rather than hold us back.” (Davidson, 13). Allowing for a more welcomed merger of technology into our workplaces and schools, we could only benefit from fully utilizing technology to our advantage. Making schools more efficient with technology and added features with the internet would benefit the students along with the teachers to better the education process and introduce the kids to what the real world is like in the twenty-first-century.

The incorporation of technology into our schools and using the internet to our advantage only stands to benefit the students. As long as the kids are taught that skimming online readings are not effective and to read them like they would read a textbook. By teaching the younger generations now that the internet isn’t all about being quick and efficient, they won’t grow up skimming and expecting to breeze through text they read on a screen. This also prepares them for any line of work as it is very common for important documents to be shared via email and they will learn the ins and outs of the internet and other features it has to offer. Especially with technology seeming to be making leaps and bounds, many professions require understanding of online applications and functions that not a lot of students would choose to learn about on their own time.

Is technology taking over our education system? Is this a good or bad thing?

Teachers have changed the way we they teach due to the advancements in the technology around us. Many years ago, when technology wasn’t as advanced as it was today everything was done by hand and yes, it took longer to do things and you could easily make more mistakes however, you were doing it all on your own and you were learning from your mistakes. In todays age, many students use technology all throughout our educational careers and they have become very dependent on it. As technology advances over the years, it should incorporated in our education system but still use some of the basic educational tools from years ago so we are still learning and not depending on technology to give us all the answers. We can do this by using technology for checking purposes, like to check a math problem in the calculator or using a grammar check om a paper. However, the basic tools to know how to do the math equation on your own and learning how to spell and write so you don’t need to use grammar check as much is still as important.

The advancements of technology have allowed students to now multitask so that were are able to do many things as one time. However, with every benefit there is a downfall and multitasking is not the best way to get things done. In the article “Neuroscientist say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain” Olivia Goldhill argues that multitasking is making you tired and draining your brain. She states “When we attempt to multitask…it uses up oxygenated glucose in the brain, running down the same fuel needed to focus on the task” (Goldhill, Neuroscientist say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain). Multitasking may seem very beneficial because you are getting so much done at one time however in the end you are not performing your best on each activity because you are focused on doing so much and in the end you are going to be tired.

My own person experience with multitasking was while doing homework I tend to watch tv, eat, or do other things. This causes me to be constantly distracted from my other work needed to be done and I am not putting all my attention into my homework so I can easily make mistakes and it may take me longer to finish it. While doing my homework and other things all at once I also find myself taking more naps or feeling more tired as time goes on. Goldhill quotes Daniel Levitin research study in her article when she says “Studies have found that people who take 15-minute breaks every couple of hours end up being more productive” (Neuroscientist say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain). This shows that for people like me who do their homework and watch tv or talk on the phone at the same time it is better to take breaks. To help solve this problem students can work for an hour and focus only on homework then for 15 minutes get on their phone or watch tv for a little while and in the end they will be more productive.

Another reason why we should not have our education system solely depend on the internet and technology because it is shown that the internet is changing the way we think and process information, and not for the better. In the article “Is google making us stupid? What the internet is doing to our brains” Nicholas Carr argues how the use of the internet has changed the way we think and read due to all of the distractions on the internet. Carr argues that the internet has changed the way we are able to read and comprehend what we are reading because know it seems to be harder to do so. Carr says, “I can feel it, too. Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory” (Is google making us stupid? What the internet is doing to our brains). This change he is talking about it due to the fact that unlike print, when we read on the internet we get distracted easier because there are hyperlinks, ads, pop ups, and more things that distract us from what we are trying to focus on.

I can very much relate to this article because when I find myself doing something on the internet, whether it be researching or just reading an article, it is harder to stay focus like if I was reading something on paper. Especially when I am doing homework, I can start off by reading an article and typing my essay and I will end up watching YouTube videos for hours on end. This is not good for the education system because if we use the internet over paper all of the time, students will not be able to read and comprehend something without having to read it over and over again and still may not understand all the need to know. Instead of completely converting our education system to one that is focused around technology, we can incorporate it into some aspects but still use old tools for other things. Teachers have incorporated technology and the internet so much into the lives of kids growing up now that they don’t know how to do things without the internet. We should use technology in education to help but not so much that if we no longer had it we would still be able to live and work without it. Students should be taught to do a math problem without a calculator because that’s how you learn.

In conclusion, technology provides a lot of advantages when it comes to how we do things on a daily basis and now plays a big role in our education and how we learn. However, with all of those advancements we are becoming to dependent on the technology and what is does for us and we are not learning anything on our own. In the article “The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screen”, Ferris Jabr say that both the internet and paper reading have their pros and cons and that is why we should utilize both and not completely drop one for another. In the article he says that “E-readers and tablets are becoming more popular as such technologies improve, but research suggest that reading on paper still boast unique advantages” (Jabr, The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screen). Jabr goes on in his article talking about the life with and without technology and comes to the conclusion that it is better to just use both for certain task and reason and not completely drop paper print and non-technological tools (The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screen). To solve our technology problem and the overuse of it, teachers and students need to learn when to use it and how much of it to use. Instead of using it to do everything have technology only be used as an addition to the tools we learned to use many years ago.

