Extended Essay

Here is the link to Google Docs to read my extended essay.

essay.

Journal Article

Internet Access across an entire city- is this necessary? One city in California is discussing wether or not wifi everywhere in the city would be a good idea. The article highlights our cultures new dependency on the internet.

We Blog. (Post 9)

When I first heard we would be blogging for class, I was hesitant.  Blogging was for people that wanted to whine and groan over their problems.  Blogging was for people who had no one else to talk to.  Blogging was unreliable.  Blogging was ruining newspapers. Blogging was a waste of time.  I’m ready to admit these preconceived notions were wrong.  I was surprised  how much reading articles by people such as Sullivan  changed my view of blogging.  This experience allowed me to see that blogs are more than groaning and political theories gone wrong, but actually a place to find novel opinions and information that would not be shared if it were not for the world wide web at the fingertips of authors.

For me, the most interesting posts were the ones that were responding to articles written about things such as internet use, civic literacy, and well, blogging.  I felt myself wanting to defend my generation; to prove that even though we use the internet we are just as smart and capable of writing a decent essay.  The biggest challenge was remaining open minded through the entire essay (ahem Carrs, cough Hedges) and picking out points that may shine a bit of truth.  The writings have made me aware that civic literacy is changing and it is up to us to direct its path.  With blogging there are opportunities for everyone to be engaged and share thoughts without any restrictions.   Instead of passing off the internet as something that is detracting from our traditional society, specifically news and writing, I see it now as a new opportunity that is opening doors around the world.  

America Continues Downhill (Post 7)

I believe Hedges views literacy as more than just being able to read words off a page, but as taking the time to engage oneself in literature besides when forced.  He wants America to dig deeper and get past petty entertainment.  Hedges uses the term "post-literate" to describe our society; a society of a group of people that may or may not be able to read, yet are unconcerned with making use of books or articles around them.  This generation has found easier, less strenuous, ways to constantly stimulate the mind.

I find Hedges commentary on politicians and the way they can manipulate the American public to be a bit concerning.  If his points are true, than we the people could be electing idiots. By putting the reins of democracy into the hands of such an unengaged society, we are risking the future. In this society, entertainment outweighs truth and looks outweigh leadership ability. Hedge’s article is a strong case in promoting civic engagement- one must be more than just a citizen, but actually take an active role in promoting the future of our country.  

Both Carr and Hedges recognize the shifts in America's thinking.  It may be because of easier entertainment and easier access to information.  In this way, the articles complement each other on noting the possible decline of American intellect in the future.  When people have access to such escapes a click away, they forget to embrace the reality around them and instead “retreat even further into irrational fantasy.” 

Is Google Making Us Stupid? (post 6)

Is Google making us stupid? Carr is not the first person to raise this question about what effects the internet is having on us as individuals and as a society.   Carr is able to recognize that our thinking patterns and writing patterns are changing, but is this for the better or the worse?  Instead of sitting and indulging in pages of a great work of literature, people now can click from web page to web page skimming for the main idea of the text and rarely bothering to move on to the second page.  We no longer absorb the information and transmit it into long term memory, but why would we? Finding the answer to any question is only a click away. After all, in Carr’s opinon, “The human brain is just an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive.”

Mark Baurlein, in his book The Dumbest Generation, examines teenage internet and reading habits. Discussing things such as Twitter or Facebook, he writes, “that is the genuine significance of the Web to the 17-year-old mind, not the universe of knowledge brought to their fingertips, but an instrument of nonstop peer contact.” (Baurlein 134)  I believe this quote more accurately describes our class’ online web use.  We are not using the web to substitute learning or knowledge, but more as a way to be constantly stimulated and in contact with peers. We are a generation, and class, of young adults the world has yet to experience. Wether the web and our new, fluid way of thinking and short attention span for words will make us dumb, only time can tell.

Bibliography:

Bauerlein, Mark, . The Dumbest Generation. New York: Penguin Group, 2009. Print

Rewriting for Civic Literacy (P5)

“A writing course needs a subject, to be centered on some substantive issue or question.”  Joseph Harris writes these words in his introduction to Rewriting and they relate perfectly to a class that is based on a substantive issue- civic literacy.  How does Harris’ definition of reading and writing relate to a class based on civic literacy?

Reading is more than taking words off pages, it is figuring out why the author wrote that text, figuring out what they were trying to accomplish in that writing. Harris mentions marking key quotes and taking the time to fully read into the authors perspective to truly understand. Reading this way can create readers that attempt to understand an authors words in a way that affects them and applies to their life; ultimately helping to inform them about the ideas around them.   

Harris sees writing as a very complex action.  He explains that writing in a college course requires “re-presenting the work of others in ways that are both fair to them and useful to your own aims in writing.” (Harris 5) Writing must be more than just replicating the authors ideas, but actually adding something of your own.  Writing should show your perspective and morals; a novel way of understanding and explaining a reading.

Harris mentions many aspects in Rewriting that mirror Sullivan’s view of blogging as writing.  Harris mentions writing as a social process (using certain tools in a well-defined context to achieve a certain end or make a particular product” Harris 3), and I believe Sullivan would agree with this statement.  Both writing for a college courses and writing on a blog are social processes, hopefully achieving a more informed reader in the end.  The way Rewriting is organized, with “Intertext” boxes to share other works Harris used when writing, closely relates to the blogging world’s use of links.  Intertext boxes and links both “illustrate how academic writers reuse and respond to other texts.” (Harris 8) Writing, on paper or for a blog, lead our generation closer to understanding civic literacy.