Yes, but I think 'reading' and 'writing' is a continuous spectrum from txts to blogs to online comments, to published articles, to books. The number of txts that are circulating is in the billions, and this includes poor and previously poorly literate communities.

I worked in literacy programmes in many countries, and always tried to work with the texts that people already had in their environment - street and shop signs and advertising for starters. If I were to design a literacy programme today (for children too), I would start with their txts, or start by getting them mobile phones, and work up from there.

I don't think, that there will be a change in reading habits, because it doesn't matter on which medium (screen or paper) the words are written - you still have to read them.

The thing that may change is the availability of reading material (especially, as you pointed out, in developing countries). On the other hand digital texts are more "fragile" - if there is a blackout, for example, you won't be able to read even in bright daylight, save you have old-fashioned books.

It would depend on the person; because as Mr. Gruenwald stated it depends on the persons desire and motivation for reading and writing. Technologies have helped disseminate information that would otherwise be landlocked, but still it would depend on personal and social factors. Because if education isn't that important for that culture or society, there not going to focus on reading or writing. Another factor that might be important is on what language are the educational materials, since most is in English and other common languages; but not all countries have English or other common languages in their curriculum.

Yes, but I think 'reading' and 'writing' is a continuous spectrum from txts to blogs to online comments, to published articles, to books. The number of txts that are circulating is in the billions, and this includes poor and previously poorly literate communities.

I worked in literacy programmes in many countries, and always tried to work with the texts that people already had in their environment - street and shop signs and advertising for starters. If I were to design a literacy programme today (for children too), I would start with their txts, or start by getting them mobile phones, and work up from there.

I think it could merely lead to selective knowledge since digital technologies limit research. It's a cut and paste kind of knowledge.

#Roy William - Reading and writing with starting with txts would be a good challenge. Frank McCourt used 'excuses' written by his students to teach them the narrative format - but they could already read and write.

#Charles - As to the problem of selective knowledge - you have a point , unless more effort is put into workable and more complete archiving on line. The body of knowledge on the net could be limited. It depends on how many people begin to 'transfer' books, etc from the library shelves to the web.

I am hoping that the efforts to digitize archives and libraries continues. Money is usually allocated for digitizing the collection. Most budgets don't include funding for maintenance and sustainability.

In my experience, digital technology will never help people to stimulate reading or writing. Reading and writing require lot amount of hard work. People those who depend on digital technology always wanted to do easy things. Its my personal view.

The key here is really how to tap into interest, thereby motivating the student to read and write regardless of the medium. With the development of technology, the use of social media and the revolution of the internet, information and therefore "interest" is now within the reach of even the poorest nations. There are a million of free websites that taps into the learning styles of children/people that will facilitate reading and writing and overall learning. A student in the most remote of places can see a picture of something with a label/name, tap into his.her background knowlege of what that is and learn to identify the label and ultimately read it via listening to a piece of technology telling him/her how to pronounce it (by way of example). Give a student a book (whether it be tangible or digital) about something that they are truly intersted in, and that student will find a way to learn to read it.

I came across this question and thought I might put it in the context of language and linguistics. the development of writing and literacy dramatically increased the reach of communication--it no longer had to be face to face. In spite of that languages continued to change through time, but ability to use the written from obviously provided advantages to literate members of society. While we may lament texting and tweeting, and the lack of content control on the Internet, the digital age has certain benefits:

1. It not only allows those in remote places to have access, it also reaches the "underclass" or those who might otherwise remain functionally illiterate in industrialized societies,

2. It intersects social communication skills with skills useful in the business world (compare LindedIn or Researchgate with Facebook),

3. You see people with excellent keyboard skills or smartphone texting skills who have never seen a typewriter or been taught the old "fdsa, jkl;" touch-typing methods,

4. In spite of the texting shortcuts for smartphones and twitter, longer communications such as the ones here are a part of the digital age,

5. Those so driven can really develop their comunication skill through blogs and even through ePublishing--many a frustrated author may find a way to get his or her work out there to the public,

