Technology is affecting the way people think and behave in both positive and negative ways. Technology elicits a different type of interaction with written and oral language. This video brought up interesting facts about how technology has affected what and how people today read and write. For example the newspaper has always been a great source of information and was an everyday read for many, but with technology on the rise “newspaper circulation is down 7 million over the last 25 years.” Watching television is now more common. Cell phones are great for communication and helpful in many situations, but text messaging has taken away the formal letter writing, calling, and use of grammar and punctuation in writing. Over 2,272 text messages are sent by the average American in a month. Sixty-four percent of teens admit that the shortcuts and symbols commonly used in text messaging have appeared in their school assignments. Microsoft Word, Open Office, and many other common computer programs have spell check. Typing something on the computer becomes much easier for children, teens, and adults because everything from word usage to spelling is simply corrected for you. Technology has allowed information to be viewed simply by the click of a bottom. It takes a year to publish one million books and only an hour to digitally scan one thousand pages. Do you think it matters if a child is reading from computer screen or book? How about typing verse handwriting? What is your opinion on how technology is affecting the literacy skills of children? Should teachers be encouraging writing through the use of blogs, reading games, typing as a form of writing, etc.?
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I found this video to be very informative about the upcoming race on technology. In fact it pretty much scared me of how classrooms are going to be run in the next couple of years. We as teachers play a huge part in our kids futures. Therefore we need to continue to teach grammar in our classrooms. It not only needs to be taught well, but also taught in an engaging way for our students. Like Weaver explained, there are assumptions made about grammar and why it should be taught. However I feel like it molds our students into becoming successful in writing and most of all beneficial to them in their very day lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jenica about the newspaper clip in here. Now a days we are finding technology everywhere, including bathrooms. People are in such a hurry these days that no one takes the time to read a good book, or magazine for that matter, on current events going on in our nation. Because of this mad rush to get a million things done in a day, we lose sight of kinesthetic resources and instead use television to catch up on what we need to know in a small amount of time. Technology is affected literacy skills, but it might be the way we have to go if our world is shifting towards that route.
I agree with Stephenette; this video is scary. It's such a difficult topic for me because I consider myself old-fashioned, but at the same time, I understand how important technology is in our world and how it needs to be integrated into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your first question, I think students should read from a book. As convenient as a computer or Kindle is, technology isn't currently accessible to all students. In low income communities, most students' only opportunity to use computers is at school. But even so, some of these schools don't have the resources to provide consistent computer access to their students. It wouldn't be a fair system if students had to use computers all the time.
A huge pet peeve of mine is when I see little kids or pre-teens texting on cell phones. I think texting is really going to hurt this generation of young writers. With T9 prediction writing and abbreviations, young people don't have to fully consider what they're writing about, and it’s making them sloppy writers. I think using books and handwriting assignments is still necessary so that students can learn to become great writers, not great type-ers.
"So what used to fit in a building now fits in your pocket, what fits in your pocket now will fit inside a blood cell in 25 years." This quote that was displayed at the end of the video amazed me the most out of all the information presented to me during the entire video. Technology is so widespread now, and it just keeps growing and growing. When will it ever stop? Never. I feel as though, as a future teacher, that this growing technology is going to be hard to work with. In order for students to grow as writers and learners they need to have first hand experience with writing, and now with computers telling you when you spell something wrong, or when there is a fragment in your writing, this makes learning how to write much more difficult.
ReplyDeleteInstead of complaining about how technology is going to make teaching how to write more difficult, we future teachers need to now look at it as a building block for something new and better. We can use technology to help students research ideas and have students become more involved with the topics they are writing about. I do believe that writing needs to still be learned the "old-fashioned" way with writing on actual notebook paper. I think that students become better at grammar especially when they have to write on an actual piece of paper, rather than a computer screen.
Although technology has been increasing rapidly, and will continue to increase over the years, we can recognize it, except it, and work with it to our advantage. Students can still become excellent writers with technology. As long as the positive focus on the process of writing is there, and students enjoy writing, then that is what really makes a difference!
