The essay that I chose to work with for prompt 3 is called The Internet Can Harm, But Can Also Be A Child’s Best Tool For Learning, by Sugata Mitra. This essay is about how the author feels that when used correctly the internet can be a helpful tool for children to learn. He goes against the perception that the internet is misleading for to children. If adults are able to make the internet into a safe environment children will be able to use it to their advantage. They have the opportunity to learn what ever they want and to communicate with anyone from around the world. I am choosing this essay because it supports my claim that the internet can be used as a tool to our advantage for pursuing life purpose. I will be able to use Mitra’s essay as evidence for the claims I plan to make and to help go against the naysayers. Mitra acknowledges the opposing side to his claim throughout his essay so I will be able to use his arguments to support my own. I consider this source acceptable for a couple of reasons. I found this essay on the site The Guardian and it was published in 2013 so the information is relevant and not outdated. The Guardian is a trustworthy site because it is a well known news source and I have also been assigned to read articles from this site for other classes. Based of the CRAAP test that we learned about in class the other day I would say this source is acceptable. This article is current, relevant to the topic for prompt 3, has an author who has also spoken at TEDx talks, is supported by evidence, and has the purpose of educating people and presents multiple sides of his issue.
I also choose to work with this essay because I feel like I will be able to make connections between Mitra’s essay, Wasik’s “My Crowd Experiment”, and to Anderson’s “In Defense of Distraction”. Both Mitra’s essay and Wasik’s essay explain how the internet can be used as a tool. Anderson’s essay talks about how distraction can be a good thing for young people and for people trying to create something. All of these texts show the benefits of the internet and technology. I will also be able to make connections between Mitra’s and Wasik’s essays because they both talk about how the internet can help people pursue their purposes. Wasik was able to make something out of nothing with his mob project experiment and Mitra talks about how children can pursue what ever they want because of the internet’s unlimited possibilities.
I’m happy you chose a text that reflects on the uses of technology in the classroom (as opposed to the disadvantages). I commend you on referencing the CRAAP test. Great work.