6 on 36: Q&A With Danny Bloom On "Screening" Text Online

They talking about this in Beijing, too.

Screening is defined as: To read text on a computer screen, cellphone screen, Kindle screen or PDA screen or BlackBerry screen; replaces the term “reading” which now only refers to reading print text on paper.

Scott Sykes in Beijing: What the future holds

Scott Sykes, a PR pro in Beijing, says:

"Dan, I agree with you for the most part, reading is going digital, not to mention the fact that digital offers so much more than just text in terms of video, images, sound, etc etc etc. However, I still do read "old fashioned" books :-)

Not necessary to consume the contents of a book in hard-copy format anymore I know, but sometimes it's nice, I don't know, something about the tactile feel perhaps."

Scott's comment mirrors perfectly what Dr Anne Mangen of Norway said in her study, too. See below. And also what author Jane Yolen says in a recent email to this blog:

"For me, the experience of reading a book is both a story experience and a tactile one. Reading on a screen gives me headaches and I lose the sense of bookiness. This is probably an age-related problem, but hey--I am stuck with it. Or on it."




Jane Yolen
www.janeyolen.com

Online v. print reading: which one makes us smarter?
By Coco Ballantyne , [edited by DANNY BLOOM for emphasis and to make a point]


It's no mystery that publications have been taking a beating as more
and more people SCREEN their news on the Net. But there's a catch. The
online info may be instant and abundant -- and in many cases free --
but it may come at a cost, says a new study published in the Journal
of Research in Reading/Screening.

Study author Anne Mangen, an associate prof of literacy studies at
Norway's University of Stavanger, says she discovered that SCREENING
online may not be as rewarding – or effective – as the printed word.
The reasons: The process involves so much physical manipulation of the
computer that it interferes with our ability to focus on and
appreciate what we're SCREENING; online text moves up and down the
screen and lacks physical dimension, robbing us of a feeling of
completeness; and multimedia features, such as links to videos and
animations, leave little room for imagination, limiting our ability to
form our own mental pictures to illustrate what we're SCREENING.

"The visual happenings on the screen… and your physical interaction
with the device is distracting," Mangen says. "All of these things are
taxing on cognition and concentration in a way that a book is not."

Given her findings, Mangen says that the implications of digital
technology should be considered when deciding whether to incorporate
computer teaching tools into classroom instruction. She notes that
online teaching tools, such as electronic books, are being used from
kindergarten up even though there is little research on their effect
on learning and development.

Here is an interesting take on all this from a professor at Rutgers:

Dear Danny

....it seems reasonable to me that "screening" can become a word. New words refresh our experience, heighten perception. They don't hasten old words toward the grave, or the compost, and they don't have to be necessary, or serve any preconceived purpose; they just fall into usage, like a meme, and then, who knows? I can't understand the misplaced hostility toward "screening," and the more arguments I read against it, the less persuaded I become.

Look, Danny, the problem as I see it, people want the world not to change, but they also want to be out ahead of the curve. So, rather than say, well, I don't like Kindles and I don't like screening, they declare ex cathedra, kindles cannot replace books, or screening is a bad word. Because they want to appear rational and deliberate. And powerful--because the idea of changeg makes them feel weak and insecure.

It's like Alfred North Whitehead yelling at Skinner because he felt threatened by Behaviorialism. (No black spider shall fall upon this table!) Fact is, I DON'T like kindles, but if I were 20 I probably would. So there's a generation divide -- and I'm on the wrong side of it, but, it's not so bad to be on the wrong side of it, really. At least it's a side! I love books and reading, but let the young'ns enjoy screening their kindles. It's a tough world you know, and they're lucky to have something of their own..."

SCREENING ONLINE -- NEW TERM FOR READING DIGITAL TEXT

Hi Danny,

I just screened your message. :-)

and your blog posts.



> 1. since you are tech savvy man.....what do you THINK of this new word
> i coined, pro or con.....? it is now accepted on
> urbandictionary.com


I don't know if it'll catch on but then we have "browse" and "surf" so
it just might. I think it has to be one syllable though to really
catch on and "screen" is.


Joey

Read? Paper? Huh?

Read? Paper? Huh?
I love to read. I used to do it all the time. But today, I hardly ever
read books.

Instead, I use the Web for all my reading needs. I've hit a point in
my life when I'm very interested in current world events, and what
better way to stay up on that than with the help of online news sites
and direct sources like Congress.gov that provide outstanding
information on all the issues facing the U.S.? On average, I spend
about two hours each weekday reading the news and perusing different
sites that take an in-depth look into current events.

There is one caveat that I should mention: I subscribe to The New York
Post, a prominent New York City newspaper. Even though it's available
for free online, I love reading the Post each day in my recliner
because it gives me a chance to step away from the computer for a
while. Oh, and the Yankees coverage is outstanding. For me, that's a
major selling point.

Don Reisinger: The bottom line is this: The Web consumes most of my media time

The bottom line is this: The Web consumes most of my media time, or by
some accounting most of my time overall. Based on my logs, I spend (on
average) seven to eight hours per weekday on the Web just reading the
news, trying out different Web services, and talking to friends on
social networks. During the weekends, that number drops to about three
hours per day.

