One other interesting observation that Linda Gambrell made in her research article, Reading Literature, Reading Text, Reading the Internet is that both children and adults are reading more informational text than before the Internet. The ease of researching information online – being able to “google” a topic, has made people more likely to look up topics of interest.
Gumbrell uses her own example of reading a report of interest online (“Reading at Risk”), then continuing a probe of the topic by looking up related information on the Internet. Her education on the topic was able to continue beyond the initial reading of the report, because of how easy it was to research online. Gumbrell says:
Because I used the Internet, my reading on the topic was broader and I was exposed to multiple interpretations of the report. As a result, my understanding was expanded and enriched, much more so than if I had only read the traditional printed version of [the report she read].
This was an “ah-ha!” moment for Linda Gambrell. The experience she had, ironically, contradicted the report she was reading about. The “Reading at Risk” report does acknowledge the advantage of the Internet for locating information, but the report also argues that the Internet “fosters short attention spans, accelerated gratification, and passive participation”.
Now you have heard arguments from both sides of the fence. Which do you agree with? The Internet: a friend or a foe for reading?
8 Comments:
I think as time moves on it will be a friend. I agree with Gumbrell's findings that you do go back and look up something again and read more. In that sense, the learning does not end.
Critical analysis of reading material will be an on-going project for teachers with this generation's students.
Muriel
Muriel,
I agree with Gumbrell as well. I think my learning has expanded since the Internet - I certainly spend alot more time learning than I did before the Internet was in my home. I appreciate that I can have any question answered whenever I want from home. But information literacy is the key for students - be able to distinguish the good from the bad.
Norene.
I know of some kids, one boy in particular, who become obsessed with certain topics and research on the internet as much as they can about that topic. He then comes and tells me all that he has learned. It really is amazing. He is reading, enjoying it and learning. To me, those are the main things. Arlene
I don't think the Internet is a foe, but is perhaps not a replacement for books. I can actually see a use for ebooks within the classroom for remedial reading when a student 4 or 5 grade levels below the norm for his age. I have such a student in mind, who may benefit from a little daily reading on the computer for a change of pace from the oral reading he does with me to increase his decoding skills. I have really appreciated knowing more about the types of books available online, even though I don't anticipate using them often. I will be looking for books that are not too juvenile looking but have reading levels about grade 2, so he can read a bit more independently with some success. Any suggestions anyone?
That is what I love about the Internet! Information is there for the taking as long as you have a few skills, which we all have thanks to previous courses we have taken from Noreen. I have been able to find out so much more information in teh last 10 years compared to what was available to me when I was in high school and university #/^* years ago.
Internet - friend or foe? I'm thinking you have to be able to read to get much value out of the internet so I can't see that reading and the internet are somehow in opposition. Your posting seems to indicate, and it makes sense to me, that the 'how and why' of reading have been changing since humans learned to write.
In general my thinking is that each of our tools - new and old - have ways in which they are helpful and ways in which they can undermine our lives. The warnings of the researcher's can be useful for each of us to evaluate and adapt our own corner of the world but they seem kind of useless if we just use them to stand back and condemn the tool or announce that "the world is going to hell in a handbasket".
Just like books, the internet can be anything to anyone. If you fear you would forget where you found a good info on the net, bookmarks/favorites is your friend. Add the link to your favorites and it'll be there for as long as your pc is alive.
Scared of loosing the info if your pc breaks down? Try firefox addon software Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer and you’d be able to retrieve all saved links from any PC anywhere!
Save the risk of getting invalid information, the Internet is a good friend for good researchers.
Peter.
I think the internet is a friend it enhances our learning expereience. If I read a book I liked I check to see if that Author has other books online. I think that the internet is expanding children and young adult’s knowledge base. This is exciting. The key is they need to be taught how to navigate the web to know how to distinguish between unreliable sources and reliable ones. I have decided for myself to have an open mind when it comes to e-books. It another form of something I really love... books!! :) Heidi Reed
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