Sosnoski, "Hyper-readers and Their Reading Engines"
Sosnoski, James. “Hyper-readers and their Reading Engines.” Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st
Century Literacies, edited by Gail E. Hawisher and Cynthia L. Selfe, Utah State University Press‐NCTE, 1999, pp. 161‐177.
In this chapter, Sosnoski details the ways in which reading on screen, or hyper-reading, is different from reading in print. He lists eight characteristics of hyper-reading: filtering, skimming, pecking, imposing, filming, trespassing, de-authorizing, and fragmenting. He encourages us to develop a praxis of hyper-reading, that is, to develop pedagogical strategies to help others become hyper-readers. He acknowledges that these practices would change as our technology changes. While Sosnoski’s notion of hyper-reading is fairly accurate to many real life reading habits online or on screen, sometimes, his characteristics of hyper-reading seem like generalizations: we don’t always skim everything we read online, we don’t always peck around for information, and there are many times that we read online news articles or other texts from start to finish. Nevertheless, it shows how reading online can be very different, and we use very different skills when reading in this sort of medium. Additionally, Sosnoski’s characteristics of hyper-reading all suggest interactive elements of reading. The user is not merely an outsider reading words from a page; rather, they are utilizing aspects of technology to perform actions and engage with the text more frequently and obviously than they had before. If we agree that people read on screen differently than they do in print, we may need to take into account the characteristics of hyper-reading for online writing courses. Moreover, we would likely do well to instruct our students in the kind of digital literacy skills that will help them be successful reading and engaging with content on screen and online.
Century Literacies, edited by Gail E. Hawisher and Cynthia L. Selfe, Utah State University Press‐NCTE, 1999, pp. 161‐177.
In this chapter, Sosnoski details the ways in which reading on screen, or hyper-reading, is different from reading in print. He lists eight characteristics of hyper-reading: filtering, skimming, pecking, imposing, filming, trespassing, de-authorizing, and fragmenting. He encourages us to develop a praxis of hyper-reading, that is, to develop pedagogical strategies to help others become hyper-readers. He acknowledges that these practices would change as our technology changes. While Sosnoski’s notion of hyper-reading is fairly accurate to many real life reading habits online or on screen, sometimes, his characteristics of hyper-reading seem like generalizations: we don’t always skim everything we read online, we don’t always peck around for information, and there are many times that we read online news articles or other texts from start to finish. Nevertheless, it shows how reading online can be very different, and we use very different skills when reading in this sort of medium. Additionally, Sosnoski’s characteristics of hyper-reading all suggest interactive elements of reading. The user is not merely an outsider reading words from a page; rather, they are utilizing aspects of technology to perform actions and engage with the text more frequently and obviously than they had before. If we agree that people read on screen differently than they do in print, we may need to take into account the characteristics of hyper-reading for online writing courses. Moreover, we would likely do well to instruct our students in the kind of digital literacy skills that will help them be successful reading and engaging with content on screen and online.
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