and How Writing is Taught in Schools. . Retrieved June 8, 2014, from
http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-
media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_NWP%20Writing%20and%20Tech.pdf
As I sit at my dining room with papers spread all around I begin to wonder if I will see the words, "U", "4-ever", or "luv" ever spelled correctly again! For those of you who have not guessed it yet, I am an ELAR teacher. Yes, I do love my job and I find it extremely gratifying but what I do seem to be annoyed with and what makes me want to run down the street screaming is the amount of "texting" language that has made its way into the personal narratives my students have turned in for me to read and grade.
The digital era has made our lives easier and more accessible but has it harmed us and our future generations? I read through research that was done by the National Writing Project and PEW Research Center on how digital tools have impacted our student writing. I must say I felt that they were right on target with most of their findings. I honestly would have fit in with the majority of the educators they randomly chose to survey and conduct focus groups with. They found that the majority of teachers thought that digital tools such as texting, social media, or blogging are having positive impacts on our students writing. I was ready to stomp my feet and point my finger at this point in the article but soon found myself shaking my head in agreement. I had never really thought about it but they pointed out that kids today technically write more than I ever did (and no I am not that old)! We did not have cell phones for texting or face timing, emails, blogs, wikis, Twitter, or Facebook. We had good old paper, pencil, and the U.S. Postal Service. Our students write everyday and sometimes all day long. It just happens to be shorter and more precise than what we remember.
Below are some key points of pro's and con's that digital tools have had on our students writing.
easel.ly
You can see by the graph that the pro's truly outweigh the con's. Improving spelling and getting students to slow down on work are small tasks compared to the benefits digital tools are giving our students. They are sharing their writing, their personal thoughts and feelings, and their beliefs more openly and creatively. This is a huge achievement and I personally feel that we need to embrace it and push it along more. I did find it interesting that ELAR teachers were the ones that were the least bothered by the informal writing creeping into the formal writing. Science and History teachers being the ones most bothered. I thought they would be more okay with shorthand and truncated.
The biggest issue I see with the new technology writing tools is the possibility for plagiarism and violations of the Fair Use Act to increase. This is another easy fix to me, spend more time teaching about these two topics and then TRUST your students to make the correct choice. Writing effectively is an essential skill. We want our students to be able to think deeply, synthesize information, and express themselves confidently and completely. If digital tools will aid in this then I do not see any reason to limit or ignore their use at all.
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I find myself checking the dictionary and avoid shortening my words when I text or post messages. I really think it affects the way I write when I don't have spell check to do it for me. I found it interesting that teens write more because all of their social interactions. I wouldn't have seen it that way but it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteVery easy to follow infographic! I like it!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your infograph! Thank you for sharing. It is an very interesting topic as there are advantages and disadvantages, as you pointed out.
ReplyDelete