Sunday, February 6, 2011
Ya, U R really reading!! ;)
I happened to find the "R U really reading" article online very interesting. I do think that with the overall growth of the internet, social networking, and online gaming, that the number of students reading books for leisure has declined. That being said, I do not think that if the internet was not as popular that students wouldn't be spending more of their time watching hours of TV and playing hours of video games on home gaming consoles. I do think that with social networking like Facebook and Twitter, that students are reading more then they would be if they were just playing video games. Regardless of the amount of useful information they are receiving from these readings, at least they are still reading something! I also think websites like Stumbleupon.com ( which is a search engine that requires you to sign in and fill out a questionnaire about things you are interested in, so that it can search websites that you will find to be interesting or entertaining to you personally) are making leaps for young learners because it is allowing students to find material that they will enjoy, without having to search through countless websites that they will not find useful to themselves. In the classroom setting, students are required to read books and novels to past test, so at least students are still practicing their reading skills while at home, and making reading more enjoyable for themselves! I also feel as if reading and writing online will help advance, average, and slow learners. My 10 year old niece has learning disabilities, and since she has began working with a computer teacher to help her reading and writing she has raised her grades from c's to high b's and a's! And her writing which is very hard to understand ( because of dyslexia, is much easier to understand when she uses a computer to get her writing out on paper. I also believe that with the use of internet for reading, there is more pictures and videos to encourage great understanding of the material students are reading if it is academic. I think that it is better for the youth today to be reading tweets and status updates then watching hours of mind numbing cartoons. Anyone else feel the same way?
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I really like the points you made! I honestly took the article differently, and felt that internet readings should not take the place of books but I do agree with you in saying that those readings are better than no readings at all. You also made a great point about stumbledupon.com. It really is a great way to get younger people to start reading since it tailors to your own interests. I definitely think its great that kids are turning to the internet instead of tv and video games, but I also think they're moving farther away from books which is a shame as well.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that there are many academic benefits to online reading. I often research random topics and questions that I end up reading about for hours. I find this information much more appealing than what is usually presented in a textbook because there is often informal vocabulary and/or pictures, and who doesnt like pictures?!? To answer your question, I do feel that it is better for today's youth to be exposed to the internet as opposed to spending all of their free time in front of the television. There may be unseen risks but these can often be avoided with good parenting. Overall, I think the internet is extremely educational and vital to a young person's technological development.
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