Here Is the News

Every morning when I wake up, as I get ready for my first class of the day I have the TV on and the Today show playing in the background. I like to watch the Today show because I believe it provides me with a fair amount of news in the morning. Although there are segments that intervene with the actual news, such as the weather and cooking, I still enjoy the atmosphere the show provides. Since I'm not one who regularly picks up a news paper, I feel like watching the Today show fills me in on some very important breaking news as well as news that helps keep me updated on the cultural aspects of our society. During the morning Today show, air time is also split with 9News. I think that it is important to watch 9News as well because it keeps me updated on what is happening here in Denver. It is important to understand the area in which you live, that way you can better interact with and know the places near where you are. These two sources of news may not be the most reliable, however, I think that it is a quick way to learn what is going on in my city and around the world, and it fits into my busy schedule. I will say though that since the beginning of this quarter I have been trying to read the actual newspaper more often. In the dorms they offer a wide variety of newspapers so I usually try to stop and grab the New York Times as I'm passing by. I also downloaded the New York Times app to my phone, unfortunately it doesn't seem to get the same amount of attention as the other apps that litter my screen. No matter how current events are obtained I think it is important for us to know what is happening in the world around us, that way we can be updated on what is happening a few blocks away and we can be aware of events around the world that may have consequences that effect our lives.  

Extended Essay

Kate Sumerfield

WRIT 1122

            We live in a society that is ever changing. From social networks, fashion trends, apps, diets, even teaching and learning styles, our society has a dynamic that is fast paced and constantly changing. As a result we as people have to find a way to keep up or be left behind. Some of these changes have little effect on our daily lives, you can wear last season's sweater and still make it through the day. However, other changes come with more consequences. Of these advances, technology has come to be the most influential. If one were to sit in a public place such as a college campus, it is almost guaranteed that the majority of people who stroll past will be using some sort of technology. Whether it be a cell phone, ipod or laptop we as a collective group have begun to grow independent on technology so much so, that it seems to run our lives. Where we may once have only used a cell phone simply to contact our kid at soccer practice, it now seems that we cannot function without our cell phones glued to our hands. When trying to make that one simply phone call we now find ourselves checking the weather, Instagraming a picture, and hash tagging 'throw back Thursday' on twitter. In this onslaught of distractions the true purpose of having a cell phone becomes lost. This is simply one example of the distractions technology has brought upon our society, and yet unfortunately it is not the only one. Not only has the introduction of technology impacted our ability to perform simple tasks, it has also had a greater impact on education today.

            Over the past few years technology has made many advancements, one of the most notable is the integration of technology into the classroom. With more people gaining access to computers and the internet many classes have started to become 'hybrid' courses. The term hybrid refers to the integration of more technology into the subject being taught. Many teachers require students to watch video that can be found on YouTube while others have students complete homework that can only be found on online textbooks. Colleges have also seen this shift towards a more technology based learning. It is common for any college student to communicate with their professors via email, and 'blackboard' is a common headache to all who use it. Although this use of technology has its benefits, it also has multiple setbacks. The most notable of these setbacks, and possibly the most discussed is the effects the integration of technology has on people's literacy and their ability to read and write.

            Increasingly, technology has found its way into the classroom. More and more students are reading articles online as well as writing responses to these readings through blogs and online discussion boards. In the new age, this practice is becoming common practice. However, it is actually causing more damage to the literacy of the younger generation rather than helping. There are many factors that create the damage being seen, the most detrimental of these are the distractions technology has introduce, the dependency on technology to perform, and the loss of traditional forms of literacy.

