I think that as this happens, if one wants to be able to retain the skills and attention to reading long passages of text like a 300 page book requires, then one must make a conscious choice to practice and do this activity.

For me personally this is something that I try to do–read books. Yet as a technologist I also use the Internet and encourage its use when appropriate. As I read the article I was reminded of a comment made years ago by David Brancaccio when he was the host of NPRs “Marketplace.” He said something about the fact that he enjoyed reading a physical newspaper because it allowed him to skim the articles as he turned the pages. With the Internet, he said, it was too easy to pick and choose only the articles he wanted to read and therefore not see something that he might enjoy as he skimmed with the physical paper. I found the thought interesting and to a large degree I found myself in agreement.

Good article and a good discussion. Thanks for starting this John!

When I read books for learning, I learned the set of ideas and connections that an author has made and chose to write about. When I skim the Internet to learn, I am the one making the connections among hundreds of works, and I am the one building an idea from the best thoughts of a hundred blog posters.

At the very least, it’s made learning more interactive and less about pouring books into a bucket on top of my neck.

I can’t say for certain in the case I mention, but I get your point. And that was my point–in the original comment I made on Warlick’s blog–that it is critical to teach the use of the tools used.

Research needs retaught, writing on a computer needs retaught, writing blogs, communicating, etc., etc., requires pedagogy that takes into account the tools (technology) being used.

This is why, I am sure, when teachers tell kids to take notes, and they see something being scribbled down, that’s adequate. Whoa! Do they know how? Do they know how to use what they wrote? Heck no, unless someone else has already taught them a strategy.

I just did a video outlining how to “summarize, not plagiarize.” I’m not 100% satisfied with it, but you can take a look here.

I think this notion is, in fact, somewhat nostalgic, but I also see negative effects when I see kids print what they find on Google and turn it in: “I’ve found it, it’s mentioned here!”

Yes, the same student never really read it; they saw enough to skim and match what they were after.

When the tech changes, so needs to change the pedagogy and expectations.

I don’t think reading online is dumbing us down. I think we simply don’t treasure text as we used to because of the sheer amount and variety at our fingertips. As a kid, I was fourth in line to read the newspaper. First my dad, then my mom, then my sister, and finally me. Each of us would take the time to check out every column and ad. Now, I can access the same newspaper’s website any time of the day, and it doesn’t look any more smudged or wrinkled for having been read before. I don’t have to savor my turn with the paper before handing it over to my brother. Not only that, I know I can search and re-read any old day.

I’m not understanding less of what I read, or remembering less. I just have different reading habits.

Could we make the same argument when we went from being an agrarian society to an industrialized one? We don’t savor our food, or get enough nutrition from it because we don’t grow it and prepare it ourselves? In the old days, farmers enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Now we shop at Ukrop’s and snack our way through life…