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But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write.

ven accomplished book readers like Zachary Sims, 18, of Old Greenwich, Conn., crave the ability to quickly find different points of view on a subject and converse with others online. Some children with dyslexia or other learning difficulties, like Hunter Gaudet, 16, of Somers, Conn., have found it far more comfortable to search and read online.

What is different now, some literacy experts say, is that spending time on the Web, whether it is looking up something on Google or even britneyspears.org, entails some engagement with text.

This was not how it was supposed to have turned out. A number of studies have been released that suggested a negative correlation between Internet use and reading. Fortunately, those studies are now considered to have been unduly alarmist, according to several experts in the field.

ndeed, despite fears that the Internet would stunt the reading of books, the sale of books has continued to trend upward over the past several years. In 2005, sales jumped 9.9%, to $25 billion, according to the Association of American Publishers.

With such a large proportion of reading and writing taking place on the Internet, literacy has changed from a solitary pursuit into a collective one.

Brown and his colleagues invited 15 year old digital learners to participate as researchers at Xerox’s research center, and identified, through observations of their work, some dimensional shifts in their literacy practices. For these digital learners, they found: Literacy involves image and screen literacy: “The ability to ‘read’ multimedia texts and to feel comfortable with new, multiple-media genres.” “The new literacy, beyond text and image, is one of information navigation. The real literacy of tomorrow entails the ability to be your own personal reference librarian—to know how to navigate through confusing, complex information spaces and feel comfortable doing so. ‘Navigation’ may well be the main form of literacy of the 21st century.” Learning involves a shift from learning in an authority-based, lecture oriented environment to learning that is “discovery-based”– e.g. web surfing for both entertainment and information. Learning is active, involving mucking about vs. being told, and requires making good judgments as you find what you need and build on it. Learning has a social as well as a cognitive dimension.

“What we’re labeling as ‘distraction,’ some see as a failure of adults to see how these kids process information,” Ms. Purcell said. “They’re not saying distraction is good but that the label of ‘distraction’ is a judgment of this generation.”

The surveys also found that many teachers said technology could be a useful educational tool. In the Pew survey, which was done in conjunction with the College Board and the National Writing Project, roughly 75 percent of 2,462 teachers surveyed said that the Internet and search engines had a “mostly positive” impact on student research skills. And they said such tools had made students more self-sufficient researchers.