Team b for debate

This release by UCLA newsroom sheds light on a study and quotes Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Children's Digital Media Center, Los Angeles as saying that "Wiring classrooms for Internet access does not enhance learning," among other statements she makes in the study.

I definitely like the statement that says "...the internet has 'rewired' the way our brains absorb information."

I found this really interesting. I didn't even think about how most people to read books download cliff notes instead of reading the book that is required front to end.

This is very detrimental to a kids growth in learning how to spell, write and over all communicate like a normal human being. I don't even know most of these.

I agree with both of the points above, however I feel that it is also good to bring up that that all languages have their own slang. In the English language you could say "Sup" in lieu of "How are you doing?" or "Totes" instead of "Totally!" I think the chat abbreviations are just short hand that has been integrated at lightning speeds. The point I'd most like to bring up is the "phonetics" involved with a lot of these. I think that's where the real problem is being generated. It's fine to drop a "BRB" or "LOL" into a chat convo because this is simple every day slang. It's when I read things like "10Q" (thank you) and "4NR" (foreigner) that make my brain want to melt through my face.

Wow Matt! Some of these I've never ever heard of. In fact my brain might melt through my face as well. I'm just kidding but it annoys me too. I spoke with a 30 year old through facebook chat and she used tons of abbreviations I didn't understand. I feel so outdated sometimes.

I am confused on this trend. I see the funniness involved, but for people that have no clue what it is the people saying it sound like idiots.

haha As a fan of the Doge meme I can assure you that most of the joke is the pure non-sense involved. I've linked to a website below that can do a better job of explaining exactly WHAT doge is. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/doge

perfect example of news articles that people believe and post to social media. Everyone believes them due to them being military related but not one is true.

The same way with "the onion" people think that it is real sometimes and it's not. Thanks for point this out.

I have never heard of this site, I may need to poke around there for a good laugh. It looks like a rather legit website too! I was confused as to what you were talking about at first and then I decided to actually read one of the articles.

Another subject i have strong feelings about is hashtags. The are number sign or other useful signs. It kind of has turned social medias in to a joke and i know kids and 20/30 year old adults that believe when the see # they just assume its hashtag. I still do not understand this craze.

Seems like the 4 of us are on the same page where this particular post is concerned because - previous to twitter and other social media - the "hashtag" was nothing more than a sign representing "number" or symbol on a phone; and that's the point.Just because someone found a different and more convenient use for it doesn't mean it enhances traditional language or literacy.

I understand that the hastag was created out of necessity to catalog and 'expose' your thoughts, pictures, etc. But why has it become such a cultural staple? The hashtag, to me anyways, is equivilent to like the Fonz saying "Aaaaaaayyeee!" or Bugs Bunny with his "What's up Doc?". It's big right now and will likely be remembered eventually as a spoof or nostalgic rememberance of the 2010's. Also, that's a very indepth and thorough list of hashtags haha

Gone are the days of using pencil and paper to figure out math problems. I personally learned math this way, then got up in high school and had to learn how to use a scientific calculator. I had a class for a year about how to use this calculator. Since then math and I aren't friends. In that sense I think it has made us more technologically smart but not more math smart because the calculator does all the work for us. I was actually having a discussion with an old high school math teacher of mine a few days ago and she said no longer can she count off for incorrect equal signs or actually feel like she's teaching because of all the new technology. Computers are teaching students these days. I think it contributes to us being lazy too and not using all of our brainpower.

I agree with the point that you made above, this article was very informative and provides quite a few insights that I found interesting. The most interesting to me is the way that search engines contribute to the way we remember things. I've never considered this before, but thinking back it's definitely true! Good find!

This is a report written by Sonia Livingstone and based on research that calls into question whether "the literacies required for today's communication and information environment an extension of, or a radical break with, past traditions of knowledge and learning?"

I forgot to add about audio books aren't helping either. I think that for years TV has had an effect on learning ability but reading to me has always been important. I've never owned a audio book in my life, but some people are big on them. I'm old fashioned in regards to picking up a book and reading it will help exercise your brain.

I loved audio books when I was a child during long car rides, because I love reading, but trying to read in a car would make me sick. I will always choose a book over an audio book because with reading, you can find new words and learn how to use and spell them properly. Honestly, I didn't know audio books were still super popular. Also TV and movies based on books don't help literacy, I think, just because most people are too lazy to pick up a book and if they have the choice to read or watch, they'd rather have all the visuals and storyline there for them, rather than reading and creating an image through their imagination. Using your imagination is ALWAYS more vivid and exciting than a movie. But that's just my opinion.

This was posted on the connect front page and thought it would be beneficial to add here for this topic