rdaunt – ENG 151 OM 14

A New Lab

VR Education

The science lab can be a very dangerous place, especially when used by inexperienced or young learners. The chemicals and experiments done in the lab are usually those that require extreme caution or precision. They are opportunities to learn and experience something that one does not often get the chance to do. My app is designed to provide students and scientists with a safe atmosphere to experiment and learn. By using VR to place students inside a virtual lab we help to limit potential injuries, accidents and errors. I am proposing fully integrated lessons for students to engage in, without the dangers of harmful chemicals or broken instruments. By having a virtual lab, the supervisor has both easier control over the students, and a built in aid for students when they’re performing their experiments. By eliminating any chance of error, injury or broken equipment you overall increase the consistency and impact of the experiment. Every student performs a perfect experiment every time and gets the full effect of the experience. Also this would save money in the long run for schools. This practically cuts the need for any science equipment except for demonstrations by the teacher. There isn’t a need to buy a full set for a whole class. This makes the VR app very helpful to the budget. It can also hold hundreds of different experiments too making it very versatile for any curriculum and can have language translator to for global use. The program would require the installation and download of these simulations and the use of a virtual classroom or lab. This kind of classroom simulator already exists so this isn’t a problem, design in the lab experiments would require scientists or experts to help program the software to react how it would in the real world. All the app would need is the real world physics and attributes of any object or material used in the experiment. With help this project could help improve the experience of many students around the world and engage and inspire them to enjoy science and learning about the world around them.

Seth Brising

Seth is designed to look somewhat elfish in feature, his bright green eyes look very unnatural and make his eyes seem to have a very a piercing glean. His average clothing is to mislead those that see him as a normal person. Under his disguise he has immense power and knowledge. Getting his last name as a shortened version of Brisinger from the Eragon series, he relates very heavily to this character. He is an average hight and weight, but in the game these stats don’t correspond to his actual strength. He is deceivingly strong and smart and has the tools required to win the game. He wields very strong magic abilities and spells and is very good with a sword. In both strength and intelligence he is unmatched. I based his looks of me and his personality, but his powers are what my dream powers would be in a game like this one.

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.

Rhetorical Analysis

Ryan Daunt

ENG 151

Dr. Licastro

Rhetorical Analysis

There is a growing concern for our generation throughout our lives in relation to the growing dependence on the internet and technology and the impacts these tendencies have on us mentally. It is something that many people talk about but there often lacks any credible scientific facts or statistics to back such claims up. In the piece, however, “Is Google Making us Stupid?” By Nicholas Carr he talks about the facts behind our increasing tendencies towards technology. In specific, he discusses the

difference between conventional reading and reading electronically and how well we retain information between the two.

Nicholas Carr is an author and scholarly journalist who writes articles and books about current world issues and delves into questions that people wonder about. He has written for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Wired. These sources are all taken very seriously and shows he is most likely qualified to be writing articles about such scientific and technical information. He deals heavily in the technological field with his writing, a lot of his articles dealing with questions and concerns

regarding technologies impacts on our everyday life.

The audience of this piece is a bit harder to determine, being that it was posted online and everyone having access to this information. His intended audience was most likely teenagers around age 15 to young/ middle age adults around 55. Any younger or older the reader would either not care enough about the information to take interest, or too old to access or bother reading it. While a lot of older people would likely agree with the points he is making, the article itself is written on a platform

that they already do not like. It is interesting it was chosen to be written this way because a large population of people who would agree and take interest in his points often do not use the technology that he portrays as negative in his article. His secondary audience could definitely be these people; however, he is primarily focusing on the technologically inclined portion of our population, mainly those interested in learning about the effects the technology they are using has on them.

The purpose of this piece is mainly to inform, letting anyone who reads it knows the science and impact of their or other people’s habits. He delves into the root of the issue, talking about the brain and how it has been altered over time with the evolution of technology. Carr begins this explanation by discussing how “the Net is becoming a universal medium” and that it is where most will go to gather information. Since our generation has such easy access to information, through the use of google

and other websites similar to it, we have become more and more dependent on such resources. He brings up how humans have been declining in their ability to both recall and retain information as well. There is a definitive connection between this increased use of tech, and our lessened abilities as readers and information containers. We have become more inclined to skim reading over deeper reading. This is mainly because our culture is one reliant on efficiency and speed, it is much easier for one

to quickly skim an article, find the most important parts and export these points into an output, rather than fully deep reading a piece and learning a concept fully. This is where our generation is shifting, and he wants to call light to this issue. Technology is ever evolving and continuing to be more and more convenient, making it more and more dangerous to our memory abilities.

This piece is writing on the Atlantic, a popular place for scholarly articles such as this. It is written during a period in our history where technology is growing at a pace that the human race has never before witnessed and the long term effects of these new technologies are relatively unknown. While it is written/posted on a website, it still appears professional. The font and scheme of the page contain only simplistic designs and colors. It has one picture and focuses much more on its content

rather than its’ aesthetic. It is particularly more appealing because of this simplistic style and professional tone making it seem much more credible than if it had been written in another way. This piece calls to light a somewhat overlooked aspect of how technology has begun to change and impact our everyday life, changing our culture, and the way we work.

