I H8 2 READ THIS GARBAGE: Coming To Grips With Technology

With the new school year beginning in just over two weeks and professional workshops looming in the more immediate future, my mind has started spinning over how to incorporate technology in the classroom.  While I acknowledge that blogs, Tweets, GoogleDocs, and other such marvels can engage today's students, there is one by-product that I can't stand: text lingo.

As a teacher, it is beyond frustrating to grade papers that include such treasures as, "H8ers gonna h8, but YOLO," or "I 4got to read this chapter - LOL" (maybe the former was an exaggeration, but U get the picture).  I remind myself that these students have grown up in the technological age and it is my job to correct their writing and help them learn when to adjust their work for a specific audience. At times, it feels like a losing battle.  That's when I begin to contemplate the complete elimination of technology in my classroom.  Today, however, I read an article from ABC News that has forced me to realize that it might just be me who needs to make some changes.  The following is an excerpt:

Social Media Makes for Better Student Writing, Not Worse, Teachers Say

By JOANNA STERN - July 16, 2013

 Occasionally, Jennifer Woollven, an English teacher at West Lake High School in Austin, Texas, finds some Twitter speak -- a FWIW or an "ur" -- in a paper. But most of the time she finds that her students are paying a lot more attention when it comes to their writing assignments, especially when they know it might be shared via Twitter itself. 

"As an English teacher who is trying to improve student writing, one thing I see is that people are seeing greater ownership of their writing when they know it will be seen beyond the class and the teacher," Woollven, 40, said. 

She has many of her 10th-grade students post their essays and creative-writing assignments on blogs. 

Woollven's students aren't the only ones who have found motivation, thanks to digital tools and social media. A study released today by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and the National Writing Project has found that 78 percent of high school teachers agree that digital technologies "encourage student creativity and personal expression." 

And to add to that, 96 percent agree that digital technologies "allow students to share their work with a wider and more varied audience." 

Encouraging Collaboration, Creativity
Joel Malley, 38, has found the same thing in his ninth- and 12th-grade English classes at Cheektowaga High School in upstate New York. 

"It creates a culture of creativity," he said. "They know it will be watched and viewed. It won't just sit in a closet," Malley said of his students' digital story-telling projects, which include everything from blog posts to documentary videos.

To read the article in its entirety, visit  http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/social-media-makes-student-writing-worse-teachers/story?id=19677570

While I will never - repeat - NEVER give up the quest to teach my students that they should write "your" instead of "UR" in an academic paper, I must reconsider how I incorporate technology in my classes.  As the old saying goes, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

                                                      Image provided by Google Images