Meanwhile, I spend less than two hours watching television each week
and average just over one movie screening per week. I haven't finished
a book from cover to cover in well over three months. I play video
games often because it's part of my job, but I've noticed that my
average of about one hour of gaming per day has declined a bit over
the past couple weeks.

So am I a Web addict and has it changed the way I consume
entertainment? Yes and yes. As much as I would like to watch more
movies and enjoy more television shows, I won't because I've found
more value online. Maybe I'm the exception instead of the norm, but
there's nothing about the fact that the Web has changed the way I live
my life that feels abnormal to me at all.

Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about
everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is
a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He
is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

So You Think You’re Reading - No Dear You’re SCREENING

So You Think You’re Reading - No Dear You’re Screening

16 Feb 2009


“Reading” online will never be the same! — “Screening” enters the online vocabulary.

Do you “screen” news online, or do you “read” news in print newspapers? — A new word has been coined to refer to reading information online, ...

Guess what? Right now you are screening. This new term has been coined to describe the kind of reading that is done on a computer screen, as opposed t

Guess what? Right now you are screening. This new term has been coined to describe the kind of reading that is done on a computer screen, as opposed to in hard copy. It’s already in the Urban Dictionary, but so are a lot of other words like screensavered (inebriated) and screenplan (plans for your leisure time) that aren’t exactly in our everyday vocabulary.

I think that we certainly do treat screen texts differently, we skim more, our eye moves around the page more and we take off on link paths. But is the actual act of reading changed? If someone reads a story in a newspaper and someone else reads a story on stuff.co.nz - are they significantly different? What do you think?

says RICHARDTHECRUSADER BLOG

The End of the Printed Page, Newspapers, Books and Critical Thinking: Welcome to Screening

The End of the Printed Page, Newspapers, Books and Critical Thinking: Welcome to Screening
The End of the Printed Page, Newspapers, Books and Critical Thinking: Welcome to the Brave New World of "Screening" Which Replaces "Reading" as a Verb

Online v. print reading: which one makes us smarter?

Online v. print reading: which one makes us smarter?
By Coco Ballantyne , edited by DANNY BLOOM without her permission


It's no mystery that publications have been taking a beating as more and more people SCREEN their news on the Net. But there's a catch. The online info may be instant and abundant -- and in many cases free -- but it may come at a cost, says a new study published in the Journal of Research in Reading/Screening.

Study author Anne Mangen, an associate prof of literacy studies at Norway's University of Stavanger, says she discovered that SCREENING online may not be as rewarding – or effective – as the printed word. The reasons: The process involves so much physical manipulation of the computer that it interferes with our ability to focus on and appreciate what we're SCREENING; online text moves up and down the screen and lacks physical dimension, robbing us of a feeling of completeness; and multimedia features, such as links to videos and animations, leave little room for imagination, limiting our ability to form our own mental pictures to illustrate what we're SCREENING.

"The visual happenings on the screen… and your physical interaction with the device is distracting," Mangen says. "All of these things are taxing on cognition and concentration in a way that a book is not."

Given her findings, Mangen says that the implications of digital technology should be considered when deciding whether to incorporate computer teaching tools into classroom instruction. She notes that online teaching tools, such as electronic books, are being used from kindergarten up even though there is little research on their effect on learning and development.

"I know from studying kids' use of the Internet in schools that [there is] the issue of whether kids [stick to] reading," says Janet Schofield, a psychology prof at the University of Pittsburg, noting that "it's very easy [for them] to become distracted, because it takes so little effort to go somewhere else" online. She does not discount, however, that online SCREENING has its pluses, most notably that it provides instant access to more info on topics of interest.

Richard Long of the International SCREENING Association, a nonprofit organization of literacy professionals in Newark, Del., says more research needs to be done to study the effects of online SCREENING on different users. For instance, he says, many older people may absorb more or learn faster by flipping through pages, because their brains have been trained to read hard copy, whereas younger readers may learn faster digitally, because they're accustomed to SCREENING online. "Previous experience has a tremendous impact on rate and thoroughness of learning," he says. "The actual learning phenomenon is the same at the end of the day."

Richard Long of the International Reading Association

Richard Long of the International Reading Association

Abstract: SCREENING VERSUS READING

Abstract:



Reading is a multi-sensory activity, entailing perceptual, cognitive and motor interactions with whatever is being read. With digital technology, reading manifests itself as being extensively multi-sensory - both in more explicit and more complex ways than ever before. In different ways from traditional reading technologies such as the codex, digital technology illustrates how the act of reading is intimately connected with and intricately dependent on the fact that we are both body and mind - a fact carrying important implications for even such an apparently intellectual activity as reading, whether recreational, educational or occupational. This article addresses some important and hitherto neglected issues concerning digital reading, with special emphasis on the vital role of our bodies, and in particular our fingers and hands, for the immersive fiction reading experience.