I think it does matter whether a child is reading from a book or from a computer screen. I know that I personally can only do so much reading on my computer. I get to the point where I am done being on the computer and would much rather be reading from a book. I believe the constant stimulation from the computer screen can be too much for the brain and overwhelm the reader. I believe there is value in being able to hold a book and read from it, rather than reading off of a screen. Technology can both increase and hinder literacy skills of children. If children become too dependent on technology, they may never learn important literacy skills. By depending on such tools as Spelling and Grammar Check, children do not learn how to spell or write accurately. Technology can also be very beneficial when it comes to writing, but a teacher has to be able to establish the balance between advanced, technological methods and traditional methods.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that technology is affecting reading and writing in a negative way. Don’t get me wrong I love technology. My cell phone is glued to my hand, always texting away but because of this it shows in my writing well more so typing of a paper. I have turned in final papers countless times and received red circles around the letter ‘u’ where I should have really typed ‘you’. It is a short cut in text messaging and carries over to my papers. That is not good. Children these days get cell phones when they are 9 years old, which is ridiculous. This means that their writing is going to become worse at a younger age. I think students still need to practice writing with a pen and not just typing. When I was in elementary school all we did was write but I am never asked to turn in a written paper anymore, it must always be typed. This has caused my writing to get worse and worse as the years have progressed because I do not practice it enough. If students don’t even start out practicing writing in the future they will never know how to, everything will be just typing on the computer. This also does not help them learn how to spell because they rely on spell check without even paying attention to the way the word is correctly spelled in the end. I think students still need to experience the ‘old school’ way of writing because it can developmentally help them in the long run. Relying on technology all the time is really not good at all.
ReplyDeleteWhat a crazy video to watch!It really points out that technology is affecting the way kids read and write in this day and age. This is the age when students are spending more time on a computer than anything else, i know that i spent a good amount of my day using my computer. I find that my eyes can only take so much computer work before they start to bother me, so reading an actual book is always a nice break. Yes students are using spell check more and more these days, but what some dont seem to understand is that spell check does not fix grammer at all!
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: I personally do not think that is matter if a student is reading from a book or computer screen because reading is reading and when you can get a student to read that is a good thing.
Question 2: I think that students should be well practiced at both typing and writing by hand becuae you will need both in real life, and you will use both everyday. Technology is changing the way we work in the this world and we need to learn to accept it because its only going to get better and better.
Question 3: I think that students are using spell check like i said above but arent reallt getting a good understanding of grammer unless they are actually reading through their typed work after they are done, and most students dont.
Question 4: I do believe that teachers should engurage their students to use blogs and typing games because we can not deny that technology is a HUGE part of our lives and it is only going to get bigger.
BY: WILLIAM BURNS
This video supports the notion that society today has become completely consumed in technology. It is scary to consider that in just a few short years books might not even exist anymore. I find this to be extremely unfortunate because holding and reading from an actual book is one of the most stimulating experiences of life. Reading from a computer screen and from printed typed words on a page are two completely separate experiences. Often times if I am reading a long article on a news website I will print it out, because staring a computer screen for too long makes me antsy and gives me a headache. I believe when you are reading an actual book it is the interactive turning of the pages and holding of the book that keeps the reader focused. Another concept to consider with this topic would be interactive children's books such as pop up, flap, and touch books. Small children love these types of books because they get to be actively involved as it engages them with reading promoting a love for reading at a young age. This is definitely a characteristic of books that a computer would not be able to simulate and would be a shame to lose if books were completely consumed by technology.
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was very informative and intriguing. I have seen videos like this technology one before and it is amazing at the statistics and thoughts that you gain from watching the presentation. I feel that technology taking over traditional methods for doing or retrieving things is inevitable. Technology is beneficial and rapidly changing, even to the point where teachers in schools are holding conferences on how to use new technological equipment. Technology allows things to be done faster and more efficiently, although sometimes we might be losing important lessons that were available in traditional methods. For example, spell check is a convenient tool when typing and revising a paper; however, it can prevent the writer from going back and thoroughly editing the paper, stop writers from developing in spelling, and can decrease our willingness to write anything by hand anymore. I love spell check, but there are words I definitely spell wrong every time and thus never learn the correct spelling because of spell check. I feel technology can be both beneficial and detrimental to students. For example, at my elementary school the library was recently shut down and the books were boxed up. This is absurd, I would never work at my elementary school knowing the books once used by the students are now in boxes, because that was a cut back in the school’s budget. So my question is what are the kids using now, computers perhaps to read books? This point was brought up in our class discussion and although the new devices to read books are fabulous and convenient, I would be disappointed to see books slowly disappearing because of this. I do think it matters that students read from books and still use handwriting, these are experiences and skills needed and that are important to living in a world where technology is not always present. I see more and more businesses switching to computers and technological processes to make service more convenient, I cannot imagine never having to pick up a book or handwrite anymore. I feel this would be a big loss within society. I feel that is every teacher incorporates a balanced curriculum using both traditional methods and technological methods that would be beneficial to students.