Advancing in the digital age

Brianna Johnson

English 151

Professor L

October 18,2018

Technology in the digital age: The Advancement

What makes reading more attractive to younger ages? What draws people to use technology for aspects of their life? Though both are compelling in their uniqueness, they hold more positive than negative effects than you may realize. Authors have come to a conclusion that while we are continuing to advance through the 21^st century we can’t do so without the help of the Web. The Web has helped in many areas such as by accomplishing tasks at a faster pace and researching more effectively. These impacts are particularly important in our education system. The opposing views suggest that reading online in the digital age is harming us due to distractions, such as the advertisements and multitasking, while accomplishing the given assignment. The favoring view suggests that reading online in the digital age is helping us adapt to better customs in society. While some aspects of reading and accomplishing tasks in the digital age have been modernized, the education system still shares many similarities with its earliest forms.

While some believe that the Web has harmed us because we are skimming rather than comprehending, there is evidence to suggest quite the opposite. “Is Google making us stupid?”, by Nicholas Carr delivers his speech in an encouraging tone so as to alert the readers of his newly found evidence and to address it. Carr suggest that, “immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore” (“Is Google Making Us Stupid”). Through a personal encounter he suggests that reading online rather than helping him as affected his ability to stay focused. Carr references studies shown such as, “a study of online research habits…. The scholars examined computer logs documenting the behavior of visitors to two popular research sites… they found that people using the sites exhibited a form of skimming activity”. This suggests that it wasn’t just Carr who witnessed this account. While proposing his side, he exposes the audience to see the positive outcomes from the creation of the Web: “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes” (“Is Google Making Us Stupid”). By addressing the other side, Carr allows the audience to see how we far we have come as well as how it will continue to help and affect us. In correlation to Carr, I have experienced difficulty concentrating when administered tasks via email for homework versus as a child I loved to read long and dramatic novels surfaced around topics that interested me. Slowly and surely reading online texts have deteriorated my interest in paperback at all. To improve this problem, schools should adapt by including more paperback texts for various classes as well as requiring the kids to get the text for comprehension purposes and to actively engage the students.

From the side of Jabr in, “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age”, he embraces that we use both technology and paperback in the education system due to both their effectiveness and advantages. Jabr advocates for an understanding by using a consumer poll such as, “reports indicate that modern screens and e-readers fail to adequately recreate certain tactile experiences of reading on paper that many people miss”. This implies that Jabr has factual evidence to help show the small details we as human fail to see in our imperfections with reading through media devices. While watching a YouTube video, Jabr notes a significant outcome from a young child that by using an IPad she has consequently been in the habit of swiping across paper as though she interpreted it as a screen. At a young age, children in the digital age have learned how to use technology effectively but it’s consuming their life. Today in society, media connected devices allows us more conveniently to access information, provide information, and communicate via social media platforms. Research conducted provided the results of; “people report that they enjoy flipping to a previous section of a book when a sentence surfaces a memory of something they read earlier… people also like to have as much control over text as possible”. Therefore, leading to the belief that reading text through an e-reader, tablet, and computers has productive results in going back and marking essential and key elements of a text. Supporting reading on both forms, Jabr sets the stage to allow for open mindedness on his opinion as well as to incorporate various techniques into our daily routine. In relationship to Jabr, I have experienced reading academic journals for class assignments both online and in text books. While reading online, I have been distracted and taken away from the given subject as well as not highlighting or noting important details. But while reading the hard copy I highlighted, annotated in the margins, underlined, and made side-notes so as to go back to the previous document for references when needed. Having experiences from both allows me to prefer one over the other based on the various learning style I have been adapted to. Education system should adapt to the digital age by emphasizing skills and problem solving that can be solved intellectually by students by incorporating standards that could attract all learning styles.

Many individuals feel that it is better to tackle a single task one a time for better efficiency and accuracy, GoldHill in, “Neuroscientists say Multitasking drains the energy reserves of your brain” acknowledges the effect of multitasking in school and presents the cost impacted. The tone presented by GoldHill to the audience suggests that the reader needs to change their habits better to adapt to the era in a positive manner. GoldHill suggest, “the solution is to give up on multitasking and set aside dedicated chunks of time for each separate activity”. By giving personal advice on how to handle the typical workload while multitasking, she addresses multitasking as a problem that we suffer from in the digital age that needs improvement upon. GoldHill references studies shown as,” studies have found that people who take 15 minute breaks every couple of hours end up being more productive says Levintin”. This indication determines that to be more productive you must take breaks in between or it allows room for more errors to occur. While the article mainly addresses the stress related components and amount of time it takes to achieve multitasking successfully, it authorizes us to be open minded when considering doing activities for long periods of time. “Mark believes that technology can help protect against its own distractions such as software interfaces that force users to take breaks every couple hours”. Given the stance, GoldHill addresses solely the perspective of how multitasking negatively impacts our life and how we can carve out time so as to relieve some stress to reduce that impact. In relationship to GoldHill, I have experienced multitasking when it relates to doing laundry and trying to accomplish homework tasks at the same time. Usually I do these two tasks at the same time so as to be more effective and productive but in reality, it derails my focus from my homework topics. I believe this is happening because I am not taking a break therefore going back to recollect my thoughts. Schools in the digital age should not adapt to multitasking due to mistakes that can occur that you will likely miss and you won’t retain any information that you were looking for. Multitasking would overload the brain with commands and stimuli therefore suffering consequences.

