The Way Of Learning And Reading Has Changed Over Time

Birkerts provides three effects that will occur as a result of moving away from the printed word to the electronic media. The first effect is the language erosion. He explains the reader that transition from books will lead to the “complexity and distinctiveness of verbal and written communication, which are deeply bound to transaction of print literacy, will gradually be replaced by a more telegraphic sort of plainspeak” (9). In the future our language will start to become more simple and dumb. Whereas, by reading books and printed materials people are able to dig more depth and understand and imagine the contents. But, soon this will start to disappear as people will no longer be able to understand the complex language of the literature and intelligence level of people will start to decrease. The second effect of electronic media is the flattening of historical perspectives. This means that due to the electronic media the history will start to recede because the “printed page itself is a link” and when this link is broken the past will gradually diminish (10). Birkerts explains the audience that the past is best represented in the books and libraries. Therefore, moving away from the printed word means moving away from the past and its history. The last effect is the waning of the private self. Birkerts worries that in the future people will forget how to live because of the electronic

If a person wishes to be up to date on what is going on the world around them, in all facets and walks of life, then they must spend a considerable portion of time merely skimming the water of each pool of knowledge, never having the time to truly sink their feet in. This correlates directly back to the massively increased availability of information and writings, whose shoulders Birkerts puts the blame of our loss upon. Nicholas Carr cites a study done on the “behavior of visitors to two popular research sites” which gives its users an even larger degree of online texts.

The 1800s brought about a change in reading instruction. Noah Webster published his blue-back spellers. These books "focused on the right pronunciation, on patriotic and historical selections, proverbs, moral stories, fables, as well as an expressive oral reading" (Robinson, 1997, p. 46). The first set of readers was also introduced, the McGuffey’s Readers. It has been estimated that least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its

Technology has evolved a lot over the years and so has our society. When I think of how much it has changed I think of the older generations who never had to deal with cell phones, television, and the internet. They did not have all the answers with a click of the mouse. My grandma who is eighty-nine, almost ninety, tells me a lot about how she grew up. She told me we did not have all the fancy stuff like you have we had to do it all on our own. And it you wanted to tell someone something you would have to write a letter and wait for the response there was no email or texting the person. My grandma has learned by doing, she was taught to do things on her own. If she did not do it then it will not get done and she is not going to wait for someone to do it for her either. In the essay “The Owl Has Flown” by Sven Birkerts he talks about how we no longer want to dig deeper to get our information. He uses two terms throughout his essay that are important to this, they are vertical and horizontal learning they are also known has vertical and horizontal awareness. Vertical learning is when you learn something in depth, when someone takes the time to learn what is truly going on. Unlike horizontal learning, that is when you do not dig deep for the answers someone will just take it how it is and go on with life. Birkerts states, “A sense of the deep and natural connectedness of things is a function of vertical consciousness. Wisdom: the knowing not the facts but of truths about

In the Article “How Google, Wikipedia Have Changed Our Lives…” Jennifer Maderazo states that, we’ve become so reliant on electronic information resources. Researching then was implying researching involved going through book after book, making copies, highlighting copies then start to write. Researching Now states that everything research is related to the internet and if not in use there is a feeling of being crippled. In the article learning then gives the feeling of how relying on the classroom experience was more helpful for information. In addition, in learning now says that the tolerance level would be the same as the internet attention span. Based on the past lets us know how we didn’t have the resources to just look up a song or the

Carr said “What if I do all my readings on the web not so much because the way I read has changed. i.e. I’m just seeking convenience, but because the way I THINK has changed?” (Carr, pg 7). Since the internet has come into play people have stooped reading books because is easier to just google what they are wanting to know. The internet can change the way someone can process the information on a screen than in a book and how much is actually being consumed by the person. Not only is it changing the way we understand but every technology is an expression of the human will. This allows us to reshape nature to better serve our needs and desires. The internet has the greatest power over how and what we think

Technology has allowed young Americans to transform the way they think and learn. According to a 2008 study by Mizuko Ito, the internet has allowed the flourishing of self-directed learning. The enormous possibilities the internet offers, allows people to delve into topics or research a variety of areas that interest them. People can now explore their curiosity endlessly. Researches have also noticed a change in literacy among the younger generation. The daily texts, tweets, and emails people send, keep them writing. According to Andrea Lunsford, all of these little writings add up and is pushing

Reading texts, emails, tweets, articles, and web browsing in general have us reading more today than at any time in our history. The question is if reading all of these short snippets of information is nearly as valuable to us as reading whole texts was to us in the past.

