November 20, 2008
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Been There, Done That
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Been There, THOUGHT That Already…
(Bits & Pieces from the “Can Technology Make Teens Better Writers?” article…)
=”I’ve never believed in pandering to kids: ‘Well, that’s cool, let’s do it that way.’ But we must help school be as engaging as a lot of the things that young people do outside of school,” says Richard Sterling, chair of the advisory board for the National Commission on Writing, executive director emeritus of the National Writing Project and senior fellow at the College Board. “The traditional ways of doing school often give rise to boredom.” [Insert a "duh" here.]
=A teenage boy sitting in front of him spent the better part of nine innings tapping away on his phone, sending text messages to friends. “I suppose some people think, ‘That’s pretty lame. Why doesn’t he watch the game?’ But I was thinking, at what point in history do we have most teen boys and girls constantly writing?” he says with amazement. “It does open up an opportunity for teachers to talk about communication and audience. … I think it’s an exciting time.”
=In classrooms scattered across the country, students are creating blogs, video editorials, wikis, podcasts and electronic portfolios. Several schools across Maine, with the help of the Maine Writing Project, are also tapping the power of digital storytelling, which blends images, video, audio and text to create a narrative, often one that is deeply personal to a student.
= “Things like SAT prompts, they’re very generic and boring. Sometimes it’s hard to construct an entire paper about something you’re not passionate about,” Guay says. Digital storytelling is different. “It’s less mechanical because you can put your personal touch into it, so more kids get into it.”Digital Storytelling = Powerpoint MusicVideo Project!
= In Japan, the latest literary best-sellers are being composed on cell phones. One thumb-tapping woman crafted a book in a series of installments that was then uploaded and e-mailed to thousands of young subscribers to be read on, yes, their cell phones. “There’s a democratizing effect here,” says Kathleen Blake Yancey, president of the National Council of Teachers of English. Recall, she notes, that 19th-century author Charles Dickens wrote his classic novels as serials, a typical format of his day.
= Text messages reflect the “spurts and jolts of ideas and connections — and that’s the way we think.”
Just even thinking, as a related sidenote, about my friend Cheryl and how she texts to her daughters throughout the day. I didn’t have that connection to my parents in my teen years. Will this result in a closer tie between friends and family? Perhaps.
Comments (2)
cool thoughts. and re. your last question, yes, i think so. my teenage son and i text regularly, especially when he’s spending the weekend at a friend’s house or something. and generally it is him initiating the texting. in addition, he is my friend on facebook and myspace, routinely leaving me messages there. his friends have sent me friend invites. my best friend’s kids (also my son’s best friends) are all my friends on facebook and regularly keep in touch. i think the technology we have today definitely benefits young people, both by encouraging the written word, and by enabling relationships to continue in wider circles.
p.s.. and my son HATES that i don’t use caps! makes him absolutely nuts. but not as much as if he ever sees me write “so what r u doing?”
hahahahahahahahahahaha…cell phone literary works! Awesome!