            When discussing the distractions introduced through technology, a notable voice in the argument is that of Nicholas Carr. Carr is an American writer best known for his outlooks and publications on the effects of technology on our thinking processes. In an article published in 2008 in the Atlantic Monthly, Carr addresses the question, Is Google Making Us Stupid?. According to Carr, the use of search engines such as Google and the internet is hurting our ability to read and comprehend. Carr blames this inability to concentrate on people's constant web surfing and jumping from hyperlink to hyperlink. Society has shifted, where the computer use to be a resource that may only be used to type a paper, people now rely on technology to get through their day. The time people spend on the computer has also increased. Where one might have spent a few hours to type a paper, the time people now spend on the computer has dramatically increased due to the constant distractions. For most people a simple task such as reading email becomes dragged out as they are distracted by social media websites, hyperlinks, even news stories. Carr believes that this excessive exposure to so many distractions has trained people's minds to work and concentrate in shorter sequences. While discussing reading a long essay, a task that use to be easy for Carr, he now says "my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle" (1). This constant struggle to remain focused is not one Carr faces alone. A large number of the younger population has started to develop an inability to stay on task. The only reason this problem has not drawn more attention is because the younger generation has been exposed to this sort of work ethic for so long that it is the new norm.

            Constant distractions are not the only new normal that has become adopted by the younger generation. New forms of communication have also taken root. These forms of communication are short and sparsely carry the full message of what is really going on. This communication was born from technology based conversations such as texting and tweeting. These forms of communication are used by many, and for the most part they are littered with errors such as improper use of grammar, and misspelled words. For many people in the older generation these errors are unacceptable and should not be occurring, yet in an age of texting and tweeting many kids don't worry about their grammar. Instead they rely on technology to fix the problem for them. Andrea Lunsford, the Director of Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford, performed an experiment in which she observed multiple pieces of writing from multiple students to find trends within the new generation. In part of her experiment Lunsford addressed the errors made by students in their work, in her report she says, "with technology you win some you lose some: the most frequent error in our recent study is "wrong word," and ironically a good number of these wrong words come from advice given by the sometimes-not-so-trusty spell checkers"(3). This error is proof of our growing reliance on technology to help us perform. Ask any student today if they use spell check and many will admit that they use it multiple times before turning their writing. One may argue that it is normal to check the spelling of words before turning in a piece of writing, however the problem here is deeper than that. The problem is that the younger generation has learned to rely on the auto correct of computers so much that many don't know the proper spelling of many words or the grammatical context in which words should be used.

            Technology may be putting a dent in our ability to concentrate and the caliber of grammar we use, but if nothing else is it also changing traditional forms of literacy. There was a time when if someone wanted to read a book or do research they would have to find the nearest library and go there to find the text they need. Now all of these texts and books have been made available online and a simple click will pull and article up on the screen or download a book instantly to a Kindle. In this sense our society has seen the shift to technology spreading across many boundaries. Chris Hedges, an American journalist at The National Institute, believes that our society is shifting from "print-based to image-based"(3) and that as a result it is ruining our society's literacy. This shift is causing us to lose the traditional ways of reading and writing, Carr argues that we are losing "our ability to interpret text" and that as a result we don't have that "rich mental connection". That comforting feel of holding a bound book and flipping through pages is starting to disappear. More and more students are now finding things online and spending hours in front of the computer screen. This may not seem to hold much of an effect on literacy, but the traditional aspect is lost. Books and writings have been around for ages, and by switching to a technological age less students experience a tradition that dates back centuries ago.

            Technology has ultimately changed the aspects of reading and writing, and unfortunately it seems to be for the worse. Reading, which was once a honorable tradition has undergone changes that have made it a less common practice. People now turn to their computers for any amount of reading or writing and it unfortunately has turned our society into a technology dependent group. We are easily distracted, rely on technology to fix our mistakes, and no longer uphold the traditions that were once viewed as superior. 

Reflection.

