Interpretative Summary

   For my next assignment, I had to write an interpretative summary on one of my research articles.  I decided to use the article The Use of Digital Technologies in the Classroom: A Teaching and Learning Perspective, which I felt was a good article to begin my peer-reviewed research with.  This article discusses the types of technology teachers and students prefer and their attitudes toward implementing them in the classroom.  However, the only problem is teachers and students prefer different technology types when it comes to learning.  In my post I discuss what was said in the article, quotes I could use in my final overall research paper, the authors motivations for writing the article, and the writers' arguments. 

The article The Use of Digital Technologies In the Classroom: A Teaching and Learning Perspective by Christopher Buzzard et al., discusses research that was conducted on how teachers and students, particularly college students, interact with technology.  Our society today is a “digital generation” as we “use an impressive assortments of technological tools in a wide variety of ways” (Buzzard et al., 131).  Technology surrounds students ranging from social networking to digital homework and teaching.  The authors discuss how and if technology is actually beneficial in the classroom.  For example, cell phones can be used to simulate real life situations, in a marketing class for instance, by having students interact with the purchase of a product via text messaging (133).  Moreover, power point presentations are just another form of technology that has improved teaching efficiencies and motivational learning for students (132).  Finally, the authors conducted surveys to distinguish which technological innovations worked best and to view teacher and student attitudes on the use of technology in the classroom. 

At first glance it appears that the writers are unsure of whether technology is truly beneficial. The authors feel that there is a gap between how teachers use technology and how college students perceive it.  For example, instructors may feel that course-learning technologies straight from the publisher are more effective while students would learn through traditional technologies.  However, as the article goes on and the findings from the surveys are released it becomes apparent that the authors’ attitude toward technology is that it has aided college students’ literacy and transformed the classroom experiences.  The writers agree upon the fact that technology is advantageous overall, even though their studies prove that not all subjects can be taught using technology.  For example, 73% of students felt that technology was of use in an engineering class while only 37% said the same of a humanities class (137).  Overall, the writers believe that technology is completely revolutionizing our classroom experiences yet there is a gap between student and teacher preferences that needs to be closed. 

In general, this article was written to show the benefits and attitudes of the new generation of technology.  The author feels that students and teachers are eager to learn about new digital technologies (137).  However, students and teachers must learn to agree upon a source of technology that suites both.  If we patch up this gap than learning can only improve.  The authors primarily wrote this article to show how technology has helped learning in the classroom but want to stress how we can improve upon this.   

Buzzard, Christopher, and Victoria Crittenden. "The Use of Digital Technologies in the Classroom: A Teaching and Learning Perspective." Journal of Marketing Education 33.2 (2011): 131-39. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 16 Sept. 2012.

 

Alex Zaremba's Blog ( optional blog 2)

 I decided to take a look at another student's research proposal to not only see if  I was heading in the right direction but to also offer some advice on how improve their work.  I viewed Alex Zaremba's blog and her topic on how the Harry Potter Series has influenced children's literacy. What an interesting topic! Here is the link to her blog so you can take a look at it too: http://alexandrasz.tumblr.com/

     For the optional blog post 2, I took a look at Alex Zaremba’s blog.  She is researching how children’s literacy has been impacted by the Harry Potter Series.  I personally think this is a very interesting topic as it takes a very different angle toward literacy that most people would not think about.  I read a few of the Harry Potter books when I was younger, so Alex’s topic sparked my interest.  So far, I think she is headed in the right direction by asking questions in her proposal such as, “Do [students] read enough?” and “How can we encourage them to read more?” This is a good way to lead into how and if Harry Potter has encouraged more reading amongst children.  One suggestion I have is to maybe compare the Harry Potter books and its impact on children with other major series such as Twilight and The Series of Unfortunate Events.  For example, Alex could research how Twilight has affected children’s drive to read and compare it to how much Harry Potter influenced reading.  This would be an excellent source of comparison proving or disproving how much literacy has been affected.  Another suggestion I have is to look into sources that state why the Harry Potter books were so popular among children.  Finding out this information will help strengthen her research in whether or not the series had any influence on students.  Overall, I found that Alex’s research is definitely headed in the right direction and I look forward to reading more about her topic.  Good work Alex!