In conclusion, many people find adapting to the digital age effective because of faster applications which lead to leaving behind those old paperback forms and because of more choices available on the Web but while keeping books and improving technology you allow for more opportunities. For these reasons mentioned above and others, the digital age should be incorporated into the education due to its more advisable for individuals who want to succeed and excel in various subjects. As technology evolves so does the learning curriculum, and technology can help provide an answer for better success. Most schools lack the skills and materials needed incorporate digital tools and learning practices in the classrooms. To bring education with technology into the classroom, the system needs to give teachers opportunities to explore new teachings and areas. Advancing in the digital age would require bringing up to date computers, articles as well as resources available for the students at their grade level. Education and skills in the digital world are necessary and important to know so that we know what to be developed for the future. Schools need to ensure that individuals are not left out of the digital age more so following with it. The major issue we need to consider on the topic of education is how our thinking needs to evolve with the enhancement of digital tools and technology especially with the younger generation coming up.

The Product of Technological Education

William Barry

10/11/18

ENG-151

The worry of the current generation is how to aid the successor. With that the best way to do it is through teaching. In order to teach the next generation the correct steps that they did not take themselves, there is an emphasis on education and the ability to sustain knowledge. Some of these methods involve the integration of technology into the classroom and there are many positives and negatives to the argument of technology and how it affects the ability to process information from electronic texts versus physical books. However, these arguments over whether or not to allow technology to either deter us from learning less or excel our capability to process, will not be a compelling argument compared to how someone explains how they use technology to comprehend and succeed. In a modern society of continuous technological advancement, it is essential that schools also integrate technology into their teaching practices in order to better prepare the students for aspiring careers.

The integration of technology into education is essential for progression. In favor of the technological argument we have “The Deep Space of Digital Reading” written by Paul La Farge. Beginning with La Farge’s point, he conveys the advances that reading from the internet provides the average Joe. In his words, digital technology “has the potential to expand and augment the very contemplative space that we have prized in ourselves ever since we learned to read”, instead of crippling it with nonsense and banter (La Farge “The Deep Space of Digital Reading”). His ability to steal his thesis is one that does not get casted aside so easily, La Farge uses historical examples and studies on the topic that support his claim for technological engagement. Critics as La Farge points out, argue that the internet causes ones mind to wander. But as La Farge points out, our minds have been wandering long before the internet was idea within the minds of few men. An example of such wandering that has taken place is commonly seen in children; they don’t want to sit still and read when told to. Instead they would rather play with their friends, day dreaming of the fun they could be have, and even scheming how they can sneak away to have fun. Over time we are capable of controlling how much we wander while storing information, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, yes people’s minds have and still wander to this day but it’s not something that needs attention brought to. Teachers can use technology to teach students how to control the endless wandering. They can make lessons more interactive by using programs such as quizlet or kahoot which can be readily accessed by students. These types of lessons require students to focus on the specific task for a period of time in order to complete.

Along with wandering, our ability to store great amounts of information has always been an issue, as La Farge mentions around the time that books came into existence for a house hold the average reader “had only a few books—the Bible, an almanac, maybe a work of devotional literature—and he read them over and over, so that they were deeply impressed on his consciousness” (La Farge “The Deep Space of Digital Reading”). As he mentions that’s three or four prints that people were able to afford and these books were passed down through family lineage and were irreplaceable for many who did not have the means to afford other long and expensive titles. As such, one can imagine how exciting it is to be able to read some other form of text instead of their scriptures that were ingrained into their memories. Daily news, local writers, and details regarding neighboring towns or countries were of great interest. And these people “read each item only once before racing on to the next” (La Farge “The Deep Space of Digital Reading”). This issue of endless information provided to the daily reader is still the same issue that people faced many centuries before now, in sense it’s not worth bringing up the fact that there is such a vast amount of information available to an individual, when such information that overwhelmed a person in the form of a grand library held just as much of an impact. The only difference between the two was that there wasn’t a little voice that could come out of a box narrating War And Peace as you laid by a candle lit light. What schools can do to quell the information overload is to teach what’s the difference between reliable information and unreliable information. There can be classes that have the sole purpose of teaching how to find and cite credible sources and how to properly use creative commons. It would encourage the practice of citations when creating power points for a meeting or quoting previous studies conducted upon what is currently being researched for a company or non-profit organization.

Now both sides make valid points arguing for and against technological integration and usage, however the best merit comes from personal preferences. As I have come to understand, if given the choice to read an article online or on paper I’ll go with paper because I already can be easily distracted by my environment but with the internet you can use it to play games, watch videos, and talk to people over social media. While this is true for reading the opposite is true for when I need to write. When doing a paper or article for school, I find it that having the articles separated on one side of the screen ordered in pro-articles on the left sided tabs and con-articles on the right side tabs helps with organization. Along with this I can have the paper that I’m typing up on the other half of the screen so that I can read an article on the right side, take the time to analyze and plan how to word my essay, and then type up what I’m thinking in order to review another day and revise it. As I do this, I would listen to some classic rock to cancel out noise around me. All of this has supported me as I’ve progressed through education. This may not work for everyone but it is more important than ever to be able to work like this in order to prepare oneself for any future career that may use technology.

