This article had some surprising finds to me. The survey consisted of over 2400 middle and high school teachers. The majority felt that mobile technology and the internet has actually shaped the student writing in a good way! Social media and digital technology has made the students more creative. It has broadened their audience and motivated the students to write in more formats than students in the past.
At the same time, the biggest challenge of these new technologies is educating the students more than ever in plagiarism. Also, the use of "informal" language in tweets, Facebook posts and texts has created a problem with the writing.
Benefits of digital technology in writing:
- 96% feel students can share with a wider variety of audience
- 79% agree it allows greater collaboration
- 78% agree it encourages creativity and personal expression
Undesirable effects of digital technology in writing:
- wide use of "informal" language in their writing
- 68% feel digital tools allow students to take short cuts in their writing
- 46% feel these tools cause students to write too fast and be careless
- 40% feel they are more likely to use poor grammar
I have seen first hand how students abbreviate, use slang, and other short cuts in their messaging. This would obviously translate into their writing.
Ultimately, the use of digital technology lies not in the tool itself, but how the tool is used. They are only as valuable as the knowledge behind the user. These tools do not make for better writers. These tools have just given the students more knowledge of what writing should look like. It is our job to teach them how to use these tools to the best of their ability. Do not take these tools for granted, but value what they provide.
Pages read: 114
No comments:
Post a Comment