BOOK REVIEW

TECHNOLOGY FROM
GUTENBERG TO GOOGLE
AND THE PLASTIC BRAIN
Review of Carr's The Shallows
Kari Hodge and Lucinda Harman

Carr (2011 ) provides a complex explanation on how technology is changing

the hrain in an easy to ready book. He discusses his own inability to focus
and the constant, growing desire to he connected. Carr relays his concern
for the decrease in the hrain's ability to contemplate deep and complex
ideas at length. Thus, Carr provides a clear message for teachers: that maintaining a balance between the digital craze and contemplation are necessary
for learning.

The premise of Nicholas Carr's The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to
Our Brain (2011) is that our brains are plastic, constantly changing and
adapting to our experiences. The overarching theme of the chapters
describes technologies from Gutenberg through Google and elucidates
how new technologies of the time not only change the brain and how people think but also change societal norms.

Cuniculum and Teaching Dialogue

Volume 15, Numbers 1 & 2, 2013, pp. 111-114

Copyright 2013 by Information Age Publishing
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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K. HODGE and L. HARMAN

Carr (2011) begins by explaining the previous thoughts on the influence of media and technology by citing McLuhan' Understanding Media
from 1964. McLuhan prophetically asserted how new media would
change thinking, connectivity to others, and social norms. Carr (2011)
used the example of the Gutenberg press and how the production of
books made knowledge previously held only by the elite readily available
to everyone. He then discussed how radio and telephone changed the way
people communicated with each other. Carr (2011) and McLuhan (as
cited by Carr, 2011 ) discuss how people, as a society, are dazzled by new
technology and unaware of the insidious dangers it might possess. Carr
(2011) then divulged the changes in his own brain. He began to notice
difficulty reading for long stretches at a time and attributed this to the
connectedness he felt when he was online and the hunger for knowledge
and activity when he was not. He recounts the convenience of the Internet
at his fingertips for research, banking, shopping, and communicating
with colleagues, friends, and family. This in turn reduced his ability to
contemplate ideas and sustain attention. The web is changing how people
read, encouraging skimming and scanning for bits of information instead
of reading word for word from the printed page. This fact is evidenced by
Carr and others recalling how they sacrificed depth of thought for the
convenience and quantity of web information.
Carr (2011) warns that while neuroplasticity is a remarkable ability of
the brain, it is also what makes digital technology so dangerous. If a person stops using a mental skill, the brain does not forget the skill but uses
that neurologic space for other skills that are being used. Carr (2011) cites
Doidge on this point, stating that neuroplasticity can "lock us into rigid
bebavior" (Carr, 2011 pg.41). For example, Carr (2011) describes his own
behaviors of interrupting writing to answer a phone call, then an e-mail,
then a text... he cannot stop responding to digital interruptions. On one
hand, plasticity helps to automate skills that are consistently used, conversely; it prunes skills that are not utilized.
According to Carr (2011), technology is changing the way people
think. Attention spans are reverting to a more evolutionary primitive,
sporadic, and shifting mode, constantly seeking new information. One
implication for the classroom is children's difficulty with the quiet deep
thought that Wallace Stevens wrote about when he said, "the house was
quiet and the world was calm" (Carr, 2011, p. 73). The shift from books to
computers to read not only changes the way brains navigate but also the
amount of attention and depth of immersion this requires. E-books will be
segmented and shrunk into snippets as newspapers, videos, and music
have with You Tube, ringtones, et cetera. All the distractions and links
increase inattention and make it more difficult to remember what was
read. The Internet causes superficial reading, thinking, and learning.

Technology From Gutenberg to Google and the Plastic Brain

113

The net seizes attention only to scatter it, preventing deep and creative
thought.
Carr (2011 ) utilizes Small's research to indicate how rapidly the brain
begins to rewire itself. Reading a book is like using a thimble to fill a bathtub, easily transferring information from working to long-term memory.
The Internet uses a thimble to catch water from many faucets at full blast,
only catching a few drops of water. Carr (2011) cites Doidge's reference to
attention deficit symptoms from media and the distractedness from reorienting to catch the droplets from the many faucets.
Carr (2011) devoted a chapter to the evils of Google. He implies that
Google wants to take over the world like a bad sci-fi movie. He goes on to
explain that Google ignores spirituality, emotion, and instinct when
reducing the brain to a computer analogy. Relying on computers as memory storage reduces the richness, depth, and breadth of our minds. The
web places more pressure on working memory, diverting resources from
higher reasoning and interfering with the consolidation of long-term
memory.

APPLICATION FOR EDUCATORS

Despite the fact that Carr does not suggest solutions to these technology induced brain changes, authors, such as Paulfry and Gasser (2008),
insist educators balance the use of technology and utilize it only when it
enhances learning. Teachers employ math games, video clips, and
PowerPoint presentations in the name of innovation and engaging students. Children need to be using technology to learn instead of
teachers using technology as an attention getter. Technology enables
teachers to differentiate instruction and place students in control of
their own learning. Blogging to discuss books, using audio books to
enable struggling readers to participate in literature circles, or utilizing
a dictionary on a handheld device are just a few examples of how technology liberates the student. Instead of passively watching a video, students need to be creators and designers. However, silent, sustained
attention and face-to-face discussions are still a critical part of the learning process (Carr, 2011).
Skills for the 21st century should include two types of thinking: skimming and decision making on the Internet, and the garden-quiet submersion of reading a book. Direct instruction is needed to scaffold the
metacognitive skills of knowing when and how to switch between the two
types of thinking.

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K. HODGE and L. HARMAN

CONCLUSION

Technology will continue to change, and peoples' brains and societal

norms will follow suit. Education in particular has begun to adapt to these
new technologies through distance learning and online platforms in
higher education. Many K-12 schools have incorporated blogs or virtual
field trips. Caming technologies are being employed in schools with an
ever increasing potential for learning. However, all of this perceived freedom in education comes at a cost. Interpersonal skills including communication, empathy, and connectedness suffer greatly as does depth in
knowledge and thinking. Educators of the future will need to purposefully
employ technology for learning while balancing deep tbinking activities.
The Shallows (2011) holds importance for educators who develop or
implement curriculum with two considerations: the individual learning
brain and the instructional technology, and Carr (2011) provides insights
for both.

REFERENCES
Carr, N. (2011). The shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains (1st ed.). New
York, NY: W.W Norton.
Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of Personal triumph from the
frontiers of brain science. New York, NY: Viking: The Penguin Group.
McLuhan, M. M. (1995). Essential McLuhan. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: House of
Anansi.
Faulfrey, J., & Gasser, J. P. (2008). Bom digital: Understanding the flrst generation of
distal natives. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Copyright of Curriculum & Teaching Dialogue is the property of Information Age Publishing
and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without
the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or
email articles for individual use.

Copyright of Curriculum & Teaching Dialogue is the property of Information Age Publishing
and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without
the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or
email articles for individual use.