Is Google Making Us Stupid?

-Nicholas Carr-

I partially agree with Carr’s idea of the Internet especially Google search engine. He strongly believes that the Internet made him change the pattern of his reading and they way he thinks. He also explained what the Internet had done to our brains. Nowadays, people feel it is inconvenient to read long and lengthy articles, by contrast to those days, where people used to read novels and long articles without any distraction. They managed to focus on that long piece of writing and came up with wonderful ideas. But in the present day, many people cannot stay focused on what they are reading; they will get fidgety, lose the thread, and begin looking for something else to do. For example, some will open many web pages a given time to avoid reading a long text. Other than that, some will be reading a long text while getting entertainment from the social networks like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Youtube and so forth. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle for many of us.

On the other hand, the usage of the Internet for scholars and researchers are inseparable and undeniable. These people have benefited a lot from the Internet as they can access information at the tip of their fingers. The world has become borderless with this most up-to-date technology. The compensations of having instant access to such an exceedingly rich store of information are many, and they have been broadly described and much-admired. According to Thompson, he referred to the Internet as “The perfect recall of Silicon memory” which can be an enormous boon to thinking. However, Carr commented on the adverse effects of the Internet. He mentioned that, the boon comes with a price. The Internet seems to be slowly draining away our capacity for concentration and contemplation.

In this era of globalisation, we want everything to be swift such as fast food, instant messages, instant noodles and so on. Therefore, we tend to skim the text and not scan for details. It is obvious that users are not reading online in the conventional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to shun reading in the traditional sense. It is more or less like glancing over the latest headlines at a newspaper’s site. The result is to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration. Hence, the reading process undergoes changes in our brain.

Moreover, Google search engine provide all sorts of information that we need in a single click. Yet, Carr blames the Google search engine by saying that, easy availability of books would lead to intellectual laziness, making men “less studious” and weakening their minds. He also claimed that, Google is “really trying to build artificial intelligence and to do it on a large scale.” As a result, people stop thinking and become unaware of the capacity of their brains.

Apart from that, I personally feel that, the online articles are very complex and it will strain our eyes when we are looking at the screen for a longer period of time. Another problem is, we tend to use abbreviations in our written text. 

The internet has become a metaphorical drug or alcohol. The generation nowadays has become very addicted to it and is unable to stop accessing it every few minutes either via their phones or tabs. Such behaviour is regarded as a kind of psychological illness nowadays. Overuse of the internet may result in the neglect of other aspects of life, such as work, education, ones social life and in some extreme cases even their own personal hygiene. Unless one has the real need to use computers for a period of time, these actions should not be encouraged. It is particularly time-consuming, and more often than not, a waste of time.

Despite these facts, the Internet has been a major source of information and leisure, and we should use it wisely and discreetly. I personally think the benefits outweigh the harm. With a few clicks on the keyboard, we can virtually visit everywhere in the world.

Technology is the ultimate answer if we want to add excitement and students’ engagement in our lesson. Utilizing and combining graphics, video, and audio can address varied styles of learning in a more effective way and be a remarkable support to English language learners. 

There are 8 conditions to promote language acquisition as listed by Egbert, Chao, & Hanson-Smith, 1999. In this entry, I would like to draw the readers attention to a few other conditions which seem to be crucial in integrating ICT in a successful teaching. At the same time, I would also like to provide the readers with some conditions that must be avoided while pointing out ways to promote good conditions when using digital technology tool(s) to teach the English language. 

In my opinion, intrinsic motivation in both learners’ and teachers’ must be present for language learning to take place when using ICT. For instance, some teachers refuse to use ICT in their lesson due to their work load or they could be in the midst of completing their syllabus and would prefer to focus on that rather than learn new methods of teaching. They feel that the conventional method of teaching and learning has done the trick for many years and they do not wish to change that. On the other hand, the students themselves may not be interested in the given task, either because it is too easy or too difficult for them to carry out. These situations may affect the language learning. Therefore, intrinsic motivation is very important in order to promote effective learning. 

 The next condition would be the accessibility of the Computer Laboratory in school. Students must be allowed access to the computer labs during language subjects. Unfortunately, in some schools it is difficult for the teachers to take the students to the lab. Normally, the teacher- in -charge for the lab will not permit other teachers to use the lab except during the computer lessons. This is because they are afraid that when too many students use the computer labs, it will either malfunction or be infected with virus. If this happens, the school will have to incur the loss and the computer teacher will have to answer to the school administration. To avoid all these issues, the computer teacher sets very strict rules and this makes it difficult for the language teachers to access the computer labs during their lessons.  

Apart from that, it is also essential that the students have basic knowledge of the language (simple syntactic structures) and computer skills for ICT to be incorporated in the learning and teaching process. This is because the applications that are used will all be in English and if the student does not understand basic English he/she will not know what to do and as a result of that will not be able to benefit from that lesson. They must have knowledge on how to operate the computers/applications efficiently. If the student does not have basic knowledge when it comes to operating computers/applications, they will not know how to use it and hence, the teacher will not have achieved his/her objective for that class for the day.  

Let us now look at the conditions that must be avoided when incorporating technology in teaching. First on the list is, we must make sure that the technology that is about to be used does not malfunction. In order to do that, it is absolutely essential that the teacher in charge, checks the condition of the device before introducing it to the students.Other than that, we should avoid using applications that are too complicated for a learner. As teachers, we must remember that not all our students are of the same competency level. Hence, we have to introduce applications that are not too complex. Granted, some students who are more competent will find these programs easy. But we have to remember that it is our duty to make sure all the students know what is going on in class. If we only focus on the good students than the students who are of average or low competency level will develop low self-esteem or anxiety.

