Quote:
Originally Posted by rhadin
Reading, whether fiction or nonfiction, technical or nontechnical, is fundamental and educational. Sadly, and perhaps it is because I am an ancient fuddy-duddy, I see the promotion of multiuse devices as reading devices as a sure nail in the coffin of reading. When I was a kid, many decades ago, it was a great gift to receive books and I spent many hours reading them and using my imagination. with my children, I tried to carry on that tradition of giving books and encouraging reading and imagination, and was, for the most part successful, but even so, too many hours that should have been spent creatively were spent in front of the TV or playing Mario Brothers or some other relatively mindless computer game.
Multiuse devices are, I think, a significant threat to basic reading skills.
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Richard, I agree with you completely. I used to be astounded by the lack of literacy and numeracy skills of teenagers, then I started working in IT in eduction and realised that kids are being bombarded with computers, and now (a) no longer need to learn to spell - everything the teacher wants them to do is on the computer and "hey presto" spell check, (b) need to do research - go on the internet, forget how to use a library (c) I can't believe kids as young and 7 are using calculators in school (I didn't use one in school until I was doing trig and algebra). You're right, give them a multiuse tablet and they'll use it for everything but what they need it for.