Three weeks and six posts later and my outlooks on blogs has experienced minimal change. Although the blogs for this course were used for academic writing, most blogs I've observed are still used as electronic journals. Pertaining to the class itself, I have enjoyed using these blogs as a way to spark conversation during our class. I think that in posting our ideas a day earlier and then reading the views of our fellow classmates it has allowed us to make better use of our time in the classroom. I also enjoy the fact that these blog posts allow us to express our ideas in any manner we view suitable. We may have a prompt as to what to focus on while reading the articles, however, once we post our responses, we are free to say our own thoughts and ideas. This free flowing writing is a nice break during my rigorous class schedule because I don't feel pressured to have to say the right thing or check my work multiple times before turning it in. In a way I worry about this writing impairing my academic writing. We have read articles talking about life writing and academic writing and the ability to differentiate between the two. However, since these blog posts are for a course they seem to be academic writing disguised as life writing, and that is where my concerns take root. I'll be the first to admit that while I'm writing my blog posts I allow my mind to stray to a variety of ideas instead of staying focused on the task at hand. This may benefit my life writing and my blog responses, but I don't want it to become a habit in all of my writing. I think that once we introduce more of our writing assignments to this course I will fall into the pattern of differentiating between academic writing and life writing, and this will hopefully curb my concerns. As of now I have enjoyed the practice of class blogging and I think that it has been a resourceful way for our class to discuss writings while allowing us to express our own style of writing in this class.    

Dynamic Literacy

            In both Scribner's and Lunsford's writing they discussed writing as a social practice. Lunsford takes this aim by discussing the helpfulness of the internet in student writing. She describes the use of digital media as a resource that expands student's "life writing". This life writing is the writing that we do outside of our school work, and it is this writing that Lunsford says "develops a range of writing styles, tones and formats along with a range of abilities". Although many are cautious that the introduction of so much media to our lives may harm our ability to be literate, Lunsford believes it helps us become aware of the audience we are writing for and what type of writing is appropriate for that situation. Scribner takes a different approach when discussing the social aspects of literacy. Scribner uses three metaphors to summarize her ideas on literacy, these three metaphors hold the ideas the literacy is adaptive for each individual, it can be used in group advancement, and that those who are literate have more opportunities. All of these ideas have a social aspect to them, because "literacy is an outcome of cultural transmission". Like Lunsford, Scribner also devotes part of her analysis to the use of technology and literacy, in her writing Scribner says, "technology is a new system of literacy".

            While comparing the works of Lunsford and Scribner to those of Hedges and Carr, there is an opposing idea on the role of technology in literacy. Lunsford and Scribner both argue that technology has not harmed the writing of people today. Lunsford and Scribner believe that the use of technology has allowed people to enhance their ability to express themselves and that in turn it has improved the quality of many people's writing. Hedges and Carr disagree with the views of these two writers. In Carr's mind, technology is hurting our ability to focus on reading and writing, with the introduction of the internet, people have become trained to work in short stints instead of spending quality time on their work. In Hedges' piece, he argues that technology is replacing literature in our society. He expresses his concern that entertainment is becoming more important to our culture than literature simply because we are trying to meet the needs of our illiterate society. Although these authors having opposing views their intentions are all clear. To discuss literacy in our society. Personally, after reading each of these author's views I think that it is fair to say that literacy is constantly changing. Everyone has a different view of what affects literacy, and as a result the definition of literacy is never a concrete idea. I think that the most important thing for our society to focus on, is allowing every person the opportunity to become literate, and creating more access to programs and organizations to promote the idea of literacy for everybody.   

Looking for Common Ground

            According to Carr, the use of search engines such as Google and the internet is hurting our ability to read and comprehend. Carr blames this inability to concentrate on people's constant web surfing and jumping from hyperlink to hyperlink. Society has shifted, where the computer use to be a resource that may only be used to type a paper, people now rely on technology to get through their day. The time people spend on the computer has also increased. Where one might have spent a few hours to type a paper, the time people now spend on the computer has dramatically increased due to the constant distractions. For most people a simple task such as reading email becomes dragged out as they are distracted by social media websites, hyperlinks, even news stories. Carr believes that this excessive exposure to so many distractions has trained people's minds to work and concentrate in shorter sequences. While discussing reading a long essay, a task that use to be easy for Carr, he now says "my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle". Although Google creators aimed at helping people become "more productive thinkers", the amount of advertisements that they allow on their site could possibly be hurting our own human intelligence.