SCREENING ONLINE VERSUS READING ON PAPER

Online v. print reading: which one makes us smarter?
By Coco Ballantyne



It's no mystery that publications have been taking a beating as more and more people read their news on the Net. But there's a catch. The online info may be instant and abundant -- and in many cases free -- but it may come at a cost, says a new study published in the Journal of Research in Reading.

Study author Anne Mangen, an associate prof of literacy studies at Norway's University of Stavanger, says she discovered that reading online may not be as rewarding – or effective – as the printed word. The reasons: The process involves so much physical manipulation of the computer that it interferes with our ability to focus on and appreciate what we're reading; online text moves up and down the screen and lacks physical dimension, robbing us of a feeling of completeness; and multimedia features, such as links to videos and animations, leave little room for imagination, limiting our ability to form our own mental pictures to illustrate what we're reading.

"The visual happenings on the screen… and your physical interaction with the device is distracting," Mangen says. "All of these things are taxing on cognition and concentration in a way that a book is not."

Given her findings, Mangen says that the implications of digital technology should be considered when deciding whether to incorporate computer teaching tools into classroom instruction. She notes that online teaching tools, such as electronic books, are being used from kindergarten up even though there is little research on their effect on learning and development.

"I know from studying kids' use of the Internet in schools that [there is] the issue of whether kids [stick to] reading," says Janet Schofield, a psychology prof at the University of Pittsburg, noting that "it's very easy [for them] to become distracted, because it takes so little effort to go somewhere else" online. She does not discount, however, that online reading has its pluses, most notably that it provides instant access to more info on topics of interest.

Richard Long of the International Reading Association, a nonprofit organization of literacy professionals in Newark, Del., says more research needs to be done to study the effects of online reading on different users. For instance, he says, many older people may absorb more or learn faster by flipping through pages, because their brains have been trained to read hard copy, whereas younger readers may learn faster digitally, because they're accustomed to working online. "Previous experience has a tremendous impact on rate and thoroughness of learning," he says. "The actual learning phenomenon is the same at the end of the day."

REWRITE:

AND HERE IS MY REWRITE OF COCO'S PIECE:
Online v. print reading: which one makes us smarter?
By Coco Ballantyne , edited by DANNY BLOOM without her permission


It's no mystery that publications have been taking a beating as more and more people SCREEN their news on the Net. But there's a catch. The online info may be instant and abundant -- and in many cases free -- but it may come at a cost, says a new study published in the Journal of Research in Reading/Screening.

Study author Anne Mangen, an associate prof of literacy studies at Norway's University of Stavanger, says she discovered that SCREENING online may not be as rewarding – or effective – as the printed word. The reasons: The process involves so much physical manipulation of the computer that it interferes with our ability to focus on and appreciate what we're SCREENING; online text moves up and down the screen and lacks physical dimension, robbing us of a feeling of completeness; and multimedia features, such as links to videos and animations, leave little room for imagination, limiting our ability to form our own mental pictures to illustrate what we're SCREENING.

"The visual happenings on the screen… and your physical interaction with the device is distracting," Mangen says. "All of these things are taxing on cognition and concentration in a way that a book is not."

Given her findings, Mangen says that the implications of digital technology should be considered when deciding whether to incorporate computer teaching tools into classroom instruction. She notes that online teaching tools, such as electronic books, are being used from kindergarten up even though there is little research on their effect on learning and development.

"I know from studying kids' use of the Internet in schools that [there is] the issue of whether kids [stick to] reading," says Janet Schofield, a psychology prof at the University of Pittsburg, noting that "it's very easy [for them] to become distracted, because it takes so little effort to go somewhere else" online. She does not discount, however, that online SCREENING has its pluses, most notably that it provides instant access to more info on topics of interest.

Richard Long of the International SCREENING Association, a nonprofit organization of literacy professionals in Newark, Del., says more research needs to be done to study the effects of online SCREENING on different users. For instance, he says, many older people may absorb more or learn faster by flipping through pages, because their brains have been trained to read hard copy, whereas younger readers may learn faster digitally, because they're accustomed to SCREENING online. "Previous experience has a tremendous impact on rate and thoroughness of learning," he says. "The actual learning phenomenon is the same at the end of the day."

TWITTER PLUS:.......URGENT ...... Owen ValleyWag.com Are you 'reading' this article or 'screening' it online?

TWITTER PLUS:.......URGENT ...... Are you 'reading' this article or 'screening' it online?



Owen can you report or post on this new word i coined ....SCREENING.... see b...
10:39 AM (9 hours ago)


Owen ThomasDan, Not of interest, sorry!
1:33 PM (6 hours ago)

Owen to Danny aka @BruceNangidge: Repetitious self-promotion will get you banned from commenting. Goodbye!

OWEN, this is NOT self-promotion. Jeez, is everyone paranoid in the USA these days? This is about hearing about a possible new word for reading online. SCREENING. What am I self-promoting? I am promoting a new word. Not for money or profit or fame or job promotion. Egads, Owen, what's wrong with editors these days? Overworked. Underpaid? Under-appreciated?

How about a second opinion, sir?