Calming the Storm – Jason Kahan

Jason Kahan

Dr. Licastro

English 151

11 October 2018

“Calming the Storm”

Technology has taken over our lives by storm. Almost everywhere in life new technologies are surpassing old ones. Not just higher-tech cars or computers, but even simple wrist watches are being replaced by smart or Apple watches. Technology has made especially extraordinary improvements in how we learn in the classroom. Books are now being replaced with tablets, and whiteboards are being replaced by smartboards. Kids are learning differently than they have in the past as they now have the availability to multiple sources. Some people may argue that these new technologies have affected kids’ ability to get the most out what they learn, but in fact these new technologies have improved children’s ability to learn. With new technologies being created, educators should incorporate them to improve children’s learning.

The internet is changing the way we comprehend our readings. New platforms like Twitter and Instagram are affecting how much we want to read before losing attention and becoming side tracked. The cause of all this all of the scrolling and multiple authors about of multiple different things. This means that educators must adjust how they teach their students. These adjustments would be comparable the ones made in the past as new technologies were being presented as well. As said in “The Deep Space of Digital Reading”, “The quality of digital media poses one kind of problem for the reading brain; the quantity of information available to the wired reader poses a different and more serious problem. But it’s worth noting that readers have faced this problem before, too. Gutenberg printed his first Bible in 1455, and by 1500, some 27,000 titles had been published in Europe, in a total of around 10 million copies. The flood of printed matter created a reading public, and changed the way that people read.” (La Farge) This means that times have adjusted to what technologies are being used to read. People had to adapt to learn how to read rather than being told the stories through word of mouth. Educators must do as they did in the past and now adjust to teaching kids how to comprehend reading while reading on a screen.

There are big differences between reading on a screen versus a book. First is the feel of both of them, one you can follow with your finger and feel the words on he page and the other lights up the words for you to read. While reading on the screen, you lose the ability to turn the page and instead scroll down. There are devices like the Kindle that try to recreate that feeling of turning the page, but most articles published require scrolling down. Educators again must adjust to how pieces of writing are being published and adjust their teachings to better the children’s comprehension while reading articles online. If this means teaching kids to learn how to read on a tablet instead of a book then that is what must be done. After all, reading is just dissecting the words being shown on the screen and processing what is being said. “When we read, we construct a mental representation of the text in which meaning is anchored to structure.” (Jabr) “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens” This being said, teachers will now have to adjust to teaching their kids how to mentally represent the text, not on a book, but on a screen.

Our education system needs to adapt to the digital age to maximize productivity of our students. Our society is demanding more and more from workers and this means workers must be able to multitask. Multitasking is a skill that educators must effesize when teaching so their kids will be able to focus on not just one thing but balance between both. As Davidson says in

“Now You See It”, “Multitasking is the ideal mode of the twenty-first century, not just because of our information overload but because of our digital age was structured without anything like a central node broadcasting one stream of information that we pay attention to at a given moment.” (Davidson 6) The skill of multitasking being taught will also help broaden the children’s minds to be able to focus on more than one thing. Educators can use reading on a screen as a way to also teach multitasking. When reading on a screen, other pages will be open and ads will be on the screen. This is good practice for the children to focus on what they are trying to accomplish while noticing and observing other things going on. Multitasking is not just working on multiple things but focusing on what is important but also keeping in mind other things going on. This is essential in the digital age and reading with new technologies will allow for our children being taught to accomplish much more.

New technologies are being developed every day and will still further develop as time goes on. It is the responsibility of our educators to also be up to date and teach what the world is using at the moment. As there are classes now teaching how to use computers, in the future there will be classes teaching people how to use holograms to learn. All this and more is why it is so important for educators to incorporate new technologies in their teaching so our kids can be up to date. Technologie has taken over our lives, and it is our educators jobs to call the storm.

The Effect on Education

The rise of technology in this modern era is having a profound effect on human efficiency. Because of the new advancements and developments in the technological world, we are now able to do things much faster than we were before. However, the growth and development of technology has created a rift in society, divided into those that believe technology should be embraced for the sake of our future, and those that believe that technology will be our downfall. I fall into the latter category, taking on the approach of how technology hinders education. I know this to be true, as I’ve experienced it first hand in my journey through the educational system. I’m an IB Diploma Graduate and halfway into my first year of college. By the International Baccalaureate standards, I’ve been fully prepped and prepared for college, I’ve passed all of their requirements, and taken all of the tests. And yet, as I sit here writing this essay, I don’t feel prepared at all. Fortunately, I am able to identify the reason this is: Implementation of technology. In college, technology is used for everything. All of my textbooks are online, all of my assignment submissions are online…even my notes are online. It seems as if the only things that aren’t online are tests and exams, which are obviously to prevent from cheating. It’s a little overwhelming, having to adjust from the physicality of pencils and paper to scrolling through a textbook on a backlit screen. And of course, it’s incredibly distracting. With the threat of the Internet looming in the background as I work on my assignments, I find it so incredibly challenging to remain focused on my work. I’m only one autofill away from Instagram, or Tumblr, or whatever online game piques my interest that day, why should I do my work? It is for this reason that I firmly believe that technology should not be utilized as much as it is in schools.

