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Experts Say Web Will Help Reading, Writing
By RR | February 27, 2010
The Pew Internet in American Life project has released another report, this one focused on some common perceptions–or misperceptions–about the web. The report asked experts in the field about the future of the web. It should be noted that the experts were major players in the tech industry–so, their responses are optimistic, as expected. Tech CEOs would be pretty dumb, after all, to say the web was dumbing down civilization.
In any case, I found one item on the report to be pretty interesting: a majority of those surveyed believe that the web will improve reading and writing skills. I made a similar argument in my dissertation, suggesting the ways in which the web could enhance deep literary reading. And my book essentially makes the same claim: that the kind of skills/habits we value as literature teachers could be supported and enriched by the web. My co-author and I talk specifically about four main habits: entering the story world, close reading, responding personally to texts, and establishing contextual information. I like that this report supports our ideas. I also like that it counters the prevailing cultural discourse about kids and technology–that their lives are impoverished, not enriched, but digital technology. Here’s the key finding from the report:
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