Owen ThomasLoading...1:33 PM (6 hours ago)

Owen Thomas to me
show details 1:33 PM (6 hours ago) Reply


Dan,

Not of interest, sorry!

- Owen
- Show quoted text -



On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 6:39 PM, Dan Bloom wrote:

Owen

can you report or post on this new word i coined ....SCREENING.... see below


Are you 'reading' this article or 'screening' it online?

By Dan Bloom


If you are reading this comentary in the printed version of this
newspaper, you are "reading" it
in print. But if you are reading it online, on this newspaper's
website, would you be "reading" it or "screening" it?

There's a message here for those readers reading this online. Print
readers might also find this idea worth discussing as well.

To readers online I want to say: What you are doing now is not
reading, but "screening." Yes, you are at this very moment screening
the textprinted digitally on this computer screen. You are not reading
text on a paper surface; you are "screening" this article through the
lens of the computer screen in front of you. Perhaps a new word is
born -- screening!

When a top computer industry writer at the New York Times, John
Markoff, was told
about this new term, he told me in a one-word email note:"Hmmmmmmm." I
think he didn't quite cotton to the new terminology I am proposing.
But at least he was listening. He didn't tell me to get lost, although
maybe that is what he meant.

Screening? Can anyone just coin a new word and make it stick? No, but
new words are coined everyday, and some stick and some don't. Time
will tell whether or not "screening" (to mean "reading information on
a computer screen, as distinct from reading a print newspaper or
magazine or book") will stay with us or not. For now, the word has
been accepted and listed by the editors at urbandictionary.com.

LINK:

Screening has defined there as: "To read text on a computer screen,
cellphonescreen, Kindle screen or PDA screen or BlackBerry screen;
replaces the term "reading" which now only refers to reading print
text on paper."

Example: "I hate reading print newspapers now. I do all my screening online."

The word is so new that most have never heard of it. And many readers,
I am sure, online and reading this newspaper's print edition, will not
agree with the coinage.

James Fallows, an editor for the Atlantic Monthly now living in
Beijing, told me the word was interesting but that he was "not likely
to be an early
adopter of "screening" for two reasons.

"There is already and established and different meaning of "screening" that
could easily be confused here," Fallows said in an email. "The
meaning I have in mind is similar to
"skimming," "reviewing," "categorizing" etc -- going through material
quickly to assess its importance, as opposed to fully concentrating on and
absorbing it."

Fallows added: "The existing meaning of "reading" has been independent
of the medium on
which the words are displayed. We've used the term to apply to words printed
on paper; subtitles on a movie screen; words flashed on neon signs; etc. In
all the cases, regardless of medium, we use "read" to refer to the act of
taking in written symbols by eye and converting them mentally to
words. So, good luck with this idea. I am not opposed to it, but this
is why I'll
stick with "reading" myself."

Amit Gilboa, an Israeli writer living in Singapore and a frequent
visitor to Taipei, told me: "No, it's still reading. Whether in a
book, a print newspaper, chalkboard, whiteboard, it's still reading
words made up of letters. Screening is still reading."

However, Hidetoshi Abe in Japan, said in an email that he likes the new term
and agrees it fits our new Internet age. "I think 'screening' makes
perfect sense to represent the way we now take in information via
computer screens. It's a whole new ballgame," he said in a recent
email.

Reading, of course, is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols
printed on a paper surface for the purpose of deriving meaning
(reading comprehension) and/or constructing meaning, according to
scholars. Written information on a printed page is received by the
retina, processed by the primary visual cortex, and interpreted in
Wernicke's area.

But when we "read" online (or "screen", in the new coinage), the
digitalized information is processed in a different way. Reading
online is not the same thing as reading on a paper surface in a book
or magazine or newspaper.

If you reading this article on the Taipei Times website, you have just
"screened" your very first article online using this new term. You are
now an Internet ''screener''. Congratulations, and welcome to this
brave new world.

When I asked some members of an online reading discussion group what
they thought about the idea of calling online reading "screening"
instead of reading, I received a variety of answers, most of them
negative, but some of them positive as well. Some people liked the
new word that has been proposed, and others said they didn't like it
at all and that
a new word was not necessary.


Said Liz Hill, a reading consultant in North America: "This is very
interesting. Words do
come and go in our language all the
time, and usage is what makes them stick. However, I don't think
"screening" is the right context for replacing the word "read." I
didn't "paper" or "book", before did I? I do agree that we do
something a little differently when reading online,
but for me it involves the ability to connect or forward that
information so easily, rather than the way it appears on the (yes... I
have to say it) screen.A word involving links or chains makes more sense to me."

Annette Goldsmith of the College of Information at Florida State
University opined: "It's an interesting idea, but I think this
particular term is confusing. Screening text could have the same
meaning as screening calls, that is, doing a quick initial check to
see if it's something you choose to hear or read, as opposed to simply
reading it online."

Sharon Schneeberger said: "My definition of reading includes making
meaning of text. That definition if reading remains the same
regardless of the genre or format you are using to access the text."

