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close reading and types of readings

smile's picture
Submitted by smile on Sat, 02/19/2011 - 5:23pm

I think that on Wednesday discussion we missed to talk about relationship between the types of reading and the goal of reading it self .Why we do we read and how do we choose our way of reading?

Sometimes we are reading just to get general information, and when this is the aim I think most of us are  just skimming and may use  the both ways : digital or physical reading .But when we are reading something which is really important for our studies or our work then we give much importance to close reading and may be we try to read printed texts more .....The proof of that are ,I think, is all the printers that are in a daily work in the colleges and universities where students can read all their posted readings digitally but they prefer to print them out and then read them than to read them on the screen.

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aybala50's picture

close reading digitally?

Submitted by aybala50 on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 12:24am.

So, does this mean you don't think that close reading can happen digitally? I guess if I had to differentiate what I read closely and what I only skim I would say there are several factors that determine which I do...First of all, the amount of time I am given to read a text closely. If I have enough time to do close reading then yes chances are I will be able to do so, however, if I am not given enough time, I will resort to skimming. The second factor that comes to mind is interest. If I am interested in what I am reading, whether it is a novel, or something I need to read and truly understand in order to get a good grade, I will read it closely. However, these two factors effect each other significantly. While I may be very interested in a text, I may not have enough time to do a close reading of it. Similarly, while I may have plenty of time to do a reading, if I am not interested in the topic, I may only skim it. Our lives are so busied by technology, that we are left with less time than in the past for school work. I realize that I spend a great chunk of time online doing non-productive things. I may get online to do work, have a given amount of time for it, and spend the first half surfing online (checking my e-mail, facebook, news etc.)...at this point I feel as though I am doing 'necessary' things...a chore really...something that is necessary to begin anything online...

phreNic's picture

tech makes us busier

Submitted by phreNic on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 1:17pm.

I appreciate the observation that technology makes our lives busier as opposed to simpler.  Each new form of communication and social media has its own customs, coding,  and responsibilities.  People are always quick to point out that sending an email is less time consuming than writing one out by hand and putting in the mail.  But when that was the standard, the turn around time to reply (one of the responsibilities for that medium) was a least a day, if not more.  Now, emails are used more like text messages, in that they are expected to be received and responded to within hours.  Also, the ease of sending email means that people are more likely to send and receive email in a much higher volume than they ever would have sent snail mail.  So ultimately, they are spending more time on written correspondence.  We often reduce technological comparisons to delivery time and and ignore the application.  Like this post, just because you can read it the instant I submit it, doesn't mean it took less time to produce.

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