Genre Analysis

  This post talks about the purpose of genres and how they appeal to my research topic at this point in the process. A genre in this academic setting is a flexible response to a reoccurring rhetorical situation and it develops and changes over time.

Where do we start when we analyze a genre instead of summarizing the genre?

—Collect samples of the genre

—Identify appeals (logic, creditability, emotions)

—Text structure and organization

—Document format and presentation

—Author’s word choice and sentence style

Why are these features appropriate for the assignment?

            These features are appropriate for the assignment because they help you stay within the genre you are researching.  Since a genre is a response to a reoccurring rhetorical situation, analyzing the genre properly is important to your overall research findings.  For example, when you identify your sources, you want to make sure they are credible for your genre.  In my research area, the affects that technology has on college students’ literacy development, I want to find realistic and logical sources that talk about my topic from an academic point of view.  Furthermore, relaying my research through the correct document format and presentation, only adds to my genre’s credibility.  Finally, you want to find samples of your genre that have proper word choice and sentence style.  If the sentence structure and word choice is not clear and does not give the reader a thorough understanding of the subject, than no new material can be found about the genre.

Why does this genre work for the course, the assignment, and the specific phase of the research process?

            My genre, the technology’s affect of college students’ literacy, works for this course as the entire course is based on strengthening our literacy skills through writing, reading, and research. Perhaps so of the students in the class learn better through technology, while others like myself, find it too distracting.  The genre is a reoccurring theme in many academic articles such as, Danielle DeVoss’ The Future of Literacy, and in many academic journals that I have researched so far.  The genre is appropriate for this phase of the research process as it is something that is constantly changing over time. Technology is improving and being altered each and everyday.  As the more recent articles published discuss the new effects of technology and in the classroom, I can compare them to articles that may have a little different take on technology from a few years back.  Since my genre is changing along with technology, it is suitable for this phase of the research process. 

Helpful to my Research....

Artifact #1....

   One article that I found very intriguing and helped guide the start of my research was the article titled Back to School: What's in Your Student's Backpack? Even from the title, I knew this article was exactly what I needed to begin my research process.  It started off giving a basic synopsis of how technology is altering education and the way students' develop literary skills in this generation.  Laptops and iPads now take the place of hardcover textbooks and novels. I learned many intesting facts such as the 450,000 iPads were sold in April of 2010.  These iPads are now a students source of information instead of a textbook.  Below is a link to this article as I thought all of my blog readers would enjoy this.  It will give you a good feel of the direction my research will be headed in. Hopefully you enjoy this article as much as I did!


http://livingbooks.nln.org/hits/chapter_02/Skiba_2010_5.pdf

Research Proposal

 My next step to beginning my research project was to make my final research proposal explaining the issue I will be researching.  For this process, I began my quest for information by divulging into databases finding numerous secondary and primary sources.  Once I collected several initial data sources, I was able to better redefine my research question.  My revised question is, How has technology affected college students' ability to learn and altered literacy in their classrooms? I came up with my final research question by analyzing the sources and information I was able to find about my topic on the databases.  I now have a better approach and know which angle I will be coming from when officially beginning the analytical part of my research. My document below explains my new research question, why it is important to me, and why my issue needs further research and investigations.  It also gives my predictions about what I will find at the end of my research and some proposed readings.

The Influence of Technology on College Students in the United States

I. Background:

            The standard hardcover textbook and notes on the chalkboard are no longer apart of classroom learning for college students.  The new generation has transformed into a technology-based society.  Power points are replacing chalkboards and homework is now completed and turned in online instead handing in a piece of paper.  Moreover, teachers are learning to only teach with technology, as they know this generation of college students seems to learn better with computers, iPads, and iPhones.  The new usage of technology has brought upon both positives and negatives in students’ literary development.