Schneeberger added: "I think retention has to do with my purpose for
reading. Sometimes online I start to read something and by following
the various links end up finding out something far more interesting.
What I read online is usually shorter and is different than reading a
whole book. Sometimes I read a journal article online, but still that
is not like reading a book.
I do not have a Kindle and wonder what reading a book on it is like. I
agree that how we read is changing."

Jeff Hsieh, a Taiwanese-American college student in California, noted:
"Personally, I
prefer reading from a real, solid, hard copy, whether it is books,
news, or anything. The comoputer screen gets my eyes tired."

Kit Stoltz, a reporter based in Los Angeles, noted: "Maybe be the word
will stick, maybe not, but I'll remember it."

Jalel Sager, an expat editor in Vietnam, said: "The writer in me bridles at
the new word. Frankly, I think 'screening' has too many other closely
related meanings, especially. the one that means "to filter" -- which
is kind of interesting, because that's really that you do when you
read online -- filter information from the online sea."

Jenny Schickley opined: "I don't think the term "screening" to refer
to any print read online is appropriate. I think if you are reading
words it is reading. However, I have noticed the propensity
in myself and my students to skim images and headlines to gather hot
topics or to
attempt to find something more interesting to bother to read in
detail. I would accept the term "screening" to apply to such quick
scanning -- but not to actual
moments when I take the time to read properly."

Anne Moten from Australia said: "I don't know that we can define
reading as something related only to
books, for example, we read maps, and music scores. I think it is more
related to the act than the format."

Allen Bean in London said: "I am wary to qualify or re-name the term
reading -- merely because people are "reading" in different formats."

Waller Hastings of Rutgers University in New Jersey noted: "Before we
get all involved in trying to figure out the "best"
alternative word for ''reading'' on line, maybe we should pause a moment to
determine what it is that we think is so different? "Reading" is, at
minimum, the decoding of text from symbolic representation (the words)
to cognitive concept (the ideas). I read the credits to a movie on the
movie screen, I read the words on traffic signs when I drive the
Interstate, I read text from books, periodicals, and newspapers, I read
things on the Internet. We have used "reading" to refer to the first
three kinds of actions for quite some time - so why do we suddenly need
a new word for the same action applied now to a different interface?"

"As to the idea that we don't fully read text online, well, we don't
always read text in detail in any other situations. I only read movie
credits to identify actors, music, or other details about which I am
curious; I stop reading a road sign when I realize it is not the exit I
am searching for; I skip quickly through a book or a periodical article
if I have only a minimal interest in it, or to quickly pick up the gist.
This latter activity we have traditionally called "skimming." How is
skipping the details in an e-mail any different?"

"I'm all for changing the language to meet new demands, but I frankly
don't see why this is such a demand."

So Dear Reader, what's your take on this new coinage "screening"? Does
it make sense, does it add up, or is it the wrong term for what is
going on online these days? If you have any other words or terms,
you'd like to nominate, please send them to this newspaper in care of
the letters editor.

--
POLAR CITIES:
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com

NEW YEAR'S SONG
http://www.dailymotion.com/songsterhiragana/video/x2yv92_new-year-dance-2008_music

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE (video poem)
http://www.dobhran.com/greetings/GRchildseyes.htm



--
POLAR CITIES:
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com

NEW YEAR'S SONG
http://www.dailymotion.com/songsterhiragana/video/x2yv92_new-year-dance-2008_music

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE (video poem)
http://www.dobhran.com/greetings/GRchildseyes.htm



Reply Forward


Dan Bloom to Owen
show details 7:44 PM (41 minutes ago) Reply


okay, .understand your reluctance, everyone is like when
contronted with new ideas by unknown people...you will be surprised as
this word catches on....mark my words...... SECOND OPINION?...or
better yet, why do not a post mocking my idea, dissing my idea, and
asking reading what they think of screening....I will be you will get
a spirited response....why not try it, mate? dont

The "screening" versus "reading" debate continues. -- Are you screening or reading this?

The "screening" versus "reading" debate continues. -- Are you screening or reading this?


The "screening" versus "reading" debate continues. -- Are you screening
or reading here?

by Dan E. Bloom

When RushPRnews ran an article the other day
about the casual coining of a
new term to represent the action of reading text on a computer screen,
the reaction from readers around the country was fast and furious.

Some agreed with the article's theme, others didn't. Some liked the
new word that has been proposed, and others said they didn't and that
a new word was not necessary.

http://www.rushprnews.com/2009/02/16/so-you-think-youre-reading-no-dear-youre-screening/

Said reader/screener Liz Hill: "This is very interesting. Words do
come and go in our language all the
time, and usage is what makes them stick. However, I don't think
"screening" is the right context for replacing the word "read." I
didn't "paper" or "book", before did I? I do agree that we do
something a little differently when reading online,
but for me it involves the ability to connect or forward that
information so easily, rather than the way it appears on the (yes... I
have to say it) screen.A word involving links or chains makes more sense to me."

Annette Goldsmith of the College of Information at Florida State
University opined: "It's an interesting idea, but I think this
particular term is confusing. Screening text could have the same
meaning as screening calls, that is, doing a quick initial check to
see if it's something you choose to hear or read, as opposed to simply
reading it online."