6. Languages change or evolve, and spelling conventions may be retreating from the standardization efforts of the 19th Century, but digital communications users will either improve their spelling through the likes of "Spellcheck," or conventions will become less rigid,

7. Children using digital comunication have an additional incentive to become "literate,"

8. As digital skills grow, should the person's interests expand and they choose to explore particular topics or search for more information, all that may be readily at hand, including the classics and the obscure historical resources, through media resources such as Google Books,

9. An much as the American Pediatric Association criticizes "screen time" for children, if that screen time is associated with a keyboard or with an interactive screen, the child is being exposed to reading and writing. Ultimately the digital resources may accomplish something generations of teachers could not--motivate otherwise uninterested students to become literate.

Dramatic technological advances have catapulted us into the digital age, putting a premium on technical skills and know-how, along with the ability to continuously adapt. In a nutshell, education is inextricably entwined with skills development

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_EducationSkills_TargetsInnovativeApproaches_Book_2014.pdf

Sorry my dear Jean MacKenzie Ward Colson; In my opinion digital technology is not going to stimulate or increase any interest in reading and writing habits of people and  will not be able to increase the level of literacy of society. Rather I am of the opinion of @ Mr Charles Ibe and  Dr. Dhaya Nithi. Thanks

Emoticons and acronyms are not the only digital technology, People communicating online need to be understood, it would seem. We don't write letters to send via postal services, but we communicate with speech. Our online communication will likely resemble speech when used for a meaningful purpose.  True, Twitter and brief emails may not count as serious, but so much of the internet does involve reading or writing real texts, searching for more in-depth sources, and even reading books. After getting the hang of it, we are only limited by our interest and imagination.

human beings seem to be always making tools..it is part of our nature.

The problem comes when we forget..or overlook. that we ought to teach others how to use them..if we expect them to know how to do it  If we live in a society where people are expected to have a certain level of knowledge...we can not expect them to be born with this knowledge..we must teach them what is new...

At the moment I think that societies are all suffering because teachers either lack the knowledge themselves or they suffer from the lack of time to teach well. The result is that many students are leaving school without acceptable levels of knowledge and skill.

By "acceptable" I mean a level of knowledge and skill that they have acquired in school which allows them to think and act with skill and to live with real sense of fulfillment.

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I think that parents and teachers in the first schools are responsible for teaching their children how to learn...  As children grow and mature, they must be taught to become responsible for their own learning..By the time they go to university they should be prepared and responsible for their own learning....I am sure that it is NOT the responsibility of university teachers to teach students up to the required level.  The students should not be there if they are not qualified to meet the required levels on the first day.

Teachers are increasingly skilled at integrating digital media and technology into instructional practice and professional development. Teachers value digital media as instructional resources that help them engage student interest, promote creativity and differentiate instruction. Increasingly, teachers are turning to the Internet to access content that traditionally has been distributed via television broadcasts

http://www.grunwald.com/pdfs/PBS-GRUNWALD_2011_ANNUAL_ED_TECH_STUDY.pdf

Stefan...I'm saying new things need to be taught alongside old things.

Digital technologies are tools...they are new..people think that all they need know about many of them is to click here and click there..

We need to teach young people what we know...and I suspect that some times we don't attain our goals.

Teaching content which is presented by a 'new' tool' is something that we all find ourselves doing..whether or not we wish to..Some of these tools are difficult to use and data is presented in complicated fashion.

Students ought to learn how to use digital tools for several reasons;

The content they learn may be somewhat changed by the presentation of that content by a digital tool. This can alter their understanding of that content..

For example:

Students who are used to reading 'real' books may find the method of reading  a digital book'  on-line quite a different process ....simply because of the digital format - a screen that has to be scrolled or clicked..It is hard to see the entire book at one time.

Some people read a book by skimming it..or starting in the middle..but then reading the entire book.

A reading technique change, depending on whether they are browsing the book, reading the entire book, reading only a section or chapter of it. or digging for small quotations or 'nuggets' of information.. from it.

I am not sure that the digital version of a book can be read in the same way.

