Digital Wisdom

So, there was an article on whether google is making us stupid. Then there was this other article about the impact of technology on the Net Generation. ScienceDaily questions if “Technology is Producing a Decline in Critical-Thinking and Analysis“.

Learners have changed as a result of their exposure to technology, says Greenfield, who analyzed more than 50 studies on learning and technology, including research on multi-tasking and the use of computers, the Internet and video games.

Reading for pleasure, which has declined among young people in recent decades, enhances thinking and engages the imagination in a way that visual media such as video games and television do not, Greenfield said.

“As students spend more time with visual media and less time with print, evaluation methods that include visual media will give a better picture of what they actually know,” said Greenfield, who has been using films in her classes since the 1970s.

“Studies show that reading develops imagination, induction, reflection and critical thinking, as well as vocabulary,” Greenfield said. “Reading for pleasure is the key to developing these skills. Students today have more visual literacy and less print literacy. Many students do not read for pleasure and have not for decades.”

Among the studies Greenfield analyzed was a classroom study showing that students who were given access to the Internet during class and were encouraged to use it during lectures did not process what the speaker said as well as students who did not have Internet access. When students were tested after class lectures, those who did not have Internet access performed better than those who did.

Read the entire article here.

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