Sharon Schneeberger said: "My definition of reading includes making
meaning of text. That definition if reading remains the same
regardless of the genre or format you are using to access the text."

Schneeberger added: "I think retention has to do with my purpose for
reading. Sometimes online I start to read something and by following
the various links end up finding out something far more interesting.
What I read online is usually shorter and is different than reading a
whole book. Sometimes I read a journal article online, but still that
is not like reading a book.
I do not have a Kindle and wonder what reading a book on it is like. I
agree that how we read is changing."

Jeff Hsieh, a college student in California, noted: "Personally, I
prefer reading from a real, solid, hard copy, whether it is books,
news, or anything. The comoputer screen gets my eyes tired."

Kit Stoltz, a reporter based in Los Angeles, noted: "Maybe be the word
will stick, maybe not, but I'll remember it."

Jalel Sager, an editor in Vietnam, said: "The writer in me bridles at
the new word. Frankly, I think 'screening' has too many other closely
related meanings, especially. the one that means "to filter" -- which
is kind of interesting, because that's really that you do when you
read online -- filter information from the online sea."

Jenny Schickley opined: "I don't think the term "screening" to refer
to any print read online is appropriate. I think if you are reading
words it is reading. However, I have noticed the propensity
in myself and my students to skim images and headlines to gather hot
topics or to
attempt to find something more interesting to bother to read in
detail. I would accept the term "screening" to apply to such quick
scanning -- but not to actual
moments when I take the time to read properly."

Anne Moten from Australia said: "I don't know that we can define
reading as something related only to
books, for example, we read maps, and music scores. I think it is more
related to the act than the format."

Allen Bean in London said: "I am wary to qualify or re-name the term
reading -- merely because people are "reading" in different formats."

Waller Hastings of Rutgers University in New Jersey noted: "Before we
get all involved in trying to figure out the "best"
alternative word for ''reading'' on line, maybe we should pause a moment to
determine what it is that we think is so different? "Reading" is, at
minimum, the decoding of text from symbolic representation (the words)
to cognitive concept (the ideas). I read the credits to a movie on the
movie screen, I read the words on traffic signs when I drive the
Interstate, I read text from books, periodicals, and newspapers, I read
things on the Internet. We have used "reading" to refer to the first
three kinds of actions for quite some time - so why do we suddenly need
a new word for the same action applied now to a different interface?"

"As to the idea that we don't fully read text online, well, we don't
always read text in detail in any other situations. I only read movie
credits to identify actors, music, or other details about which I am
curious; I stop reading a road sign when I realize it is not the exit I
am searching for; I skip quickly through a book or a periodical article
if I have only a minimal interest in it, or to quickly pick up the gist.
This latter activity we have traditionally called "skimming." How is
skipping the details in an e-mail any different?"

"I'm all for changing the language to meet new demands, but I frankly
don't see why this is such a demand."

So Dear Reader, what's your take on this new coinage "screening"? Does
it make sense, does it add up, or is it the wrong term for what is
going on online these days? If you have any other words or terms,
you'd like to nominate, please email them in to this blog here.

Maybe this story should not have been 'screened'

Maybe this story should not have been 'screened'


By Dan Bloom

What you are doing now is not reading, but "screening." Yes, you are at this very moment screening the textprinted digitally on this computer screen. You are not reading text on a paper surface; you are "screening" this article through the lens of the computer screen in front of you. A new word is born -- screening!

When a top computer industry writer at the New York Times was told about this new term, he responded in a one-word email note:"Hmmmmmmm."

Screening? Can anyone just coin a new word and make it stick? No, but new words are coined every day, and some stick and some don't. Time will tell whether or not "screening" (to mean "reading information on a computer screen, as distinct from reading a print newspaper or
magazine or book") will stay with us or not. For now, the word has been accepted and listed by the editors at urbandictionary.com.

Screening is defined as: "To read text on a computer screen, cellphonescreen, Kindle screen or PDA screen or BlackBerry screen; replaces the term "reading" which now only refers to reading print text on paper."

Example: "I hate reading print newspapers now. I do all my screening online."

The word is so new, not everyone has seen it yet. And many do not agree with its coinage.

Amit Gilboa, an Israeli writer living in Singapore, declared: "No, it's still reading. Whether in a book, a print newspaper, chalkboard, whiteboard, it's still reading words made up of letters. Screening is still reading."

However, Hidetoshi Abe in Tokyo, Japan, told this reporter he likes the new term and agrees it fits our new Internet age. "I think 'screening' makes perfect sense to represent the way we now take in information via computer screens. It's a whole new ballgame."

Reading, of course, is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols printed on a paper surface for the purpose of deriving meaning (reading comprehension) and/or constructing meaning, according to scholars. Written information on a printed page is received by the retina, processed by the primary visual cortex, and interpreted in Wernicke's area.

But when we "read" online (or "screen", in the new coinage), the digitalized information is processed in a different way. Reading online is not the same thing as reading on a paper surface in a book or magazine or newspaper.