II Question:

            The primary question being researched here is: How has technology in the educational setting changed students’ learning throughout universities in the United States?  Many academic journals such as, The Journal of Economic Education and the Journal of Technology Education, have posed research about this issue, as technology has its pros and cons in the academic environment.  Scholars, such as Yong Zhao professor at Michigan State University and Scott D. Johnson from the University of Illinois, have conducted research studies on the impact of technology in the classroom, as well.  Additionally, from my own personal experience, I have found that completing homework online and taking online courses lead to distractions, as the rest of the Internet and social networking sites are of easy access.  Thus, I wish to explore if technology is actually beneficial for learning and how it has changed the overall classroom experience.  Furthermore, I will research how teachers, the primary literary sponsors of college students, have adapted to these changes in the classroom and if teachers are adapting adequately enough to this new form of learning.  The types of technology that have been installed into education will be researched, as well.  Finally, I wish to analyze students’ attitudes toward technological use and see their perspective on whether or not it is actually beneficial to their literary development.

III Proposed Readings:

Secondary Sources:

Buzzard, Christopher, et al. "The use of Digital Technologies in the Classroom: A Teaching and Learning Perspective." Journal of Marketing Education 33.2 (2011): 131-9. ERIC. Web. 27 Sep. 2012.

Goffe, William L., and Kim Sosin. “Teaching with Technology: May You Live in Interesting Times.” The Journal of Economic Education 36.3 (2005): 278-291. JSTOR. Web. 16 Sept. 2012.

Goode, Joanna. "Mind The Gap: The Digital Dimension Of College Access." Journal Of Higher Education 81.5 (2010): 583-618. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

Hsin-Liang, Chen, and James Patrick Williams. "Use Of Multi-Modal Media And Tools In An Online Information Literacy Course: College Students' Attitudes And Perceptions." Journal Of Academic Librarianship 35.1 (2009): 14-24. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

Johnson, Scott D., and Jenny Daugherty. "Quality and Characteristics of Recent Research in Technology Education." Journal of Technology Education 20.1 (2008): 16-31. ERIC. Web. 16 Sep. 2012.

Kaifi, Belal A., Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, and Albert A. Williams. "Online College Education for Computer-Savvy Students: A Study of Perceptions and Needs." Journal of College Teaching and Learning 6.6 (2009): 1-15. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 27 Sep. 2012.

Katz, Irvin R. "Testing Information Literacy In Digital Environments: ETS's Iskills Assessment." Information Technology & Libraries 26.3 (2007): 3-12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

Langer, Arthur M., and L. Lee Knefelkamp. “College Students' Technology Arc: A Model for Understanding Progress.” Theory Into Practice 47.3 (2008): 186-196. JSTOR. Web. 13 Sept. 2012.

Lawless, Kimberly A., and James W. Pellegrino. "Professional Development in Integrating Technology into Teaching and Learning: Knowns, Unknowns, and Ways to Pursue Better Questions and Answers." Review of Educational Research 77.4 (2007): 575-614. JSTOR. Web. 12 Sept. 2012.

Luis, William, Ritu Agarwal, and V. Sambamurthy. "Sources of Influence on Beliefs about Information Technology Use: An Empirical Study of Knowledge Workers." MIS Quarterly 27.4 (2003): 657-78. JSTOR. Web. 14 Sept. 2012.

McCoy, Cindy. "Perceived Self-Efficacy And Technology Proficiency In Undergraduate College Students." Computers & Education 55.4 (2010): 1614-1617. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

O'Connor, Noreen. "Harnessing technology to improve liberal learning." Peer Review 8.4 (2006): 12+. Academic ASAP. Web. 27 Sep. 2012.

Tingting, Liu, and Sun Haibin. "Analysis Of Information Literacy Education Strategies For College Students Majoring In Science And Engineering." Modern Applied Science 5.5 (2011): 227-231. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

Watson, Joseph A., and Loretta L. Pecchioni. "Digital Natives And Digital Media In The College Classroom: Assignment Design And Impacts On Student Learning." Educational Media International 48.4 (2011): 307-320. ERIC. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

Zhao, Yong, and Kenneth A. Frank. “Factors Affecting Technology Uses in Schools: An Ecological Perspective.” American Educational Research Journal 40.4 (2003): 807-840. JSTOR. Web. 16 Sept. 2012.

