First hour: How have smartphones changed reading and learning, and what can we do to improve literacy?
Second hour: Dialogue on Disability - Previewing the film, "Under the Lights," and discussing what it's like to live with epilepsy
Research shows that student well-being and test scores have dropped across the globe since 2012. That’s the year smartphones and social media emerged as a defining aspect of many young people’s lives. The data also shows that Americans are reading fewer books than in previous years. What is the impact? Our guests discuss technology’s role in learning and literacy, and what it will take to reverse the trends. In studio:
- Laquanda M. Fields, director of community engagement for the Rochester chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and librarian at Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School #19 in the Rochester City School District
- Chad Post, publisher of Open Letter Press
Then in our second hour, filmmaker Miles Levin says he’s part of “an enormous, yet invisible community.” Levin has epilepsy, and his short film, “Under the Lights,” is based on his experience living with the condition. It tells the story of a high school senior with epilepsy who goes to prom, just wanting to feel “normal.” Levin will lead a conversation about the film on Wednesday for EPI, but first, we discuss it all on Connections. Our guests:
- Miles Levin, director of “Under the Lights”
- Geoffrey Batterby, EPI camp participant
- Michael Radell, education coordinator and camp director for EPI
This story is reported from WXXI’s Inclusion Desk, and is part of Dialogue on Disability -- a partnership between WXXI and Al Sigl Community of Agencies -- in conjunction with the Herman and Margaret Schwartz Community Series.
