technology and literacy

I think overall technology has become an excellent resource and opportunity for students. They have become very familiar with it, and use it everyday. Kids read without even knowing it, whether they're surfing the web, downloading music, or playing video games. I don't think kids realize how much reading they do, especially when they etxt message or IM. Reading has become much more apparent in communication, but I also think that technology can hurt literacy too. One example is the popular spell check. Kids can see where they have made mistakes and with the click of a mouse, is corrected for them. But does that teach them anything? Not reall, considering they're not even really self-evaluating their own writing anymore. And why do kids have to pick up a book anymore if they're online, or on tape? The same goes for magazines and newspapers. Everything is online. It would be so weird to actually write a letter to someone when you can just email or IM. Students have become more aware of using "lol" and smiley faces than to actually read a book and take in the words. In terms of research, many students use resources online and automatically think that everything is 100% true. That is definitely not always the case when using websites. I do think reading changes when the materials chane. I have a harder time remembering what I read online, when I'm getting emails or IMs sent to me at the same time. When I read a book, it's just me and the author. It's more personal. The good thing about technology is that it can also help you find new books to read or buy. There are websites for people to discuss certain books as well, which I think is a great thing. Although, it is nice to see that over what, 8 million people have purchased the last Harry Potter book, (me being one of them, and I'm very depressed over it). That just shows that there are children out there who do love to read. I think technological advancements in literacy are great. They teach people to read and write everyday without it being actual work, but I think sometimes we get so ahead of ourselves that we don't appreciate taking the time out to read a book or flip through the pages of a newspaper.