Primary Sources:

Skiba, Diane J. "Back to school: what's in your students' backpacks?" Nursing Education Perspectives 31.5 (2010): 318+. Popular Magazines. Web. 13 Sep. 2012.

West, Gail B. "Teaching and Technology in Higher Education: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES." Adult Learning 10.4 (1999): 16. Popular Magazines. Web. 13 Sep. 2012.

IV Prediction of Outcomes:

            After carefully conducting my research I feel that I will discover that even though technology has made learning more efficient both inside and outside the classroom, there are many problems that arise with technology teaching.  I feel that there will be a gap between teachers and students in their technology preferences.  For example, teachers may wish to use technology in one form while students may be learning better in a different form of technology.  Moreover, I predict I will find some sources on the fact that student’s own personal motivation and study skills are what drive their academic success, not technology.  I will also discover that students become more distracted when doing work on their iPads and computers, which in the end hinders literary development, similar as it did for me.  Overall, I predict that technology will have more negative impacts than positives.

Data Gathering Exercise

This posts talks about the way in which I have begun gathering data for my research project. I have now refined my question to: What are the affects of educating college students through the use of technology? I searched for peer-reviewed sources in my library's databases and then went on to look for some primary sources.  I learned data searching tips and took on new challenges when looking for my sources in the databases.  The assignment helped me figure out, which search terms generated the most relevant sources. I went through specific and board terms and finally found one, "technology and education," that suited me best. I also learned how to limit and refine the number and types of articles that appear on the database after my search.  The follow are questions I answered about my data gathering process: 

1.Record your exact procedure that you used to meet objectives 1 &2 so that you can duplicate it again.

2. Discuss what worked and what did not work in detail.

3. What was something surprising that you learned? 

4. What unexpected challenges did you encounter or what was unexpectedly easy to find? 

5. What specific databases and journals contain articles where scholars are talking about your issue?

 6. What did you learn about your research conversation from the peer-reviewed article you

chose to submit with this assignment? Explain how this article relates to your issue. 

7. What types of primary documents did you discover are out there that you could analyze to

add to the conversation around your issue?

8. If you rhetorically analyze these primary documents, what do you anticipate discovering? 

9. What did you learn about your issue from the primary document that you found and

submitted with this essay? How will this text help you answer your question? 

10. Now, how do you need to revise your research question so that it is about something others

are talking about and so that the answer will add to this conversation instead of repeating

what has been said? 

11. What do you still need help understanding or finding? 

12. List all of the search terms and combinations of these terms that you tried; state which

databases and journals you entered these search terms to look for sources.

 13. Staple your secondary and primary research documents to your typed answers to the above

questions.

1. For objective 1, finding a peer-reviewed secondary source, I first logged on to the library website: http://library.ucf.edu.  From there I chose the JSTOR database to start with.  I have used JSTOR in my previous college and in high school so I figured I would try a database I was already familiar with.  My first search term I typed in was “technology and college students.”  Although, a few good documents came up, I felt that I needed a more basic article to start off my research with.  Next I tried “technology and education,” which appeared to generate many more articles that would be pertinent to the start of my research.  From there I was able to find the article, Professional Development in Integrating Technology Into Teaching and Learning.  For objective 2, I used a similar process but used a different database.  First I looked into the database, Alternative Press Index. I used search terms such as, “ colleges and technology” and “college students use of computers” but did not find much useful information.  Next I decided to use the database, Popular Magazines.  I once again used the search term “technology and education” and was able to find a great article titled, Back to school: What’s in your students backpack?”  This seemed to be a good database for primary sources.  For both objectives I clicked peer-reviewed articles only.