I know that I’m not the only one who feels this way about the integration of technology into society. Nicholas Carr, the author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?“, writes, “Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do.” It’s clear that even the more educated among us are facing the same problem. This threat of distraction is especially promoted by articles all over the Internet, which quickly spit out the information we desire and leave nothing more in their path. That sort of thing is likely to have some profound effect on productivity, and is likely to further complicate analytical skills, especially if it happens a lot. Psychologist Maryanne Wolf shares this same concern. Wolf worries that the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace (qtd in Carr). I’ve experienced this very phenomenon. When I’m researching a topic for an essay I have to write, I prefer to have the information quickly. I don’t want to read a long article in order to find the information I need, I need the information in the first couple sentences. If I don’t find it, I move on to the next article, and rarely leave the first page of Google. After many years of doing that, I feel that I’ve sort of lost the ability to read things on my own and piece them together myself. I can’t read into things as deeply or analyze as critically as I used to be able to do at the start of my high school career. But again, why would I need to do these things when I have the Internet to hold my hand? This is the sort of thing that is threatening to the whole of the educational system. Children and teenagers are being slowly taught that the Internet will provide all of the answers for them, should they put it into their search bar and press enter. School-age children no longer have to figure things out for themselves, as the Internet will provide it for them. I believe that the whole essence of education, the core principal of it all, is to be able to discover things for yourself. Experiencing things, and using your experiences to define and shape the world around you with knowledge. As a child, I loved exploring the world and then learning about what I had experienced. Learning was, and still is, a beautiful thing. I feel that the Internet takes the sort of “magic” that goes into education away. The acquisition of knowledge is no longer something to undertake proudly, but rather something to get over with as quickly as possible.

The integration of new technology has historically brought up concerns of how it would affect the developing world. This can be observed as early as Socrates, who worried that writing down information would weaken our ability to remember information (qtd in LaFarge). In a time where all information was memorized and passed down through word of mouth, his fear is perfectly valid. With written transcripts of all of the information, why would there be a need for oral histories? This same argument can be applied to the world today. With the Internet, why is there a need for students currently attending school to memorize the information they’ve learned? There is no incentive for doing so, and it doesn’t help that standardized tests are all about regurgitating information anyway.

It’s clear that now that technology has been widely accepted into schools, there are negative consequences in using it. Several studies in recent years, during the prime of technological advancement, have shown that technology is really, really distracting. Albeit slightly out of date for the current time period, studies from 1992 concluded that people read slowly and less accurately when they read on screens (qtd in Jabr). Although this conclusion is out of date, I find myself able to relate with it quite well. For me, reading on screen is much more difficult than reading a physical book. When I’m reading, I find the light of the screen to be distracting, and it causes me to look somewhere else to try and relieve the distraction. In doing so, my eyes move to and glance at 50 other things on the screen, so I’m not reading, and most definitely not absorbing any information. For me, reading a book is free from distraction, as my eyes are easily able to drift across the page. There is an interesting correlation as to how paper books produce so much more output than screens. Call it a form of “classical training”, but even in the age of digital natives, many people grew up reading books. Being taught how to read was a huge deal, and almost everybody was involved in the effort. After years and years of reading books, the brain has become used to this behavior, and has schematically associated reading to the physicality of a book; holding it in your hands. And the reason why reading online is so much more difficult is because the brain now has to go against what its been taught for so many years, and for the brain, incorporating new information into schema is a hard task. The rapid change from books to technology in schools is a part of the reason why children are more distracted while using technology, and aren’t able to process as much information as they are when reading a book. Jabr writes, “In most cases, paper books have more obvious topography than onscreen text. An open paperback presents a reader with two clearly defined domains—the left and right pages—and a total of eight corners with which to orient oneself” (The Reading Brain in the Digital Age). For school age children with minds that are still developing, it is difficult to break the classical training they have received in reading books. Technology should be integrated into their life at a slower and steadier pace, in order to mimic the classical training they have received with books, and minimize the potential for distraction, or should be kept in books altogether.

In order to conclude, the integration of technology into modern society has created a wide array of problems for school age children. Due to the threat of distraction that it poses combined with the hazards it poses to a developing brain, it is not a good idea to keep technology in schools. The classical training of books is entirely more effective than the adaptations of technology, and with the best interest of future generations in mind, it should stay this way. However, if technology were to be integrated into the educational system, it should be done at an earlier age, in order to combat the naturally distracting nature of it.

