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.