This article implies that students are finding more ways to express themselves through technology. "Writing" itself has evolved into using a computerized setup in order to accommodate this rapid-paced culture of technological advancements. Though I have been one to embrace these advancements, I can't completely abandon "older" practices of writing. As a computer technician (and a former student teacher) I have seen and experienced first hand, the devastating effects of what happens when computers go out of commission. Taking it to a more drastic measure, if anyone here has seen the TV series "Jericho" when an electromagnetic pulse occurs, there are no more electronics. I don't believe anything that drastic will occur anytime soon, but it is a possibility we cannot forget.
Students don't physically write enough, not like they used to. I'm not saying that students should write three pages in a class period, but practicing hand writing skills isn't a bad idea. I know my handwriting is appalling, and often compared to a doctor's handwriting. It is simply because I type more than I write for many reasons, but in the same respect, I just think computers have made things too easy sometimes. Yes, they are convenient, have spell checkers and thesauruses with one click of a mouse, and it saves time.
Though the article states that kids are writing more than ever, which is wonderful, "Six in 10 teens, however, don't view that as 'writing.'" I can understand this in regards to the text messaging phenomenon. But students are also writing blogs, e-mails, wikis, etc and we need to keep that in mind as English teachers. So where do we draw the line when students are writing more with the use of technology?
(Sorry this is posted late at night. Coincidentally, my Internet has been out of commission for two days!)
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Departments/Elementary/?article=TeensBetterWriters2
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2 comments:
I agree. There are people who would rather handwrite their paper than type it on a computer. And then there are people who would rather type it on a computer than handwrite it because it is quicker.
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