Article Suggestions for Essay #1

"Why E-Reading With Your Kid Can Impede Learning"

"A Focus on Distraction"

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (I have a copy of this text you could borrow; it is also available in the Stewart Library. You will want to focus on a single chapter, not the entire book).

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains by Nicholas Carr

"The Rx for Technology"  (This is the podcast of a Radio West interview of David Strayer by Doug Fabrizio).

"What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" (Youtube Video)

"Reading Study Shows Remarkable Decline in U.S." (This is the transcript of an interview conducted on NPR. You can either listen to or read the interview.)

"Fiction Reading Increases for Adults"

"Decline of American Reading Culture: Literature’s Struggle in Face of Pop Culture"

"Young Adult Lit Comes of Age"

"Adults Are Devouring Kids' Books For Good Reason"

"The Real Effects of Technology on Your Health"

"Despite Risks, Internet Creeps Onto Car Dashboards"

"How Green is My iPad?"

"Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say"

"Set Students Free With Technology in Schools"

"The Problem With Technology in Schools"

Essay #1 Assignment Sheet

ESSAY #1

English 1010

Due: Friday, October 4th

So far this semester, we’ve been discussing reading and technology, and their effect on the human brain.  Your assignment is to compose an essay using one of the texts we’ve read and an outside text on reading, technology, and the brain.  Your essay should discuss 1) how one essay’s argument is incomplete, 2) how the second essay helps complete the picture, and 3) how reading these two texts together gives us a better perspective on the issue.

In order to accomplish this, you will need to:

• Discuss what both texts argue
• Explain how one of the texts’ arguments is inadequate or incomplete
• Describe how the other text helps complete the picture
• Explain why considering both texts together is superior to simply considering one of them

A couple of things to note:

• Please avoid personal feelings and beliefs into the essay.  Make sure your opinions are stated as arguments that can be supported by explanations, examples, and quotes from the text.

Formatting considerations:

• Page length: 3-4 pages, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, 1” margins.
• Name, course number, instructor’s name, and date should appear flush left at the top of the page.
• Title should be centered on the next line below the date.
• Essay should begin on the next line below the title.
• Use MLA format for in-text citations, as discussed in class.

Extra credit options:

• You may take your essay to the Writing Center for an additional 5 points on your essay. You must ask your tutor for a signed slip of paper to verify your tutoring session.
• You may also rewrite your essay for up to 5 extra credit points.  Your rewrite is due one week after you receive your graded essay back from me.

"This is Your Brain on Facebook"

In Pittman's article "This is Your Brain on Facebook," he lists several problems with social networks, and Facebook in particular. Are any of these problems valid concerns, and if so, why?

"Can You Hear Me Now?"

"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle: Whether or not we agree with Turkle's assessment of the problems with technology, I think she raises some important issues and questions that we need to ask ourselves as we move ahead. What are some of the most significant questions that you think have been raised as we've discussed articles this semester? Have your ideas or habits changed as a result?

"What's the Matter With Kids Today?"

Here is the post for your comments on Amy Goldwasser's "What's the Matter With Kids Today?"

We tend to focus sometimes on the negative effects of technology on kids. What are some positive uses of technology that teens (or young adults) engage in?

And on the other side of the issue, are there negative aspects to these positive uses?

"Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction"

Here is the second article of Matt Richtel's that we will be reading, "Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction." How does this article compare to or complement the other article by Richtel that we read for Friday?

Also, my nephew posted this on Facebook the other day.  I think it's a pretty good illustration of the distractions on the Internet--what do you think?

"Mind Over Mass Media" and "Outdoors and Out of Reach"

Here is Steven Pinker's op-ed article from The New York Times, "Mind Over Mass Media," and here is the link to Matt Richtel's "Outdoors and Out of Reach." These two articles seem to be written from opposing viewpoints. Which one, in your opinion, builds the strongest case in its discussion of technology and the brain?

You can post comments on both articles below.