Amy Goldwasser Mind Over Mass Media Essay

It is a new world today because of the rate it is growing at. From homes all over America to international companies, technology has now managed to creep its way into the classrooms. In the article “Virtual Students, Digital Classroom” Neil Postman states, “…We will become the kind of people the technology requires us to be, and whether we like it or not,we will remake our institutions to accommodate technology” (378). This statement affirms that the need for technology will just continue to grow and that it will govern children. Walking to the library and spending what seems like endless hours to do research for homework is unheard of anymore. Students nowadays have everything they need right at their fingertips, never having to leave the comforts of their home to do school work. With that being said, though, Postman also says, “...The computer and its associated technologies are awesome additions to a culture, and are quite capable of altering the psychic, not to mention the sleeping, [sic] habits of our young” (378). Is it actually helping students or is it honestly hurting them? With the addition of new machines, students are pushed to adhere more information but are given easier ways to gather

Due to the convenience of the internet, students are complacent in the “short-cut” society, the internet has created an environment for students that leads to laziness which can affect the amount of learning that is actually completed with effort, which can determine how future societies function. With the availability of having the internet in the palm of your hand it makes searching for anything effortless. Kids are using the internet as a shortcut to lessen the workload, the internet is “consuming” kids and teachers that they feel it is okay to do everything with the internet, and the internet is only giving a little sliver of the whole story while cutting out many of the major details. So with the ability to access the internet almost effortlessly

Steven Pinker in “Mind Over Mass Media” tries to demonstrate the benefits of having technology, and refutes other beliefs that believe technology to be harmful. Explaining how for centuries, new forms of media have always caused a stir, and those concerns are usually proven wrong. While admitting that people should practice self-control while using this new technology, the author encourages these newfound connections, stating that technology “...is the only thing keeping us smart. ”

In the essay “The Flight From Conversation”, by Sherry Turkle and “Mind Over Mass Media”, by Steven Pinker, two different viewpoints are expressed toward technology. In the essay, the authors show their awareness of the problem of technolgy in humans. Turkle and Pinker agree on the issues of distraction and addictiveness, but propose different solutions to the actions that should be taken towards the use of technology in humans. In the essay “Mind Over Mass Media”, Pinker shows the importance of technology among humans.

PA #4 As I was reading through a few selected essays, I stumbled across a very interesting one titled, "Mind over Mass Media". In this essay, Steven Pinker argues that the development of new electronic media is not harmful, although that’s what is commonly stated. In fact, he explains that as a whole we benefit from these advances and grow more knowledgeable. He backs up his argument in the body text of his essay. For example, Steven Pinker states, "If electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting.

Every day the world is changing and things are done differently. Technology has also affected the way students are taught and in which they learn. It has changed the classroom. Technology saves us time and allows us to access material in only minutes. “The Internet and online subscription databases, even as a supplement to the printed works in the library, allow students to see, and force them to consider or reject, points of view that they might never have encountered in decades past” (Gow 4).With all the time technology produces, it also has downsides and it also may have created a less intelligent society.

These days of the twentieth century technology is advancing at a fast pace. Everyday there’s a new trend of Internet communication and tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace and so much more that offers immense scope for socializing. Also tools online that can help children develop learning skills quicker than you can learn at school. Children are all the more on the Internet, agreeing report by Sarah Kessler, Mashable; almost 80% between the ages of 0 and 5 utilization the Internet on at any rate a week after week premise in the United States. Technology has evolved throughout generations and children are encouraged to use the computer to study, using credible information on the web. Overall, surveys states that children are more socialized and educated because of the Internet.

For instance, Source D says, “I can recall the pre digital years of my childhood, writing stories by hand into loose leaf notebooks..” This shows how we are gradually changing understudies abilities, at some point or another students wont have the capacity to take a seat and focus meanwhile writing an essay or a short story, in light of the fact that it would be so much easier just to type it. Source D also says, “Even my handwriting is disintegrating, becoming less and less my handwriting”. Students, parents, and teachers have adjusted to these ways essentially because they have obtained the idea that innovation will soon takeover, and that in the event that you are not up and coming with it, you will not have the capacity to succeed. It is justifiable and true that our children should be able to utilize technology and know how to use it when the time comes. However, it is likewise essential for them to have the capacity to get by without it and that is precisely where we are committing an error. Teachers are having children turn in essays online, converse with students and teachers online. This technique is making children more reliable on technology. For example, Source B states, “How do we communicate with students today who have grown up with technology from the beginning?”, This is a critical inquiry, which of course takes me back to the theme of

However, some would say that within education, the use of technology can influence students to cheat or take the easy way out on their assignments. “Students today can easily access essays, reports, class notes, tests, etc. online, making it that much more difficult for teachers to know if the work their students hand in is original” (Ronan). This dilemma interferes with teenagers processing new information. The Internet is a great tool; however, teens may rely too heavily on it, and worse, believe everything they see. I believe that the internet can be a great source to gain more knowledge, however, one needs to acknowledge how to effectively use this tool to benefit them.