We're used to looking at the format of a physical book and we see immediately the author's name, the publisher's name, the date and place of it's printing or publishing.

That is not always possible with a digital book.

2. in the case of a database..which is not a new tool (13th century people understood the concept) but Ours are new digital tools..

Databases are used both to explain and to display information..but we also must understand what a database is and explain that to our students..

A database is authored. It has an opinion attached to it.  "Facts' are selected for inclusion in an database...

We need to explain the construction and the structure of a database as well as explaining the idea of making queries of that database.

Certain kinds of taxonomy directly affect the construction of a database - the complilation and the clustering of information...this needs to be explained...

The elements of information that make up the 'content' contained in the database  must be shown to be 'separate' entities from the database itself...eg. where did the data come from?  who collected it? why did they collect it?  what is the purpose of the database?....

This is an example of a 'new technology' that we need to understand well enough to teach it's nature to students as well as discussing the nature of its content and its queries..which may or may or not be sensible in the first place.

Dear Stefan..

I also live in real life.

I too write my own databases...and I teach my students how to do it as well.  I think that asking them to think about the process of making a database is very important part of learning. It helps one to be conscious of logic and consistency while thinking.as well as.to question what something really means or really is...

You never know when they might have to repair their own cars..[although..many cars have computer chips instead of analogue parts] It helps to know the difference between a break and a gearshift

..or understand why the data in the database is full of errors...

In life, we are sometimes unable to find anyone else to fix something.  We have to do it ourselves.  Therefore when we are dead..our students can do what we did and better.

They need to be taught to be responsible for the aspects of their lives in order to be an adult...

thanks Roy for reminding us that sometimes technology may only consist of the signs in the street..If that is the case..we must use that.

I have been doing this sort of thing since the 1980s..

I've worked with a number of different databases that I ran on mainframes..as well as the usual database applications that are found on personal computers. I have dealt with both relational data structures and object oriented data structures. as well as images,  statisitcal and qualitative (full text) data..  I have taught people courses on these subjects and worked in research projects with a wide range of people and institutions.

Reading is the cheapest way to travel, not only abroad but also within, in your imagination. Unfortunately and I say that with sadness our young are lost and running from the endearing of books, What's up and other on line programs and applicatives are keeping the young from the magnificent experience that reading may be. As you may clearly see I am one of those dinos which still believe in BOOKS, those that you may carry to the park and not have to worry that some thug could come and take it from you as sometimes occurs with electronic devices. Now a days our young want instant rewards and faster answers even if in a new kind of language almost impossible to understand if you are not part of the electronic gueto offered by face what ever, or whatever is up.

Stefan,

an interesting thought.  That would make an interesting study for someone. 

Publishers are interested in the Market..they are sensitive to how many books are actually sold. The market in 'discontinued' books in supermarkets in some countries is big...but some book sellers move the books that don't sell after two weeks, off the shelf. 

It is hard to tell with out doing a serious study.  Book publishers were bemoaning the 'death' of the book'.  I have also heard that some libraries are complaining that the subscription cost charged by publishers. This surely makes the effort of obtaining digital copies of books difficult if not impossible for libraries that are not supported by taxes or wealthy donors...  ..

My hope is that digitization would make it cheaper and easier.

 I would like to see those surveys as it may be  biased by the publishers or the increase may be in some way related to the growth of the older population and older persons like myself as an example still buy books. Let's hope the increase is real and keeps growing!

I think digital technologies can stimulate an increased interest in reading & writing / literacy level within society to certain extent initially in which after a while the increase is lower or can turn to decrease - similar to the concept of Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns i.e. when input variable increases, a point will reach whereby marginal per unit output will start to reduce.  For example, after using those digital technologies for a while whereby reading / writing / literacy have increased, children might start abusing these digital technologies through excessive entertainment / enjoyment or other non-productive activities which might not further improve their reading / writing / literary.  When this happens, other interventions like disciplines, control the usage / time to use digital technologies, different ways to motivate learning & evaluate children literacy etc. are needed.