In a research survey it was found that 56% 18-19 year olds possessed low knowledge levels compared to the 22% of 50-64 year olds (Source A). But as suggested by Source B this “reflects not dumbness but choice”. In today’s age it is not about knowing information it is about knowing where to find it. In previous generations the internet was not available and information was not so easily accessible so it was important to memorize information. But with today’s technology all information is a google search away lifting the burden of having to memorize and having to read through pages of books. As “research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes” (Source D). Making choosing not remember information that doesn’t appear valuable a practical choice, because it’s simply not worth the effort. But that doesn’t mean that the modern generation doesn’t research or explore as much as the parental generations. In fact to the internet allows them to research areas of interest or simply “geek out”, where there motivated and self-directly learn and explore about a certain topic or interest (Source C). Where they receive feedback and earn respect form peers without any borders. With outcomes unparalleled to the classroom setting. In short remembering facts has become impractical, but the generation passionately use the internet to explore their

I feel as though Nicholar Carr succeeded in demonstrating the importance of how the Internet changes our brain’s ability to absorb information. The opposing views of his claim would be that there is not a change in our thinking or that the Internet is not what is responsible for that change. My position is most closely aligned with Carr’s. I believe that the Internet’s convenience has altered the expectations we have for how easily information should be presented. We prefer information to be short, to-the-point, tidbits that are easy to

In Nicholas Carr’s article entitled, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” he explains that the up rise of computers, and technology, has taken a toll on the former ability to read and understand what is being read. Suddenly, what was once so simple is now a prolonged, agonizing task which readers like Carr have experienced. The infamous internet has become the basis for information people seek to collect. Personally, I think Carr’s interpretation of the increase in technology is most accurate when referring to the overtake of artificial intelligence, the inability to read small to large amounts of written work, and the obvious change in the way we think as a person.

Reading linearly is the process of reading left to right from top to bottom. Nicholas Carr, the author of “The Shallows” writes about how technology is affecting our linear way of reading. Carr tells us how it used to be easy for him to immerse himself into a lengthy novel but now he finds his concentration starting to dwindle after only a short period of time. Carr also argues that we are losing our ability to think deeply because we are able to access such a plethora of information so easily. Research has found that technology over time has decreased our ability to read linearly. This research goes hand in hand to support Carr’s arguments in “The Shallows”. Along with the exponential decline in our ability to

We live in the age of technology; if one doesn’t know an answer to a question, they can simply pull up Google, type in their question, and pages of answers will appear. Most people would say that technology is their go-to when they are in need of an answer or a quick source of information. One might think, “Why do I need to continue learning when my phone already contains an endless source of information?” In response to such thinking, David McCullough emphasizes the importance of learning, especially through books, in his address to Boston College’s graduating class of 2008 called “The Love of Learning” (2008/2012).

… Children use informational texts far beyond the walls of the classroom in various aspects of their lives. Approximately 96% of text that appears on the Internet is informational, and the majority of students’ eventual adult reading, both on and off the job, will be informational. Ultimately students will need extensive exposure to information texts in the early grades as the foundation for their success in school and throughout their adult lives.

Over time the way people learn, obtain and remember information has drastically changed and will most likely continue to change. I will explore several of the changes from print technology, to recording technology to computers and cellphones. Many years ago very few people knew how to read, it was not until printing technology was improved that everyone began to learn to read. Before printing began all books were printed by hand by specially skilled people and it took several months to finish just one book causing them to be very rare and expensive so that only the wealthiest people could afford them (Bernstein 109). After Gutenberg invented his printing press which had replaceable movable letters used like stamps causing more books to be printed at a time (Bellis). The number of books available greatly rose causing the price of the books to decrease drastically so that even the poorest people could afford them. With this change many people were able to learn how to read. With this new found knowledge the way we learned changed, before people had to remember everything and after printing began to be cheaper people did not have to remember like before they could just read and write to take notes.