Since such connections are broader and accessible to almost every students, schools have become progressive in the way they use electronics. Kevin Delaney comments on teaching tools in schools, “Pioneering teachers are getting their class to post writing assignment online so other students can easily read and critique them…educators are beginning to interact with students..”(Source B) Students are able to give constructive feedback to other students and help each other improve. When teachers join the tech world, the relationship and communication between student and teacher is able to progress and advance. Teachers are able to direct students to specific resources which gives multiple online options to students who can look at different approaches to learning new information. However, too much information can inundate a child’s mind and can lead to a lack of imagination. Rather than create one’s own ideas, students are now force fed information without the ability to form unique beliefs. Esther Dyson calls attention to the fact that technology prevents students from being able to process information. She states, “machines automate the production of attention-consuming information.. today’s children are living in an information-rich time-compressed environment that often seems to stifle a child’s imagination.”(Source C) Giving students too much information in school

The term media is often represented within popular culture in varying degrees. To a great extent, there seems to be a tendency to interchange media and mass communication. In this regard, it is imperative and perhaps prudent to define media holistically before proceeding further. For purposes of coherence, the definition of media will be categorized into two spheres; traditional media and new media. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (2009), traditional media can be defined as the collective media technologies such as radio, newspapers, television, newsletter, magazines, and other print publications. New media, on the other hand, refers to the new generation of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2009). Examples of new media include internet forums, blogs, wikis, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. There can be no gainsaying that the distinct role of the media, aside from providing entertainment, is the dissemination of information to the general public. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine how the media influences politics.

Life has changed dramatically over the last century because of the progression of media technology. The ones that I will be talking about is radio, television, computers, and the internet.

Why should teachers be concerned? Donald Leu, Jr., (2008) tells us that the nature of literacy and learning is begin redefined by digital technologies such as the World Wide Web (WWW), e-mail, digitized works of children’s literature, and electronic chat rooms. Labbo and Reinking (1999) suggest that e-mail promotes opportunities for reading and writing for purposes that have personal meaning as well as for encouraging more collaborative projects and interchanges among students. Bringing the WWW into classrooms encourages teachers and students to move away from limiting reading and discussion to the content of a textbook and provides opportunities to more critically consider the sources of information. Mark Warschauer (2007) says the rapid diffusion of new technologies will greatly impact the nature of learning and literacy. He refers to the invention of the printing press, which transformed literacy in the second half of the last millennium. He and others believe that digital technology will, in the long run, have as much impact on learning and literacy as did the printing press (Warschauer 2007). How teachers respond to and use these new developments will determine how

The new and recent technological advances are taking a huge growth to new and bigger heights in the world .From computers to laptops to supercomputers, technology is not resting for a single day. Now the impact of technology has been in the educational environments such as schools, classrooms and so much more. It has given students, teachers, and staff access to new and higher resources than ever, but the question is whether this huge growth has made a positive impact? In the essay “How Google Is Making Us Smarter” by Carl Zimmer, he gives examples and an explanation on how we as people have adapted to the internet so much that we’re like cyborgs, also the improvements and results made from it. Another article titled “Technology: Using Power for Good” by Hansdeep Singh, Jaspreet Singh, and Linda Raftree talks about how technology is becoming more accessible and gives us information on the positive outcomes. An additional article titled, “Study: Emerging Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom” by Ryan Lytle, talk about different people implementing technology into their teachings as well as the positive aspects for students education. The recent advances in technology have drastically affected many areas of society in positive ways. Technology plays a huge role in education because students benefit from it and use it daily to complete academic task. Because of technology is becoming more advanced in society, it's starting to open

Throughout the development of technology recent findings have confirmed that, all students are being deprived of challenges and the chance to use complex thinking skills (Muir-Herzig, 2004). Researchers have claimed that the excessive use of technology in school, are beginning to weaken people’s memories and communication skills (Muir-Herzig, 2004). It is, however, fortunate that classes have become more dynamic between teachers and students in terms of technology. Nowadays, students have opportunities to communicate with their teachers indirectly and learn significant information via the Internet. While this indirect communication style may be convenient, it is creating problems with simple skills such