Article 1: Do they really think differently? By Mark Pensky. This article is about the next generation of teens that have
grown up in a multimedia frenzy that has caused them to literally think differently. In this article it discusses
neuroplasticity, or how the brain changes or reorganizes itself through
different experiences and how the gaming industry and the world wide web
literally has changed how the next generation learn and interpret the world
around them. The article continues to explain how the brain can make
significant changes by being exposed to a stimulant for concentrated amounts of
time. It uses the example of the gaming
industry and how it effectively holds the attention span of the modern teen for
hours, yet a teacher in a class setting is unable t hold the attention of the
teen. It also reflects that if the education system used these same tactics as
the gaming industry, reaching this highly technical age, then the education
system would be speaking the same language as the modern teen. By designing software that will engage these
teens, they in essence will become more successful. The article does a great job explaining how making these changes
in the education system will work using the Military and NASA as real programs
that utilize this new way of educating.
The example was flight and space simulations. These techniques started out as games and have opened up avenues
to further exploration of outer space and prepared our military for live
missions. I found the logic to be sound
and plausible, now to just reach the education system.
Article 2: Learning to Think in a Digital World. By Maryanne Wolf. In this article the Neuroscietist pleads her case for the fear
of losing literacy. How the
technological world has changed the way people today read and learn an how it
can make the real world of books become extinct. She describes the reading brain as being on the endangered
list. She believes that there are three
ways of helping this issue. One the
wise advice of Socrates and how he believed that reading stopped the
advancement of free thought. Two is
Marcel Proust’s quote, “ That which is the end of their [Author’s Name] wisdom
is but the beginning of ours, and finally understanding the brain through
Modern Cognitive Neuroscience. In short
she is trying to convey how very important it is not to allow the very creation
of the digital revolution to be the decline of the next generation. I can see her point of view and I am an avid
reader but I was one of those youth. It
was not until my first semester at college that a wonderful professor exposed
me to the wonderful world of ink on paper.
I found her opinion to be valid and I want to promote change so that the
reading mind does not diminish but I believe the two worlds can live harmously
together, needing one to truly be able to grasp the other.
Article 3: Learning Theory, video games, and popular
culture. By James Gee. In this article he describes how the humans
learn best during imagining or simulating experiences to achieve their
goals. He then describes how the gaming
industry has captured that and has designed games that allow people to simulate
life experiences by achieving goals in gaming.
It is his belief that by gaming or simulating life experiences it would
be beneficial because it would improve human thinking and learning. As a professor of Literary Studies and his explanation
of how this technology can advance human thinking and learning, it makes me
want to play a game that will simulate success in my own life. I enjoyed this article.
Article 4: Usability of websites foe teens. By Jakob Nielson. This article was all about how usable websites are for
teens. How they are designed for them
and how accessible they are. It used
research to justify its claim that teens use the intranet from doing school
assignments to researching medical information. I found the article to be informative statistically speaking and
that I had a lot in common with these teens.
I am in my late twenties but I think anyone who uses the intranet has
pretty much the same use for it. The
article was most definitely credible and it had interesting facts but I found
it to be a bit of a snooze.
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