2. Using a broader search term seemed to work the best for me.  The term, technology and education, worked well as it gave articles that dealt with technology in all types of education settings.  I will narrow down my search eventually to only college students but for now this term is good to get me started.  I also used the database to locate articles that were more recent and only from the 2000s, as this is the generation of technology I am focused on.  Choosing peer-reviewed only also helped me to limit the number of articles that popped up.   However, what did not work for me was using terms such as, affects of technology, which was too broad, and college students use of computers, as it was too detailed for starting my research.  Also, reading only the abstract was something that did not work for me.  I realized that I need to read at least the first few paragraphs to determine if the article fits my research needs or not.

3. Something surprising I learned was that the database, Popular Magazines, was actually a very helpful source of primary information.  When I have come across this database in the past, I never thought it would lead me to primary sources.  Popular Magazines seemed too general and unscholarly. However, I learned that it has many interesting articles especially ones that relate to my research topic.

4.  One challenge I found unexpectedly was how many articles there were once you searched a term.  I did not realize how many articles were actually on the database pertaining to my topic.  I found it difficult to sort through these articles, as I was not sure where to start.  This is when I discovered that I could arrange the article to only appear if they were within a certain date.  I then used the 2000s as my range for when the articles could be published.  One aspect I found unexpectedly easy was actually accessing the databases.  I know from past experiences from my town library or library in my previous college it was almost impossible to access databases outside of the library.  Moreover, most of the databases did not have the full texts available.  However, the UCF library website made it very easy to access the databases and having only documents come up that I was actually able to view entirely.

5. The databases ProQuest, JSTOR, and Popular Magazines seemed to have the most articles in which scholars were talking about the affects of technology on college students’ learning abilities.

6. I learned that there are many debates and ideas about technology based learning in colleges.  In my peer-reviewed article, the authors discussed how teachers are not teaching students efficiently, as teachers lack knowledge of the new technologies that children in this generation are using. I learned that even the government is taking action and implementing professional development programs for teachers to gain knowledge about how to teach using technologies. This is important to my research conversation, as teachers are huge literary sponsors to college students and they need to be up to date with the way students learn by technology.

7. I discovered that there are a lot of primary sources that conduct interviews and share experiences by people who are directly affected by my research topic.  I found a few articles in the Popular Magazine that were written by college students and teachers stating how they feel about the increase in technology and how it has affected their literacy.  The primary source I found was by a woman named Diane J. Skiba and she tells about how she feels about the increase in technology, as she is an educator and must deal with technology in the classroom.

8. If I rhetorically analyze my primary documents I expect to find many first-hand accounts with technology.  I hope to see how other college students, beside myself, have been affected by in the increase of learning through technology. I also hope to see more teachers’ point of view and see if they find it hard to learn to now teach using technology.

9. From my primary source, I learned that 98% of undergraduates owned a computer in 2010. I also learned how mobile devices could be implemented to learning in the classroom.  I never thought using a cell phone would be a good source of data but due to the increase in iPhones and smart-phones, mobile devices could be a good source of on-the-go learning.

10. My research question was originally, “How has technology negatively affected our society’s literacy.  Now I am changing my question to, “What are the affects of educating college students through the use of technology?” This question will give a broader view instead of only focusing on the negative.  It also allows me to look into both the college students and teachers point of view.

11. I still need help finding some studies or experiments that have been done about whether technology has help or hurt college students’ grades. I know from my own experience, that learning via the iPad or on the computer creates irresistible distractions for me.  I would like to find an article that has conducted some type of experiment in discovering whether technology actually has a negative or positive affect on students, regardless which way student prefer to learn.

12. Search terms: technology and college students, affects of technology, college students use of computers, problems with technology and education, college professors and technology, technology and education, and colleges and technology usage.  I used all of these search terms in the databases, JSTOR and ProQuest.  I only used technology and education in Popular Magazines.  I used technology and education, problems with technology and education, and college professors and technology in Alternative Press Index. 

Optional Blog 1

Revising my Research Question Generation Document.....

