Musings
“Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html
In this, the first in a series, this New York Times article studies the way technology is changing our reading habits. Is more time on the Internet and less time with "paper print" reading causing lower test scores for our teenagers? Or can reading online be as beneficial as curling up with the Sunday newspaper or a good novel? Checkout the link above to see what some of the "experts" say.
And what about the wireless reading on Kindle? Is a book read electronically still a book? Are the benefits to the reader the same? Kindle vendors suggest that this technology may actually encourage the reluctant reader to read more.click here
And what about the person who "twitters"? Is he or she writing an autobiography or recreating the lost art of recording one's life in a daily diary? The Massachusetts Historical Society invites all of us to share in what some call the John Quincy Adams "tweets" of his years beginning at age twelve (1779) and continuing until 1848, right before his death. Check it out .
Much to ponder as we start the new school year. As we banter around about the pros and cons of our twenty-first century reading habits, there is one fact that still remains unchanged-reading is fundamental to academic success. A few pages a night from that book on the bed side table may still be the most inviting way to get a good night's sleep and keep that old fashioned reading habit alive!
