In Chapter 7, Warnock’s Guideline 19 talks about the “millions of Web readings and multimedia materials on the Web.” I think that everyone has discovered this and uses this approach to be able to include rich, up-to-date materials in our f2f or online courses. I know I spend hours every year updating my readings to include current, hot topics for discussion and as fodder for student writing. My opinion is that texts devoted to readings are out-of-date before they are printed and cause unnecessary expense for students.

I found the more important issues contained in this week’s videos and readings were getting students to learn to read deeply with the goal of being able to critically talk about the ideas, discern the important issues, and then to springboard to their own thinking and then ultimately to their own writing. This is truly a life-skill or survival skill for any serious student and actually for any mature adult.

This week’s readings further moved us from simply having students read online articles or online texts to looking at teaching reading strategies specific to digital environments. I have to say I wish more research was devoted to this practical aspect and focused on college courses both f2f and online because reading has changed. Although the research delves into showing the differences, I see the need for research that actually deals with the change and how to teach it.

As I pondered what to post this week, I kept coming up with questions rather than any answers, so I’ll include some here.

How do we teach students to read deeply on a device that has been seen as a great skimming device?

Will students really learn to read deeply on a device that includes links in every article to so many other locations or to so much other information?

Will deep reading take place on the same device that connects to social media or provides so much entertainment?