            To begin revising my essay, I am going to first start with my research question. I am keeping the same idea in my question, just altering the wording a little to make it more clear to my readers.  As of now, my research question states, “How has technology hurt our literacy in society?” However, thanks to the suggestion of my peer reviewer, I am now altering my question to say, “How has technology negatively affected our society’s literacy?” Next, in the second paragraph of my Part I, I need to change my wording and sentences around because I am repeating information.  This makes the example that I am giving unclear.  Moreover, I need to explain my idea a little clearer in the third paragraph of Part II.  I state that newspapers and writing letters are becoming less popular.  However, I need to explain how this affects and hurts society’s literacy.  I could also be a little clearer when I use the quote from Future of Literacy.  I should elaborate more on how this quote is relevant to my research topic.  Furthermore, in Part I, I could make my first and second paragraphs lead more into how I got into reading on the iPad and using technology.  Lastly, I need to double check to make sure I am using all aspects of MLA format.  For example, I need to adjust my in-text citation when I use the quote from Future of Literacy.  In the end, I should take a close look at my sentence structure to make sure all my thoughts are conveyed clearly.  If they are not, it may take away from the meaning behind what I am trying to say.  

Research Question Generation Document

   My post is a draft of my Research Question Generation Document.  This document begins with the history of literary development and the ways in which I acquired my literary skills.  The second part explains my research question, "How has technology hurt our literacy in society?"  I can explain how I came across this idea for the question and how it relates to my own experiences.  I will be updating and revising this draft as the days go by to perfect my research idea.  

Part 1: Literacy Narrative

            Journeying through my literary development began when I was just a toddler around the age of three.  Every night before bed, my mom would make time to read me a much-anticipated bedtime story.  I would choose a new book, usually my latest rental from the library, which usually consisted of either an adventurous or romantic tale.  My mom, an avid reader herself, would deliver the story from beginning to end and never let me go to bed without telling her which part had been my favorite.  These bedtime stories not only helped me fall asleep at night as a young child, but also shaped my literacy abilities for the rest of my life.

            Due to my mother’s influence, reading and writing became a huge part of my everyday life.   Every Thursday while my parents were at work, my babysitter, Beth, took me to the library for some additional story time with my favorite librarian, Ms. Meredith.  I would get so excited on this special day of the week, that I would wake up extra early to arrive at the library when there doors opened.  Being an eager child, I would beg Beth to bring me as soon as I woke up that morning and would usually end up waiting outside till the library opened.  In addition to my Thursday story time ritual, I would also choose a few books to bring home for my bedtime stories.  The Henry and Mudge series and Mr. Putter and Tabby were some of my childhood favorites.  Thus, growing up I was constantly surrounded by reading.

            Through my childhood years, my reading never stopped.  My mom had obtained her passion for reading from her mother, my grandmother.  Once I was old enough to read similar books to my mom and grandmother, we would trade our beloved books and series.  When sending a new favorite to my grandmother, I would not only send the book but a letter, as well, giving a brief summary of the story and explaining my favorite part.  My grandmother would do the same for me in return.  Little did I know that summarizing would become an essential skill I would utilize for the rest of my schooling, including my time in college.  I have my grandmother and mother’s influence to thank for that literary skill.   Furthermore, since my mother’s bedtime stories became a custom each night, I fell into the habit of reading before bed, even when I was old enough to read on my own.  Still to this day, I always find myself indulging in a novel before shutting my eyes for the night, or reading a textbook or work for school.

            Reading books was not the only literary skill I worked upon as a kid.  In addition, I also kept many diaries and journals growing up.  Every family vacation I went on as a kid, involved taking many pictures and collecting items for a scrapbook.  My older cousin, Carla, who would collect pictures, hotel bracelets, stickers, and other memorable items to post in a journal, started this scrapbooking.  She would then write about each item explaining what the object or picture was and what she did on that vacation day.  I began to follow in her footsteps and keep a journal of my own.  At first, I only documented vacations, but as I grew older I began to write in the journal more frequently.  I would write about my day, important things I had learned, or comical stories I wanted to remember.  Eventually, my scrapbooking vacation journal, turned into an everyday diary.  This additional writing outside the classroom has helped me develop into a better and more effective writer.

