Librarians as Wikipedia Contributers

This article proposes librarians as natural contributors to Wikipedia. The emphasis is on university librarians and how they can use Wikipedia to highlight their special collections. This has limited applicability to school libraries, but the article includes an excellent summary of Wikipedias "rules and culture" for potential editors and contributors.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Atlantic writer Nicholas Carr worries that the Internet is changing how we read at a deep psycho-neural level. There seems to be evidence that the brain modifies itself to create thinking patterns that are implicit in the type of reading we do. The author takes this as a bad thing, and feels that "deep reading" abilities will suffer.
However all may not be lost. There is research suggesting that Web surfing , especially in older individuals, enhances decision-making and complex reasoning.
You pay your money and take your choice.

Get a second medical opinion using Internet tools

This article gives a quick overview of some of the beyond-Google Internet health resources that exist. They range from layman-oriented to the highly technical, and exhibit a high degree of accuracy.

Multitasking and Student Performance

Students who can perform multiple tasks, particularly on a computer, are a relatively recent phenomenon. Some recent research indicates multitasking is detrimental to intellectual performance. Check out this review article from National Public Radio (U.S.)

The Future of Reading - Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers

Some authors and publishers are releasing companion games to lure reluctant readers. Is this good or bad?
This NY Times article weighs some of the pros and cons.
The Future of Reading - Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers

Teens, Video Games and Civics

A new Pew Internet Project survey studied the many aspects of the gaming behaviour of teenagers. The study was one of the first to determine the "social and civil" engagement aspects of gaming, and found them to be significant. View the entire report in PDF