Assignment #16

Nicholas Carr wrote an article titled: “Is Google Making us Stupid”, explaining in his words the effects that computer use has on our thought process. He believes that when we over-use the Internet to engage in research, we zip around from site to site, reading only snip-its from each text, never really partaking in long reads, therefore affecting our thought process. He believes that the more we use the Web, the more we have to fight to stay focused. In his words, “This phenomenon has caused people to stop reading books altogether” (Carr 58). Carr states this to insinuate that because we use the Internet to the extent that we do when doing research, we are no longer partaking in text books, and rely on the Internet alone for our sources. Despite Carr’s interpretation on the effects that the computer has on us, when using D2L for an online class, we also incorporate the use of text books. We do not rely solely on use of the computer for our class work. He also states, “They (computers) supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way that the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a jet ski.”(Carr 57). There Carr is painting a picture in our minds describing how fast a person can receive information while using the Net for doing research. Carr believes that research is not really research when you can just click a button and have all of your information instantly available, thus inhibiting our ability to critically think. Most research, when done well cannot be revealed at the click of a button. In our D2L English class, we are expected to engage in research that takes reading and researching several in-depth articles and journals. The type of research we are involved in takes a lot of time to study multiple perspectives about a subject.
In contrast, in an article written by Eunice N. Askov titled: “Transforming Adult Literacy Instruction Through Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI),”she recognizes the value of computer-assisted instruction. Askov states,” Well-designed CAI software helps adult learners think critically, solve problems, and draw inferences. Software that contains realistic and complex problems to solve is an ideal medium to fostering development of higher order thinking skills” (Askov 170). She feels that when you are utilizing a well designed program, it can actually aid in development and thinking processes of the user. Her opinion is in sharp contrast with Carr’s opinion that computers negatively affect our ability to concentrate and contemplate. This text focuses on designing CAI for adult literacy instruction using research based methodologies. D2L is involved in extensive research on assessing student learning outcomes. They implement various programs to monitor the learning and development of students. In Askov’s piece, she argues the many benefits there are to using computer aided instruction, including the cost effectiveness, the convenience to the students as well as the instructors, and the volume of students that can be served. She also states in this piece, “Computer based training is an inherently active mode of learning. The learner must continually do something; answer a question, select a topic, ask for review, and so on. This contrasts with the inherently passive instructional approach involved in classroom lectures, videotapes, or textbooks” (Askov 169). Askov believes that using computer aided instruction is “more” engaging to students than merely using text books. When using computer technology for purposes of attaining an education, she believes that this type of technology is very useful in attaining that goal. In contrast, Carr believes that with the use of computers we are disengaged from long meaningful texts. Carr states, “The net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace” (Carr 58). There Carr makes it obvious to us that he clearly prefers the use of the written text books over the use of the technology of the Internet.