            In Hedges's piece America the Illiterate, he seems to bring to light the amount of people who are illiterate within the United States. He focuses on describing the activities that they can't take part in since they can't read, and goes into detail about how low wage jobs function in order to incorporate these people. Hedges makes an interesting connection between the country and entertainment. Early in his writing he describes how illiterate people can understand simple messages through pictures, and later in his writing Hedges quotes Arendt saying "culture is being destroyed to yield entertainment". I would argue against this idea while reading Hedges article, because it seems to me that we have to use more entertainment in order to incorporate illiterate people into our world. Although this idea seems backward to me, (I think we should be teaching people how to read) it seems to be the only solution for the high rate of illiterate people in the nation. While discussing the idea of being literate, Hedges uses the definition " functions in a print-based, literate world. It can cope with complexity and has the intellectual tools to separate illusion from truth," and unfortunately he calls those who are a minority.

            I think that in reading both of these articles one can find a happy medium between the two messages. Carr argues that our obsessive use of technology is hurting out society, whereas Hedges pleads for the improvement of our illiterate society. After comparing these two pieces, I believe that we need to find a common ground where our society is literate and uses technology minimally. This ideal vision would help us a whole and reintroduce us to the beauty of using and sharing our language.    

Reading and Writing

I think that reading is a way of gaining information. This information comes in a variety of forms to fit a wide array of interests, however, the most common way to obtain it is through reading. If you think about it we start gaining information at a young age when we first read picture books and as the years progress we add more details and information to our memory storage. We read about history, breaking news stories, math problems and even fairy tales. All of these things are combined in are brain where they can then be accessed for multiple uses, such as writing papers or holding a discussion. Either way and no matter the task if we hadn't read the information in the first place we wouldn't be able to use it.

I think that writing ties in to the idea of reading. Writing is finding a way to express your thoughts and ideas into something that you can share with others. When you write a paper, the words you use and the information you include come from the thoughts in your head. Even if this information was gained from another person's knowledge, you are the one now using it and expressing your interpretation in your own words.

Rewriting Joseph Harris

            In the first two chapters of his book Rewriting, Harris places a large emphasis on the reading of other people's work and understanding them by rewriting them in your own words. While reading another author's work, Harris notes that it is important to ask what is the author trying to accomplish with their writing, and to connect your own language to that of the authors. By figuring out what an author is trying to accomplish, you will be able to avoid letting your own bias get in the way of the work and instead focus on the message of the piece. Once you determine the main point of the piece you can relate it to your own ideas and the writing that you are incorporating this idea into. Harris spends little time discussing the reading of pieces of writing, before shifting his focus to actually writing papers. On this topic he has much more to discuss. In summarizing his main points, Harris believes that in including another author's writing one must represent the author's ideas in a fair and useful way, take ideas from the author and put them in your own words, and ultimately build off of the work of others. In writing this book Harris' main goal is to help others learn to become better academic writers by pulling ideas from other authors.

            While reading Harris's book I noted many similarities between his theory of writing and Sullivan's theory of blogging. Both of these authors addressed the idea of writing as a social practice. Although their definitions may be a little different, Harris meaning including the works of others and Sullivan meaning having personal connections with his readers, both focus on "drawing on, commenting on, and adding to the work of others." Another main connection is the idea of "addressing a broader and more public set of issues and readers," where blogs do this by freely posting any idea and gathering comments from readers, writing accomplishes this by incorporating multiple viewpoints into one piece. Although these similarities are seen in the discussion of blogging and writing, it is still obvious that they hold different meanings to the situation they are applied to. However, as noted by Harris it is useful to address all meanings of a word while thinking about a piece of writing (or comparing two types of writing).