Technology has changed the way we find, evaluate and interpret information we come across whether for academic or personal reasons. Because we use different forms of technology in our everyday lives, we might not be aware of the impact it has had on our learning and literacy practices.
Before responding to the following questions, read the article and consider what arguments the author is putting forth about Google and its impact on literacy.
1. What is Carr’s position towards Google and its influence on how we read online sources?
2. What evidence does Carr use to support his argument about Google?
3. According to Carr, Google views information as a “kind of commodity, a utilitarian resource that can be mined and processed with industrial efficiency. The more pieces of ‘information’ we can access and the faster we can extract their gist, the more productive we become as thinkers” (Carr par. 24). On the one hand, Google has made information much more accessible than before, and this can be useful and efficient. On the other hand, reading information quickly doesn’t allow us to think deeply about what we read. What are your views towards accessing and extracting information faster? What might be some benefits and drawbacks of engaging with online sources this way?
