I have been using the internet for as long as I could remember. However, the longest I could truly remember is in the 5th grade when we were introduced to computers in English class to make our writing more quick and efficient. Whilst at first It seemed like the internet was helping me finish my work quicker, as time went by I realized that internet only heightened my procrastination because in my head I believe that since the internet is so easy, that I could always do my work later since it wouldn’t take much time. Now come to think of it, the most efficient I have ever been in a scholastic environment was before the 5th grade in which we would do our assignments on paper. Doing assignments on paper required me to use my brain a lot more since I didn’t have resources like the internet to rely on.

If I had to decide whether assignments should be digital or physical, I’d rather them be physical so that skills like your critical thinking won’t become weaker… but in turn, stronger. I find that when I do assignments on paper, I spend a lot more time thinking about what I have to say and the way I would say it, constantly finding new words and methods to use. On the contrary, writing papers online has hindered my literacy by a long shot. Whenever i’m confused, instead of trying to think it through, I enter my question in the search engine for a quick response. However, I’ve come to the realization that Google only helps for the short term.

In the text “Is Google making us stupid”, Nicolas Carr has similar standpoints. Within the introduction Carr states, ” Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. at’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.” which ultimately explains that Google is making not only him, but us stupid.

I agree.

I used to participate in call kinds of performing arts within my middle school to high school experience. However, I was never really the outgoing type. Before starting my art hobby, I always had problems communicating with others and I lacked the social skills it took to have a conversation. Although sometimes I still have some moments in which I see that trait within myself, I’ve come a long way from then and the only thing I have to thank for that Is art, specifically theater arts.

From “What video games have to teach us about learning”, I took the topic at hand and kind of applied it to my real life. In the introduction of the text (Page 9), James Gee says “So, then, what determines how you read or think about some particular
thing? Certainly not random chemicals or electrical events in your brain, although you do most certainly need a brain to read or think. Rather, what determines this is your own experiences in interacting with other people who
are members of various sorts of social groups” which I thought was a fascinating thing to say. Previously on the topic of discourse, we covered that certain discourse communities can have an impact on your speech, mannerisms and overall ways of life. Comparing this to my own, I’ve found that acting has made me more social being that I was forced to be on a stage and communicate with other actors/actresses in order to actually succeed. Not only has it made me more social, but it’s made me emotionally intelligent. In my high school major, I was practically putting myself in the shoes of others since I began. This gave me a better understanding of how other people feel which led to better communication between myself and people in general.

Although I am not able to relate much with this text, I can see the point that James Gee was trying to convey when speaking about he influence that games have on our learning and how discourse communities can go hand and hand with how we, as humans, pick up new talents and skills.