The Future of Learning

Ryan Daunt

Dr. Licastro

Eng 151

October 10th

The Future of Learning

The world is constantly changing, new developments and breakthroughs being made every day. Our society has changed a large amount in a very short span of time in and the increasing use of technology has changed our lives drastically. Few, if not any, advances have been as impactful on human culture as the creation of the internet. The world wide web has given almost anyone residing in a modernized society the ability to access an infinite wealth on information with a couple of clicks on a keyboard. The implications of this are perplexing, information that had once taken countless hours of rummaging through physical books can now be accessed in mere minutes. This obviously has had a colossal impact in our society, especially since this tech has been integrated into the education system so heavily already. There are problems, however. The psychological ramifications of this new form of research and reading are very new and many people are starting to discuss the presence of declining reading skill, concentration, and comprehension. I believe that in order to combat this decline, our education system will have to implement changes in how students acquire their information and go about wielding this technology given to them.

Google, because of its association with quick searches and results, is an integral part of this digital age we live in. It is the interface that directs you to where the information you’re looking for can be located. However, Nicholas Carr believes that Google and the internet’s accessibility are having a negative impact on people’s brains. He discusses this in his article “Is Google Making Stupid? “where he talks about how people’s abilities as readers have decreased noticeably in such a short amount of time. He has personal experience with this too, explaining how the impact of the new tech by stating “Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do.”, in the context of how his new style of reading has impacted his reading habits and his mind’s ability to focus on a task. (Carr Paragraph 2) People have become more likely to skim through information, looking for those few keywords or phrases rather than submerging themselves in the pieces. Based off his research deeper into the question Carr has theorized that “what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation.” and over time has diminished his ability to zone in completely on pieces for extended amounts of time. (Carr Paragraph 4). I have seen some of these same effects in my life as well. I grew up as a reader, spending countless hours with my head buried in books completely absorbed. Recently, like Carr, I’ve noticed that both myself and my friends have brought up on multiple occasions the increasing difficulty we have staying focused on books for an extended amount of times. Carr’s noticed many of his friends also straying away from reading or stopping altogether. (Carr Paragraph 5) This is very concerning if the developed brain of an adult is able to be so easily changed in such a short span of time, the impressionable minds of the youth in school are in serious danger. Growing up into such habits could seriously impact the kid’s abilities to retain information. This loss of focus and concentration is noticeable in even the highest of education too, when Carr discusses this over the phone Bruce Friedman, A pathologist who has long been on the faculty of the University of Michigan Medical School, he says to Carr when discussing his ability to read complex pieces that “I’ve lost the ability to do that. Even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it.”(Carr Paragraph 6) If these issues are not addressed serious damage could be done to the future minds of our society.

Ferris Jabr focuses more heavily on the concept of how onscreen reading impacts us compared to the physical book version of reading. Opening his piece “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens” by asking pointed questions regarding how worried we should be about how the screens are interacting with our brain, and if the validity of these worries is justified. (Jabr Paragraph 4) Evidence, however, does suggest that the screen is the more negative of the two forms of reading. Jabr points out that studies have shown that “Compared with paper, screens may also drain more of our mental resources while we are reading and make it a little harder to remember what we read when we are done.” furthering the idea that people’s brains are having to adapt to this new form of reading that is becoming more and more prevalent in society. (Jabr Paragraph 6) The most alarming part of this is that ebooks are only becoming more popular, though they struggled initially the convenience and accessibility of them have propelled them. Ebooks currently “e-books currently make up between 15 and 20 percent of all trade book sales.” and it is unlikely that this number is going to drop quickly or at all. (Jabr Paragraph 5) Meaning this problem will likely be around for a while if something is not changed. It’s the most concerning when you think about the future youth too, studies have shown that “ When reading on screens, people seem less inclined to engage in what psychologists call metacognitive learning regulation—strategies such as setting specific goals, rereading difficult sections and checking how much one has understood along the way.” meaning these aspiring students are becoming less and less inclined or even able to deep read pieces of literature. Without change not only will our children have a very difficult time being able to appreciate and utilize literature the way previous generations have.

This ebook form of reading is making us unfocused and less able to zone into one thing. We are constantly looking for new excitement and moving from thing to thing after short periods of time. Olivia Goldhill brings up this issue in her article “Neuroscientists say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain” when proposing a likely relatable scenario dealing with a busy morning filled with chores and activities that must be done and how one will feel exhausted after doing such. (Goldhill Paragraph 1) This relates directly to how these books are making us feel. Our brain has to work a lot harder to process the lights, texture, and complexity of these ebooks, both splitting our attention on the content and draining us making us more likely to want to find another activity. However, Goldhill is a lot more optimistic about the prospects of technology on society the Jabr or Carr. Goldhill, citing Gloria Marks, brings up that “technology can help protect against its own distractions, such as software interfaces that force users to take breaks every couple of hours.” stating that if the tech was modified in order to promote a healthier way to use it, it could be very efficient and productive. (Goldhill Paragraph 12) Multitasking itself is one of the issues our generation is facing. We are moving towards a more efficient and time conservative culture but are also gaining the tendency to jump between two or more different things. Goldhill uses Daniel Levitin, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at McGill University, by quoting “That switching comes with a biological cost that ends up making us feel tired much more quickly than if we sustain attention on one thing,”, referring to the switching between tasks we are inclined to do. (Goldhill Paragraph 3). A proposed solution to these problems would be to “to give up on multitasking and set aside dedicated chunks of time for each separate activity.” splitting our time between different things while still being able to focus on specific things. (Goldhill Paragraph 11) Technology does not have to be all bad, we just need to learn how to manage our use of it, otherwise, it could severely impact the future of our society.

