Class 6 Reading Responses

Copy And Paste Literacy? Literacy Practices In The
Production Of A MySpace Profile
By Dan Perkel

What started out as a social networking tool has now become so ingrained in our society, especially among teenagers, that we now question whether MySpace is “reading” or “writing.” Reading and writing have generally been viewed as an individual’s task. As teachers, we insist that students put things into their “own words.” But with this shift towards a more collaborative society, copy/pasting is not only acceptable, it is encouraged. If reading/writing are primarily about communicating, and this collaborative re-use of media has become a keystone for communication, then sites such as MySpace must be viewed as literacy tools.


The Perils and Pitfalls of Wikipedia

As Wikipedia has become more widely used, many Internet users (my students among them) have come to view it as equally reliable as a hardcover encyclopedia or text. Although its popularity may have increased its reliability, the collaborative nature continues to inspire skepticism in the minds of traditional researchers. More than one English teacher has banned the use of Wikipedia as a creditable research source. Although I do allow my students to use Wikipedia, I also strongly encourage them to verify the information with at least one other source.

The success of such sites as Wikipedia has led me to make an observation about my student researchers. Information has become so web-based that some students no longer know how to use print sources such as books, encyclopedias, or magazines. Their research is predominantly conducted on their computers. Perhaps a balance still needs to be kept among the old and the new.