This piece focuses very heavily on informing the audience on its point. It can be classified as informative mainly, while also being in a sense persuasive. It focuses on informing the reader on the effects’ technology has on us, while also having an evident bias against these tech heavy forms of gathering information.

Citations:

Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 June 2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/.

Learning To Be Me

My name is Ryan Daunt and I’m an 18 year old college student attending Stevenson university. I spend a majority of my time either playing lacrosse or spending, what my parents would most likely say is, an unhealthy amount of times playing video games. I was born in Chesapeake Virginia but grew up in Hightstown New jersey. Another thing that not many people know about me is I harbor a very hidden love for reading. I grew up with my head in a book any free moment I had. My mom in particular encouraged this because my other two brothers dread reading like most young kids do. For me however it played a large part in my growth and my childhood. It is hard to tell my story without including this crucial piece of information. Writing on the other hand was always a struggle. I could never quite get the ideas in my head onto the page, which always troubled me because with all the reading I felt like it shouldn’t be so difficult. Today while I am much more confident in my ability to put meaningful words on a page and to comprehend pieces of literature and writing I still know there is much work to be done and much more for me to learn. However we are focusing on the past in this piece and for that I’m going to be talking about my childhood and early life. These are influential points in my life that I can pinpoint as turning points and growing points in my development as both a writer and reader.

From a young age my parents could tell I was a reader, or at the very least interested in stories. Every night growing up, probably as early 2 years old my mom would read to me every night, until of course it got to the point where I could read myself. I probably share a common story with many other kids here when I say that the one book I can clearly remember as being read to me over and over, begging my mom to read it again was green eggs and ham. In my developing mind it was the quintessential piece of story telling, the pinnacle of human writing performance. The first hearing of this story is permanently etched into my brain. I was sitting on my mom’s bed on a breezy fall afternoon, we had the windows open and it was starting to get late. I was snuggled up in my pajamas, laying down next to my mom when she started the story. I will never forget the first time i heard “Do you like green eggs and ham?” After that the rest was history, my journey of literature had unknowingly begun. The story was the first I can remember that captivated my mind, influenced me to want to hear a story, created emotions just by hearing and seeing words and looking back now I see this as a clear starting point in my journey towards learning and mastering writing and reading. This is what inspired me to start, the rest of the journey was learning how to actually accomplish what Dr. Seuss did in this work of art.

For me now, in such a modern age where technology dominates the classrooms and writing is done largely on computers, I’m blessed to be able to hide my horrendous handwriting from the world. Young me however did not have this luxury. Growing up my handwriting left a lot to be desired, and when the teacher brought out those purple handwriting books with the large bold outlines separated down the middle by the faint dotted line, the look of absolute disgust was most likely perfectly viewable by all. For someone who enjoyed books as much as I did, the actual writing mechanic behind such things was very difficult for me. For some reason I just could not get my small hands to follow those faint, perfectly formed letters they expected us children to replicate. This was around 2nd grade, and every couple days these books would get brought out and i’d be forced to yet again put my pencil to paper and struggled through another harsh session of writing practice. It took the whole year for me to finally be able to write legibly but in the end I did it. This struggle taught me alot, more than just learning write. I know I will never forget those purple writing books and the uncomfortable brown desks that we sat in for hours on end. While torturous at the time they gave me valuable tools that I do now appreciate. My handwriting may not be much better than it was back then but simply being able to write was one of the most important thing a kid can learn. It opened up to so much more, allowed so much more growth and getting those lessons into my head was a huge point in my childhood. One that can be traced up through everything we do today pretty much, between college and social life, writing is one of the essential things that one must be able to do. This skill was so important because it led to development into deeper, more complex ways of writing.

The next corner stone in my life was in 5th grade english class. It was the first time us students were allowed to free write, and kind of piece we wanted. I, being in love with books at this point in my life, choose to create my own. The genre that fascinated me at this time was fantasy so this story was about as fantastical as it gets. Talking animals, wizards, superpowers and some kind of plot crammed into a 1,300 word novel, equipped with hand drawn art and all. I don’t know where the story ever ended up, probably buried under other memorabilia my mom kept over the years but I do remember the happiness, the struggles and the hard work I put into that piece. I was so proud to have written something with my own two hands, a story created by me. I put emotions, characters, places and anything I could think of. It was a culmination of all the skills I had learned up until that point, from Dr. Seuss to writing exercises I used everything I knew in that and will never forget the happiness it brought me. It sparked a passion in me and that’s something that someone never forgets. I’ve held onto this love of reading and writing ever since.

The lessons I have learned throughout my life have molded me into the student and person i am today. Writing and reading, while they may not be something one thinks about as playing an influential part in our lives, have a lasting impact on our future. Our ability to put thoughts into words and to comprehend and understand the ideas of others are essential in creating our futures. These 3 moments in my life are things that I can look back and say with absolute certainty have played a large part in my development as a reader and writer. Whether it be teaching me the basics of the tools or expanding my passion for them, they are things have and will continue to help me throughout life. The combination of all these lessons is what makes me who I am and they will serve me well forever.