Another very popular problem that the teachers face is plagiarism. In this modern world, information is at the fingertips of the students. Due to that, the students tend to plagiarize. They must learn to be honest in producing their work by using technology. This falls back to the moral upbringing of the students themselves. So, it is the responsibility of the parents and teachers to instill good moral values in these students.            

In addition to that, the teacher should avoid having very high or low expectations on learners’ ability. For example, the teacher expects his/her student to come up with outstanding work by using technology. When, the teacher evaluates the student’s end product and it is not up to the mark, the teacher will feel disappointed.

 Lastly, I would like to suggest a few ways to promote the good conditions when using digital technology tool(s) to teach the English language. The given task must meet the learner’s interest. Second, the applications/ programs must be user friendly. Last but not least, the teacher must monitor and offer help to those who require assistance. 

 In short, as educators, we are in the unique position to embrace new technologies and use them to enhance curriculum while better engaging each of our students.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
             Arthur C. Clarke

The rapid and constant change in technology is creating both opportunities and challenges in everyone’s life. In this entry, I would like to share my experience of the most memorable time using technology as a learner and one of the challenges I faced while using  technology as a teacher.
Last semester, I took the Professional Development Course which was offered by the Educational Faculty in UPM. As per the course requirement, I had to conduct a research on The Usage of Language Learning Strategies (LLS) in Malaysian Private Secondary Schools. It was my first time conducting a major research. Therefore, I had to tabulate the data by using the SPSS software which was an alien concept to me at that time. I had a hard time familiarizing myself with the  software. Many of my course mates also didn't know how to use this particular software which resulted in me not being able to ask any of them for assistance. In desperation, I sought the assistance of one of my senior and effectively learnt about the software. It really meant a lot to me as I successfully produced an academic paper. It has been published in one of the Australian Website. As an educator myself, it gave me great pleasure to be able to acquaint myself with the latest technology. I am really glad to have learnt something new to upgrade myself.

In most cases, technology is a true blessing to the modern-day classroom, making access to information faster and the information obtained is easier to understand compared to those days. But, just like all new innovations, it is not without its drawbacks.  Here, I would like to share my dreadful experience when I tried incorporating technology into my classroom teaching.  I’m teaching General Science to Form 4 students in a private school in KL.  Normally, I use the traditional teaching method to teach my students. One day, just for a change, I decided to use the LCD projector and the CD provided by the school to teach the subject in the laboratory. The lesson started without a glitch. However, as I progressed further into the lesson,  I noticed that the backbenchers were falling asleep and only those students sitting in the front row were paying any attention to the lesson. Despite incorporating technology into my lesson, I had failed to draw my students’ attention for that particular day. I felt disappointed and analyzed my mistake. I realized that my timing for the lesson was wrong. I had assumed that the students would give me their undivided attention just because I was teaching using technology.Unfortunately, my lesson was immediately after their lunch break and even the promise of technology could not keep my students from dozing off in class. Apart from that, my students had also had their basketball tournament that day and they were running on reserve energy after using up almost all their energy for the tournament that day. A heavy meal combined with a very tiring day led to my students being heavy-eyed and not even technology could keep them from falling asleep. That day I realized that it is important to recognize that computers are not a substitute for effective teaching.

Today's blogosphere is as bustling and diverse as ever. I came across a lot of blogs and the idea of blogging is still very new to me. Starting a blog can be an exciting, educational, and potentially lucrative choice. This is my first blog entry. You may wonder, why I created this blog. The truth is, my beloved lecturer, Dr. Abu Bakar inspired me to create this educational blog. Furthermore, I would like to grab this opportunity to explore more about blogging and I believe that I can apply this in my teaching.Let me share a little bit about myself. My name is Bathuma Subramaniam. I am from Tampin, Negeri Sembilan. Currently I'm staying in Cheras with my beautiful sister. I have completed my Bachelor’s degree in Education (TESL) in Nov 2009. I have enjoyed meeting and working with many people in the teaching field for the past five years. I have a very good experience in teaching secondary school students. I started off by teaching in Beaconhouse Sri Murni (Cheras) for 3 years. After that, I was looking for more challenges in life so I moved to Stella Maris Secondary School (Pudu) and I am still teaching there. I am teaching Science and English for upper secondary students. I believe the important aspect of being a good teacher is having excellent communication and organization skills. In short, I can conclude that teaching is my passion!  

The one thing that I learn from my years of teaching is that, as the years pass, technology seems to be playing a massive role in teaching and learning. Having said that, I would like to share my first experience with technology. Back in 1999, I was in Form One. The incident is still fresh in my mind.  I followed some of my classmates to a nearby cybercafe and was amazed at how they were operating the "computer set". I was ashamed as I watched them browse the Internet. My friends were computer literate as they hailed from very rich background. Unlike me, I was from a very poor family and had hardly seen any gadgets. Therefore, I stood there looking like an idiot at them. My best friend, Geetha taught me how to switch on the computer. Since she is extremely good with computers, she started chatting with people from all over the world through mIRC chat space.I was really excited about this chatting space as I was able to connect with new people. One day, I went to that particular cybercafe on my own without being accompanied by any of my friends. I bought a 30-minute ticket as it was quite expensive those days. My problem started when I tried my best to enter the ticket’s code. Try as I may, I was not able to log into the computer. Out of desperation, I called the cafe attendant to assist me. He came over, he looked at me like I was the stupidest person on earth, pressed some keys on the keyboard and walked away. I felt very embarrassed at that moment. I learnt a lesson that day. It is not easy to operate the computers. As time flew by, I took the initiative to learn more about how computers work. The most important lesson I had learnt from that little incident is, nothing is impossible.