"Digital Media Effects on Conventional Reading and Writing Practices"

After reading the Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?  The quote that stuck out the most to me was by David McCullough the Pulitzer Prize winning biographer: "Learning is acquired mainly from books, and most readily from great books (Rich, 2008)."  I disagree with his statement.  We learn to read at a young age and normally it stems from being read to!  Once we acquire the skill of reading we are encouraged to read everything from road signs, newspapers, books, directions, worksheets, puzzles, and the list goes on and on.  Unfortunately, I was never a strong reader until high school.  I did not like to read because I lack reading comprehension skills.  Does that mean I did not learn because I did not read "great" books?  No.  I was in the honor society and graduated in the top twenty of my senior class of 144 students.  I feel that as long as we are reading something our reading skills will gradually improve.  We may not all be Pulitzer Prize winners but as individuals we are all different and learn in our own unique ways!

I really enjoyed reading Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers by Josh Karp.  The quote that I had the strongest reaction to was by professor Naomi Baron:  "Bad and good writing is in the eye of the beholder (Karp, 2010)."  I strongly agree with her!  I know I write differently depending on who I am specifically writing to or who the audience will be that will view my writing.  I will be more casual with friends and family and more formal with fellow classmates, professors, and when writing assignments that are for a grade!  I know that a teacher we get a feel for what kind of writers our students are just a few weeks into the school year.  Then throughout the school year we can see their progression, regression, or consistency.  We are the judge of their writing to whether it is "bad or good".  We cannot forget, we as teachers are the "beholders" and ones who students look to for structure and guidance whether they are writing every day assignments or essays.

I am in limbo when it comes to being a Web Evangelist or Traditionalist.  I feel it is important that students learn all about digital media and how to communicate in the world of technology because children today are growing up in a different world than I did.  When I was a child very few people had a computer, no one had the internet, there wasn't such things as cell phones only pagers, and we didn't have a clue what social networking was other than writing a letter with pencil and paper to our pen-pal friends in other states.  So, I suppose I lean towards more of a traditionalist and feel that computers and all the modern tech gadgets are necessary but time spent on those should be limited.  Children should still play outside, acknowledge their families, talk to one another face to face, and communicate the "old fashion way".   Some traditionalists warn that digital reading is the intellectual equivalent of empty calories (Rich, 2008).  I feel this is bluntly spoken but in a sense the honest truth.  We can't learn everything we need to know in life solely from digital media and technology.  Although, Google is very handy and informative!  We have to be careful and keep in mind not everything we read online is 100% reliable and valid!

Overall, I feel that with limits digital media can be useful for children these days.  They need to know how to operate in the world of technology and learn to utilize everything that is available to them and can assist them in learning throughout their life as a student.  This includes primary, secondary, and college level students.  I feel parents should set those acceptable boundaries for their children while they are at home and teachers should set those acceptable boundaries for their students when they are at school!  Old ways and new ways intertwined will create a concrete foundation and successful pathway for our future generation!

References

Karp, J. (2010, January 26). Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers? | Spotlight on Digital          Media and Learning. Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers?. Retrieved May 20,                2014, from http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/does-digital-media-          make-us-bad-writers 

Rich, M. (2008, July 26). Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?. The New York                 Times. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from                                                                                                 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted      

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(20142013). TEDTalks : Films Media Group