iPad

I'm expecting to lie around a lot during my recovery from abdominal surgery. Since I may not even be comfy with a laptop on my lap, I splurged and bought an iPad 2.

I have to admit, it IS cool. So thin, so light, so pretty! (Of course it's pretty, it was designed by Apple.)

My husband loves his iPad and recommended lots of work-related apps:

Course Smart (access your textbooks as e-books)
Blackboard (access your online classes)
The CIA Factbook (a favorite reference tool)
Pages (like Word for the iPad)

He also recommended AppStart which introduces you to many useful apps (described by category) and Netflix (watch movies and TV shows, including every episode of Star Trek every made).

Of course, everyone suggested I download the Angry Birds game. ($%^& addictive game!)

So far, I love my iPad. I can't access the instructor tools in Blackboard so I'll still use my laptop for grading, but the iPad will be great for travel and for when I'm recovering from surgery. So far my favorite app is Netflix. I'm watching the BBC's new, modern Sherlock Holmes.

Is the Internet Changing the Way We Think?

I read an interesting article in The Flint Journal today: “Is the Internet Shortening Our Attention Spans?” by Allan Hoffman, Newhouse News Service. It refers to “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, July/August 2008 Atlantic Monthly. (You can also read it on Digg.com, with readers’ comments.)

Carr’s article is especially interesting, comparing the Internet to previous changes in the way we write (i.e., writing itself which Plato feared would destroy memory, the Gutenberg press, the typewriter, etc.). As a college writing instructor I'm always interested in things that influence the way we think and write, especially the tools we use. I’m sure the Internet is changing the way we think, and I imagine the life-long exposure of our younger students means they think about things in a way we older folks (i.e., over 40) can't imagine.

I'm still pondering Carr's argument that Google has made our attention span shorter; for example, he can no longer concentrate on long articles, let alone heavy-going literature like War and Peace. I wonder if he's read any of the Harry Potter books, or if he gave up after book three when they got -- gasp! -- lengthy and literary.

Maybe the Internet has made me a little impatient, but it hasn't hurt my attention span or my love of reading. I'd write more, but my summer booklist awaits!

My Summer Reading List:

J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment (Hardcover)
by Michael D. C. Drout (Editor)

Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Vol I: Design & Construction (Hardcover)

by Bruce Beveridge, Scott Andrews, Steve Hall, and Daniel Klistorner

Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Vol II: Interior Design & Fitting Out (Hardcover)

by by Bruce Beveridge, Scott Andrews, Steve Hall, and Daniel Klistorner

The History of the Hobbit (Hardcover) by John D. Rateliff

Robin Pagie's Victorian/Edwardian Murder Mysteries

Michigan Redeemed!

Yesterday Michigan beat Notre Dame 38-0. Whew! Both teams had no wins when they faced off and that has never happened before.

I discovered that I could follow the game with the Internet feature of my new phone! I can track any team and when I added Michigan to the list, it gave me instant updates during the game including the score, statistics, etc. I never thought I needed to access the Internet on my cell phone but that is a pretty cool feature.