You have just "screened" your very first article online using this new term. You are now an Internet screener. Congratulations, and welcome
to this amazing new world.

Bloom may be contacted at danbloom@gmail.com

"Reading" online will never be the same! -- "Screening" enters the culture!

"Reading" online will never be the same! -- "Screening" enters the
online vocabulary.

Do you "screen" news online, or do you "read" news in print
newspapers? -- A new word has been coined to refer to reading
information online, changing the way we take in information

by Dan Bloom

What you are doing now is not reading, but
"screening." Yes, you are at this very moment screening the text
printed digitally on this computer screen. You are not reading text on
a paper surface; you are "screening" this article through the lens of
the computer screen in front of you. A new word is born -- screening!

When a top computer industry writer at the New York Times was told
about this new term, he told RushPRnews in a one-word email note:
"Hmmmmmmm."

Screening? Can anyone just coin a new word and make it stick? No, but
new words are coined every day, and some stick and some don't. Time
will tell whether or not "screening" (to mean "reading information on
a computer screen, as distinct from reading a print newspaper or
magazine or book") will stay with us or not. For now, the word has
been accepted by the editors at urbandictionary.com and is listed
here:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=screening

Screening is defined as: "To read text on a computer screen, cellphone
screen, Kindle screen or PDA screen or BlackBerry screen; replaces the
term "reading" which now only refers to reading print text on paper."

Example: "I hate reading print newspapers now. I do all my screening online."

The word is so new, not everyone has seen it yet. And many do not
agree with its coinage.
Amit Gilboa, an Israeli writer living in Singapore, told RushPRnews:
"No, it's still reading. Whether in a book, a print newspaper,
chalkboard, whiteboard, it's still reading words made up of letters.
Screening is still reading."

However, Hidetoshi Abe in Tokyo, Japan, told this reporter he likes
the new term and agrees it fits our new Internet age. "I think
'screening' makes perfect sense to represent the way we now take in
information via computer screens. It's a whole new ballgame."

Reading, of course, is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols
printed on
a paper surface for the purpose of deriving meaning (reading
comprehension) and/or constructing meaning, according to scholars.
Written information on a
printed page is received by the retina, processed by the primary
visual cortex, and interpreted in Wernicke's area.

But when we "read" online (or "screen", in the new coinage), the
digitalized information is processed in a different way. Reading
online is the same thing as reading on a paper surface in a book or
magazine or newspaper.

Reading on a print paper surface is a means of language acquisition,
of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Screening on
the Internet is a horse
of a different color.

Readers of print paper texts use a variety of reading strategies to
assist with decoding (to translate symbols into sounds or visual
representations of language), and comprehension. Screening online uses
other strategies, and the information is processed by our brains in a
different way as well.

Reading text on print paper is now an important way for the general
population in many societies to access information and make meaning.
However, a new form of reading, called "screening" now takes place when a
person "reads" text on a computer screen or PDA screen or cellphone
screen. This form of reading, now called "screening", is a very
different form of communcation.

You have just "screened" your very first article online using this new
term. You are now an Internet screener. Congratulations, and welcome
to this amazing new world.

Comments are more than welcome, pro and con.

The End of the Printed Page, Newspapers, Books and Critical Thinking: Welcome to the Brave New World of "Screening" Which Replaces "Reading" as a Verb

The End of the Printed Page, Newspapers, Books and Critical Thinking: Welcome to the Brave New World of "Screening" Which Replaces "Reading" as a Verb

Verb 1.

screening, the act of reading text or viewing text and pictures on a TV screen, cellphone screen, PDA screen or a computer screen, replaced the verb "reading" in the year 2009 AD since most people at that time where getting their information from using TV, phone and computer screens.

examples:

"I don't like rreading anymore on paper, and I never read newspapers anymore. I prefer to do my screening online."

18 year old student, Harvey Mudd University

I never read newspapers anymore, I spend most of my spare time just screening online and get my information that way," said high school student Ellen Jones.

SCREENING REPLACES READING AS A VERB, headline in New York Times reads in 2010

Noun 1. screening - the display of a motion picture
showing, viewing
display - exhibiting openly in public view; "a display of courage"
preview - a screening for a select audience in advance of release for
the general public
2. screening - fabric of metal or plastic mesh
cloth, fabric, textile, material - artifact made by weaving or felting
or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers; "the fabric in
the curtains was light and semitransparent"; "woven cloth originated
in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC"; "she measured off enough material for
a dress"
screen - a protective covering consisting of netting; can be mounted
in a frame; "they put screens in the windows for protection against
insects"; "a metal screen protected the observers"
3. screening - the act of concealing the existence of something by
obstructing the view of it; "the cover concealed their guns from enemy
aircraft"
masking, cover, covering
concealing, hiding, concealment - the activity of keeping something secret
4. screening - testing objects or persons in order to identify those
with particular characteristics
testing - an examination of the characteristics of something; "there
are laboratories for commercial testing"; "it involved testing
thousands of children for smallpox"
genetic screening - analyzing a group of people to determine genetic
susceptibility to a particular disease; "genetic screening of infants
for phenylketonuria"