Our society is always changing and our technology is what is driving this change. It is very hard however to know the ramifications of these advances and the impacts they will have on us as people. Ebooks and online reading are very helpful and can be very useful in educational environments or for self-entertainment, but changes in our brains tendencies have already been noticed in the short span of these forms of readings existence. The education system must attempt to limit students use of these things, encouraging them to focus on deep reading and learning reading habits that will help them retain more information, otherwise, it will become more and more difficult for them to both comprehend and focus on the things they are reading.

English midterm

Paul Hess

Dr. Licastro

English 151

18 October 2018

The Fall of Technology

Through reading the five articles in a first person point of view, the speakers illustrates that it is relevant on how technology is changing our ability to read and research. The articles thus becomes a comment on the human need to stray from technology so that the brain can process research more efficiently. This idea of technology changing our ability to read and research is especially present in texts that illuminate how the brain is affected from the use of technology. For instance, in The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens, Ferris Jabr illuminates on how the brain reacts to reading off of screens than reading from paper. It is lucid that throughout Jabr research our brains respond differently to screens than they do to paper. It is natural for the brain to read off of paper compared to screens because of how long we have used paper and the way our brain works with it: “How do our brains respond differently to onscreen text than to words on paper”(Jabr, The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens). Here, the speaker suggests that the brain does respond differently towards screen rather than paper. When reading on screens the brain can become distracted from the bright light which can cause headaches or any adds that occur to distract you from one’s research. When reading from paper, it is easier for the brain to process since there is no bright lights or anything popping up on screen that can be distracting. Just as Jabr conveys that our brains respond differently to reading off screens than paper, so too does he delineate that reading of screens can affect younger people. In Jabr article he reveals that this is present in younger people because they are being exposed to this technology more frequently. Reading with technology from a younger age can affect concentration which can lead to not being able to navigate through text: “Volunteers on computers could only scroll or click through the pdfs one section at a time, whereas students reading on paper could hold the text in its entirety in their hands and quickly switch between different pages”(Jabr, The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens). Here, Jabr contends that reading off of paper is more efficient for the brain to process research by being a physical presence thus making paper easier to navigate through. In juxtapositions, these scenes convey that technology is changing our ability to read and research. Ultimately, the texts becomes a comment on the human need to stray from technology so that the brain can process research more efficiently. When the brains distances itself from the use of technology, it is able to function at its full potential to read and research.

In the article The Deep Space of Digital Reading, Paul La Farge challenges that the need for technology is present. This idea of technology changing our ability to read and research is especially present in texts that illuminate how the brain is affected from the use of technology, but La Farge disagrees. Through La Farge research he indicates that the mind wanders off when reading through electronics, but also does this when reading in books. He describes how the human moves down screens just like it would when humans would read off of ancient scrolls:”The Internet may cause our minds to wander off, and yet a quick look at the history of books suggests that we have been wandering off all along”(La Farge, The Deep Space of Digital Reading). Here, the speaker indicates how our ancestors way of reading was through scrolls which made one read consistently down. We are reading the same way as past readers did and now we believe technology is a more upgraded version, but it is different in many ways. Just as La Farge elucidates that the mind wanders the same amount when reading from screens and paper, so too does he assert that the reading brain still has a problem with reading through technology. In the article, the speaker delineates that the brain does not take in the same quantity of information for research as it would when reading on paper:”The quality of digital media poses one kind of problem for the reading brain; the quantity of information available to the wired reader poses a different and more serious problem”(La Farge, The Deep Space of Digital Reading). Here, the speaker implies that the brain still struggles with reading from technology even though screens use the same format as scrolls. Collectively, these scenes describe how the use of technology is present, but still deals with problems with reading and research. Significantly, the text thus becomes a comment on the human need to stray from technology so that the brain can process research more efficiently.

This idea of technology changing our ability to read and research is especially present in texts that illustrate how the brain is affected from the use of technology. For instance, the article Is Google Making Us Stupid by Nicholas Carr, is expressed on how Carr’s brain has been struggling to retain information. He has had an uncomfortable sense that something has been picking in his brain and taking away his memory. Carr feels this mostly when he is reading because when he looks back on what he has read, he has not retained enough information to thoroughly express his thoughts on the reading:” The more they use the Web, the more they have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing”(Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid). Here, the speaker implies that to retain information from technology, one must be consistently focused. Not only does the speaker delineate how the brain struggles to retain information, so too does he reveal that reading text on the internet could change the way we think. In the Nicholas Carr article, he indicates that because technology is so present in our daily life, it has changed the way we think. This is because in our society today, many people use technology constantly which has made it difficult for the brain to process :”Thanks to the ubiquity of text on the Internet, not to mention the popularity of text-messaging on cell phones, we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s, when television was our medium of choice.”(Carr, Is Google Making US Stupid). Here, Carr illustrates that we did not have the technology in earlier years as we do now. From this, we are now reading more text because of the access to internet and the way we use it. In combination, these scenes reveal that the brain is not able to retain large amounts of information, but is able to change the way we use our brains. Ultimately, the text becomes a comment on the human need to stray from technology so that the brain can process research more efficiently. For the brain to be most productive it needs to distance itself from any form of technology. Although the brain has found ways of making itself better when reading with technology, it will never retain the information needed for reading and research as it would from paper.

