NOTE: This contest is over. The deadline was Friday, November 13th, 2009. Thank you to the students who submitted essays. We’ll announce the winners soon.

Our Digital Literacy Contest tests how well people find and evaluate information online. These are only two parts of ‘digital literacy.’ What about synthesizing?

This fall we’re offering $250 in cash scholarships for a (very short) essay contest. Deadline Fri Nov 13, 2009. Open to all current students at these universities (not just those involved in the Digital Literacy Contest). Here’s the official prompt:

We’re the first generation to grow up immersed in cyberspace. How does this change intelligence – our memories, attention spans, as well as our abilities to focus, reflect and synthesize? Specifically, shape your argument as a response to Nicholas Carr’s Is Google Making Us Stupid? and Jamais Cascio’s Get Smarter. Argue persuasively and concisely in 300 – 500 words. Educators and policy makers need to know what our generation thinks about this issue. Tell them.

Email completed essays to Daniel.Poynter@gnic.org. Our team will select one winner from each of these five universities. Each winner will be mailed a check for $50. Formatting of text doesn’t matter. University staff are welcome to participate but are not eligible for prizes. All submitted essays will get a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike license, and the best will be put online:

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. Others can download and redistribute your work just like the by-nc-nd license, but they can also translate, make remixes, and produce new stories based on your work. All new work based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature.

You may also wish to use/reference this background material:

• The Machine is Us/ing by Michael Wesch
• Future of Humanity: A Map of the Conversation by Daniel Poynter
• Savages, Cyborgs and Saints by Dan Novack
• Blogosphere discussion spurred by Jamais Cascio and Nicholas Carr
• Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact on Society by Adam Thierer

Good luck! =)