ReplyDeleteI think in the classroom there needs to be a balance between technology and hands on experience. Technology is progressing fast and teachers need to be able to keep up with the times. It’s funny because text messaging is affecting oral language. Students as young as 2nd grade are using the slogans “OMG” and “IDK” in their speaking. Students seem to forget the importance of being correct and are looking for shortcuts. This really shows the importance of teaching grammar in the classroom. Students are going to need to understand the difference between talking/writing to their friends and academics.
ReplyDeleteI saw in the news the first digital library. The library converted everything to digital and threw out all their books. That seems ridiculous that students are going to lose that connection between holding an actual book to reading from a screen. I feel that if I stare at a screen too long I strain my eyes. Although, there are pros to going digital. For one, it does decrease the amount of paper usage but there is something about owning, touching, and feeling a book.
think that this video is super interesting and insightful. It offers a lot of really interesting statistics about the influence that technology has had in the past decade or so. Technology is a big issue of debate today, specially pertaining to education. I think the main argument that arises is: Is technology beneficial or harmful on education? My answer to this question would be that it has the possibility to be both harmful and beneficial. In a lot of ways technology has expedited and and expanded the possibilities within education. It allows children and teachers to conduct more research and have more access to education. However, technology has also had such a large influence on education, that it is possible that education has become distracted from its traditional goals that were instilled b our founding fathers. I would say that overall, the positive consequences of technology outweigh the negative aspects. I think that technology is a powerful tool and we, as teachers, must stay up on the current technological trends so that we are adequately preparing our students for the world of technology in which they reside.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is changing at an alarming rate. This can be viewed as either a negative or a positive thing. Despite the way you look at it, the point is that it is there and it is going to continue to change and improve. People are depending more and more on technology with every passing day. We see this with ourselves and with our society. We can't change this and so we must learn to adapt. We have been doing this as human beings for centuries and we can only continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteEven though everything is more technological these days, it only changes some things. Now that the news is on the web, more people are turning to that. This affects print newspapers greatly, but at the same time, people are still reading and keeping up with the news. Although books are electronic, people are still reading. It is just a change that we have to get used to. Before books were printed, people got information orally.
This may change the way we teach greatly, but theres nothing we can do to stop technology. We can't completely ignore something so prevalent in our lives today. We must simply learn to incorporate at least some technology in our teaching in order to keep up and not get left behind.
his video is very eye opening. It truly brings you into the idea that we live in a technological world that is growing ever so fast. I have mixed emotions about the idea of using technology to the extreme in the classroom. I think it is very important to follow with the times and accept the fact that we are moving towards a very technological era, but I think it is also important to preserve original aspects of life (ex. the use of paper and pencil, reading actual physical book, etc.) We can't deny the amazing access to information with the help of computers, but students should still know and learn how to navigate through a library. It scares me a little bit that some day we might not even have libraries anymore with all the internet and technological books. In any case, I know that when I become a teacher I will use a good balance between old and new, paper and typed work, and white board and powerpoint.
ReplyDeleteThe second statement that appears is so true. It is so easy to reach a large group of people, but harder than ever before to really connect with people. I wonder why this is. Why is it so much harder for us to really connect with people? We can go on facebook and join clubs, but do you really feel apart of the club. Technology has presented an invisible barrier for human contact. Just like getting a hand written letter is so personal and moving, where as an email that could contain the same content but it doesn't feel as special as getting that hand written letter in the mail. Also talking to a person face to face is a lot better than on a phone or on Skype. What does the future hold for us? Where is technology really taking us?
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the most interesting and informative videos I have seen in a really long time. I looked it up on youtube and there was another video just like this composed a few years ago and it was interesting to see how much it had changed. I really do not see a problem with using technology in the classroom because, for the most part, the technology is used properly and not too much. But, at the same time, I feel that too many students rely on spell checkers to correct grammar and spelling. I admit I am the same, but at the same time, I correct it on my own, instead of using the spell checker. Also, if I do not know a word, or have misspelled it, I look it up (granted I do that online because I do not own a tactile dictionary).
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that elementary school students should not be reading from handheld, paper books instead of computers. There really isn't anything that can take the place of reading books in your hand. That and well, our kids eyesight will probably get bad too if they start using computers too much.
If teachers spent the time to improve their students handwriting, it wouldn't be a problem. Some teachers just live with their students bad handwriting and don't take any means to improve it. If the students handwriting is so bad though, having it typed would be a lot easier on the teachers eyes when they have to read and/or correct their work.