Definitions of screening on the Web:

the display of a motion picture
fabric of metal or plastic mesh
cover: the act of concealing the existence of something by obstructing
the view of it; "the cover concealed their guns from enemy aircraft"
testing objects or persons in order to identify those with particular
characteristics
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

The Screening is a 2007 film directed by G. Cameron Romero.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screening

Screening, in medicine, is a strategy used in a population to detect a
disease in individuals without signs or symptoms of that disease. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screening_(medicine)

Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone
imagery through the use of equally spaced dots of varying
size.Campbell, Alastair. The Designer's Lexicon. (c)2000 Chronicle,
San Francisco. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screening_(printing)

Screening in economics refers to a strategy of combating adverse
selection, one of the potential decision-making complications in cases
of ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screening_(economics)

Mesh material that is used to screen (as in a "screen door"); The
process of checking or filtering
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/screening

Screened - Projection screens are installations consisting of blank
surface and a support structure used for displaying a projected image
for the view of an ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screened

examination of a group of usually asymptomatic individuals to detect
those with a high probability of having a given disease.
www.mshri.on.ca/colorectalcancer/definitions.html

The showing of a film for test audiences and/or people involved in the
making of the movie.
www.playwriting101.com/glossary

Exhibition of a movie, typically at a cinema.
www.teako170.com/glossary5.html

checking for disease when there are no symptoms.
www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.cfm

a test done on healthy people to detect tumors before they become
apparent. A mammogram is a screening test.
india.smashits.com/wikipedia/Cancer

the search for disease, such as cancer, in people without symptoms.
For example, the principal screening measure for breast cancer is
mammography. ...
www.mesothelioma-line.com/articles/glossary/

Pharmacological or toxicological screening consists of a specified set
of procedures to which a series of compounds is subjected to
characterize pharmacological and toxicological properties and to
establish dose- effect and dose- response relationships. [IUPAC Tox]
www.genomicglossaries.com/content/Assays.asp

Screening is the process of early diagnosis of a disease, ie
identification of disease or risk factors for the disease in its
pre-symptomatic or ...
www.collegeboard.com/yes/ae/gloss.html

The testing of an otherwise healthy person in order to diagnose
disorders at an early stage.
www.ahrq.gov/data/hcup/factbk2/glossary.htm

Contacting, qualifying and inviting respondents to participate in
additional research.
www.marketresearchterms.com/s.php

Tests that sort out apparently well persons who probably have a
disease from those who probably do not. If positive, they would be
referred to a physician for diagnosis.
www.cprit.state.tx.us/impact/glossary.html

This is the presumptive identification of unrecognized disease or
behaviour by using tests, examinations, questionnaires and other
procedures. Screening sorts people into positives and negatives or
normals. People who are positive will probably require further
investigation. ...
nzdl.sadl.uleth.ca/cgi-bin/library

The application of certain procedures to a denned population of
pupils, usually a whole age group, to identify pupils likely to
experience learning difficulties.
www.dg.dial.pipex.com/documents/docs1/bullock29.shtml

A municipal surface water treatment plant must first screen or sieve
out large objects such as trash and leaves. The tighter the mesh of
the sieve, the smaller the particles must be to pass through. ...
www.fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/Water_purification

Brief check of a patient's mouth to determine basic needs and
appropriate area for future scheduling.
www.janela1.com/vh/docs/v0001418.htm

(Process) Having separated various sized particles by passing over
and/or through screens (AAFCO, 2000).
www.fao.org/docrep/005/y1453e/y1453e06.htm

stands for the cleaning of pulp of foreign substances.
www.metsabotnia.com/en/default.asp

is a preliminary process for identifying pupils who may be at risk of
future difficulty in a particular area and who therefore maybe a
priority for intervention. ...
www.european-agency.org/site/themes/assessment/docs/glossary.doc

Testing a population group to identify individuals at high risk of
having or transmitting a specific genetic disorder.
depts.washington.edu/cgph/GeneticTestingGlossary.htm

An illegal tactic by a player or players to block the view of their
teammate's serve from the opposing team.
www.nbcolympics.com/beachvolleyball/insidethissport/glossary/newsid=118858.html

Rotating or static screens which capture large particles, eg leaves and fish.
hsc.sca.nsw.gov.au/biology/terms-and-definitions

Screening is a health service in which members of a defined
population, who do not necessarily perceive they are at risk of, or
are already affected by, a disease or its complications, are asked a
question or offered a test to identify those individuals who are more
likely to be helped than ...
www.nsu.govt.nz/Health-Professionals/2419.asp

Applying social and/or environmental criteria to investments, in
addition to purely financial criteria. Negative screening involves
avoiding investments in companies with bad social and/or environmental
records. ...
www.goodmoney.com/diction.htm

is when healthy children and adults are tested to see if they are
likely to develop a condition. Screening tests don't generally confirm
that ...
www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/newborn/glossary/index.htm

Tests that are given to check for early signs of disease in people who
have no symptoms. Screening can identify potential disease very early
when treatment is most effective.
www.mass.gov/