            Overall, I was fortunate to have many literary sponsors, such as my mother, grandmother, Beth, and Carla, who helped me in the development of my reading and writing skills.  However, a new problem has risen that often times hinders my literary actions.  The ever-growing development of technology has affected me, as well as the rest of my generation.  For my eighteenth birthday, my parents bought me the iPad. Although the iPad has been my favorite gift I have ever received, I feel as if it has hurt my literary development.  Now, I able to access facebook, twitter, and iBooks all in one place.  I am now able to view my textbooks and novels from my iPad, but at the same time, constantly read up on the latest updates on facebook and twitter.  This has hindered my literary skills, as instead of reading a hard copy of a textbook, I read it on my iPad where distractions become innumerable.  This is one problem I have encountered in my literary journey.

Part II: Brainstorming Reflections

Advances in technology are a huge part of our generation today.  Almost everything can now be done online on the computer, including reading textbooks, applying for jobs, and even sending invitations.  Moreover, there are iPhone and iPad applications for just about every idea or program one could think of.  Although new technology has created conveniences in our society, literary and social skills have been hurt by it.  The issue I have identified in our literary world today is: How has technology negatively affected our society’s literacy?

This issue intrigues me, as it is something that not only affects my peers but myself, as well.  Technology is essentially taking over the world and hindering many literacy abilities.  For example, instead of reading a newspaper, we can now simply go to yahoo and read the latest news.  This defeats the purpose of reading the Sunday paper with a cup of coffee and pancakes, altering typical family traditions. Thus, newspapers are not as popular in our generation and many families have unsubscribed from their daily paper.  Moreover, instead of writing a letter to a friend or family member, electronic mail, also known as e-mail, now takes over most of our writing.  Therefore, mail is less popular and post offices are not as popular as they have been in the past.  Even conversations that could be conducted over the phone or in-person are done through e-mail, which highlights one of the biggest issues in society today.  This new form of technological literacy is obstructing our social and speaking abilities as a society.  The simplistic and easy form of online communication has taken away from the value of face-to-face conversations.

From my own experience, technology has been convenient but has harmed my literacy skills. Last year at school, instead of purchasing a hardcover textbook, I was able to download my American History textbook right on to my iPad on the iBooks application. This was a huge mistake.  I began reading a certain chapter I was assigned but seemed to never be able to finish it.  After reading a few pages on my iPad, I realized that Facebook and Twitter where just a “tap” away.  Becoming distracted from the easy access of other applications right next to my iBook application, I stopped reading to check Facebook.  I began reading my friends latest statuses and updates.  Next thing I knew, I was on to my twitter application wasting more valuable history reading time.  Before I could stop my distractions, I had wasted an hour on my other applications on my iPad.  By then, I was exhausted and decided on going to bed and return to my reading the next night.  Unfortunately, I was given a pop quiz the next day in class on the reading I was suppose to finish on my iBooks application. Needless to say, I did not do so well.

Although I should have not let myself get as distracted with social literacy, the easy access on my iPad did not help.  In fact, each time I would start to read a text on my iPad I felt myself getting much more distracted than if I read the material in a hardcover textbook where I was distant from any source of technology.  Moreover, after conversing with some of my friends about this problem, I discovered that they had experienced similar distractions using eBooks and during any completion of online work.  This is just one example of how technology has hurt my literary abilities.

Many literary scholars have viewed the benefits and struggles of technology in the literary world, as well.  Even though the benefits and conveniences seem to be so important to our world, technology can harm us and leave people behind.  In the Future of Literacy, the authors wrote about how teachers are often not up to date with the latest technologies and forms of learning.  Since my generation is based around technology and learning through computers, iPads, and iPhones, learning in school through printed texts and books can be much different. When taking into account a student who was a better learner through technology, the article stated, “Few of her teachers…knew enough about computers to take her literacy development in electronics seriously” (DeVoss, 186. Et al).  Thus, some teachers are unable to teach to the way students understand best, which often times are through technology.

Overall, I would like to learn how and why technology could create such benefits to society, but at the same time bring upon such issues in our literary developments.  I hope my research on this question can help answer this and potentially find a solution to this problem. 

Works Cited

Devoss, Hawisher, et al. The Future of Literacy. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrene Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2004. Print.