Digital Age Adaptation

When you kick yourself out your shoes, take the VR lens off your face, and take a step back out of the now technology-driven world, just allowing yourself a few seconds, you can see so much that has evolved. Everything from using a wood-made abacus vs now using a TI-84 CE, to having the same amount of computer power in your lap today that you could barely fit in an apartment 60-65 years ago. Our “smartphones” are now so smart you can practically tell them what you need done in the morning, they create a sequence of events and run themselves along throughout the morning, just like you (iPhone Xs). Often times as we see technological advancements such as the ones that flash before our eyes, weekly it seems, we ask ourselves—is this change for the better? Or will it further cripple us?

The technological evolution the 21^st century has witnessed is just one the many blessings the 21^st century has experienced, especially the immensely increased efficiency at schools—elementary, middle, secondary and post-secondary. We see that universities are taking the next step in integrating more technology and interactive learning and filtering more ways to connect the pathway of education and technology. With each passing, month, year, and decade, we witness the world taking big steps forward. We should continue this course. Not only does the age we live in make everyday life easier, it makes reading, researching, and things alike easier as well. Research done particularly through this medium (online reading) have shaped my opinion and drawn me to this conclusion.

Reading several essays, articles, and even a select few pages from a book have given me many perspectives as to how the “digital age” so to speak has morphed the way we read and write, and whether we should welcome this change, or if we should revert back to more traditional style of reading. Through the 5 readings I’ve read, which include, “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens” by Ferris Jabr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, “The Deep Space of Digital Reading” by Paul La Farge, “Neuroscientists say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain” by Olivia Goldhill, and the introduction of Now you See it (1-21) by Cathy Davidson, have all given critical input as to how the digital age affects us—whether it be positive or negative.

Both Carr’s and La Farge’s readings pertained to the topic of online reading. Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” goes in depth as to how online reading is particularly cancerous and it strips our ability to analyze text and comprehend readings as good as we would if were reading traditionally. He said, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski” (Is google making us stupid?). This implies that before the concept of online reading came about, he was deeply engaged, analyzing the texts he read. Now, however, he skims across articles or “speed reads” as he jumps from article to article (Is Google making us stupid). La Farge’s reading in comparison to Carr’s is quite the opposite, whereas La Farge believes that the concept of reading online is rather compelling, and it not only takes our mind on a deep journey, it gives us a unique experience, one that cannot be attained reading traditionally. He states that “Naumann gave a group of high-school students the job of tracking down certain pieces of information on websites; he found that the students who regularly did research online—in other words, the ones who expected Web pages to yield up useful facts—were better at this task (and at ignoring irrelevant information) than students who used the Internet mostly to send email, chat, and blog” (“The Deep Space of Digital Reading”). This doesn’t just apply to alone proves that the more you use it, the more you grow accustom to it, and can adapt along with it. From my own experience with technology, specifically technology in school, there has been nothing but success. I work more diligently, produce more quality work, all while moving more efficiently. With this, both myself and millions of others will move in the direction towards a more technologically advanced future.

At times, I sit, and I ask myself, “With all the craziness that goes on in my life, I always find myself multitasking. How can technology help manage all this?”. Technology has recently become so advanced that multitasking is almost done for you. Now you can work on your 5-page paper for English while organizing your spreadsheet for your business class, all due to the multitasking and processing capabilities of technology implemented into our digital age. This makes for more effective reading, writing, and researching. While I and many others believe multitasking is beneficial to an age filled with people that often find themselves in need to multitask, some others would disagree. In Olivia Goldhill’s “Neuroscientists say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain”, Goldhill goes in depth as to how multitasking might be quite hasty, but often can lead to error and/or fatigue. In the article, Goldhill references a professor at UC San Diego that states, “If you’re doing something on autopilot, such as the laundry, then it makes perfect sense to read a book at the same time. But attempting to do two challenging tasks at once will lead to a drain in productivity. “You can’t do two demanding, even simple tasks, in parallel” (Goldhill, “Neuroscientists say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain”). This may make people weary of the advancements in technology and the ability for ourselves to multitask (let alone a PC). On the other hand, you have people such as Cathy Davidson who believe that multitasking is a gateway more efficiency, which is why the digital age should continue to flourish. Early in her book, she mentions “You can’t take one twenty-first century task with twentieth century tools and hope to get the job done” (Davidson, 7). This referred to our obsession to focus on one thing when there’s so many things happening around us. If we are to only focus on one thing in the workplace, at home, or most importantly, at school, then we would miss out on the next thing that comes flying past our head.

Every aspect that comes with evolution of the digital age should be welcomed. It should be attained and used, for the world is only going to get even more advanced. It’s mostly important to incorporate this into schools and colleges, for the near future will be the prime of this digital age. If acceptance starts now, you can only imagine how much this generation would flourish.