The Internet offers so much information, good, bad, and otherwise. Some have speculated that the Net will bring about the demise of the book. But books are still very important for our students. I believe students need to be readers and thinkers before they can become skilled researchers. In his article, Is Google Making Us Stupid, Nicholas Carr reflects on how the Internet is changing our brains - it is changing the way we read and think, and even the way our brain is wired.
Many people are doing more reading because of the Internet, but it is a different kind of reading. It tends to be more skimming and browsing, rather than being focused on the information contained in long articles. While Carr appreciates having access to "an incredibly rich store of information," he also laments that the Net seems to "be chipping away his capacity for concentration and contemplation." Carr believes that books support deep sustained reading, which leads to deep thinking. The more we can provide students with the opportunity for deep sustained reading, the greater their ability to question and think about what they have read - an essential skill in today's world.
2 comments:
Great article! I am also reading a book by Mark Bauerlein entitled "The Dumbest Generation"-this has a similar theme with a little bit greater edge. Love your two blogs!
Thanks for your comment and thanks for the book suggestion!
Some great discussion about The Dumbest Generation can be found in Will Richardson's blog at: http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/not-the-dumbest-generation/
Comments about Nick Carr's article can be found at http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/required-reading-on-reading/
Check it out....of course, if Nick Carr is right, you'll have to plan on going back and reading the rest of it later : )
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