Primarily, the article is a reaction to the NY Times story published this Sunday. My initial reaction to the data -- compiled by the Pew Center's Internet and American Life Project -- was surprise, primarily because I'm behind the bloggo-wagon. However, it became more apparent to me that, as I read through Mathew's article, the times, they are a-changin'. With respect to professional educators, I find that the underlying point of this article is that the Internet and, most importantly, the up-and-coming generation of ankle-biters, are malleable, ever-changing entities.
As a twenty-three year-old, riding wildly on the cusp of the so-called "Age of Digital Natives," I've personally witnessed and participated in a massive technological revolution, especially in regards to my field of content. People are constantly developing newer and more efficient methods of delivering information. It's hard to believe that only within my short lifetime, I have utilized such an expansive list of writing and publishing technologies, ranging from pen-and-paper to home-made YouTube videos and from typewriters to blogs.
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| English teachers must increasingly adapt to new writing technologies. |
So what does this mean for the world of the English educator? Gone are the days of slow writing, reading, listening, and speaking! I personally believe that students harbor a disconnect from the old-fashioned methods of writing papers and creating tangible representations of their thoughts and ideas. This is no surprise. Why should they have to worry about pencil lead stains and hand cramps when they can easily plug in their thoughts with a smartphone?
The fact of the matter is that some skills and competencies are beginning to become outdated in our shifting, breathing society. A good example would be the use of cursive writing. Although I, personally, write in cursive, I see far less of my peers utilize the writing technique. They oftentimes complain about its un-readability and difficulty; they would much rather simply print, or, better yet, use Microsoft Word. Because of this writing paradigm shift, I fail to see the purpose of teaching it in the classroom -- aside from its supposed ability to make writing much faster -- when teachers could make better use instructing on other topics in its place, such as how to use and incorporate the Microsoft Office suite or other methods of technological writing.
So, if there's a shift in the speed of technology and the tools kids are using to communicate with one another on a global scale, why not embrace and use that in lessons and assessments?
-Mr.G
Image courtesy of Search Engine People Blog.
You wrote:
ReplyDeleteSo what does this mean for the world of the English educator? Gone are the days of slow writing, reading, listening, and speaking!
I was right with you when I was your age (ahh, it's been a long five years since then...) but I have come to realize that, as I tweeted the other night, When we as teachers feel like our students are writing "too much" it means they've just begun to write enough.
Let's make sure we're taking the time to think about what writing is. At its most basic level, writing is the synthesis of ideas. Students can never have too much of that. Take for example, Defend Yourself Fridays (http://www.russgoerend.com/2011/01/defend-yourself-fridays.html) I knew my students weren't writing enough, so instead of challenging them to write more on their blogs (http://kidblog.org/2017Purple) I made sure they were writing by providing mentally stimulating prompts to respond to.
I think I'm reading too far into what you've said, but I also know that as an edu-blogger, I appreciate comments that at least get me thinking. I hope this has done that for you.
Russ (the other Mr. G)
Russ:
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for taking the time to read, I really appreciate it!
I probably should have made my point more clear when I was blogging that day! I totally agree with your points about the nature of and importance of writing.
What I was saying was that we should push teachers to embrace technology as a way to write in abundance and with less physical materials (such as paper and pencils). Students don't want to have to physically write what comes to mind. It's slow and tedious. They want immediacy, not lead stains on their hands!
I would be interested in seeing some of your prompts. Do you have a book that you refer to? Or do you spend time coming up with them on your own?
Thanks for showing me the kidblog, because I'd never seen it. I love the simplicity of its format! Your kids look like they're writing and publishing some awesome work. I would be extremely proud to have a class like that.
-Mr. G