We have discussed many times in class how texting and the new technologies in our world could be negatively affecting our writing and communication skills. I found an article that states otherwise. This article states that texting can actually improve children's writing and reading capabilities. There was a study done at Coventry University by researchers as they studied 88 children between the ages of 10 and 12. Their studies show that texting is helping children in writing and reading skills and that children are able to distiguish between the appropriate times to use "textisms".
What do you think?
I think that it is very possible that texting could help the upcoming generations. Not to say that there aren't limits. There are! But as I mentioned in class once, I learned how to type fast and type correctly using instant messenger. These new technologies force our brains and writing skills to work quickly and appropriately. So maybe texting is to these kids what instant messaging was to me. One lady states in the article also that "we tend to get better at things that we do for fun." I agree....learning to type in class was horrible and I hated it, but instant messaging with my friends was fun and I wanted to do it.
I think learning and basic skills should sometimes be approached as if there is a product to be sold.....we need to appeal to the audience. Most children love to learn, but it needs to be a way of learning that appeals to them and their generation's way of life.
What do you all think? Is it easier for children to learn writing/reading skills if it is fun? Or do we need to maintain the structured way of teaching things that most of us went through.
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9 years ago
That article is extremely interesting. I realize that texting and instant messaging can help improve typing speed, but I never thought of it as a positive thing for writing. You and the article bring up many good points, such as "we tend to get better at things that we do for fun." I guess I am going to have to think more about this issue. One thing that still concerns me is that words are so poorly spelled in texts. Also the sample size of 88 seems pretty small.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, especially in comparison to my post. I think it probably could go either way, depending on how the person uses texting. As everyday communication, I think it can be positive. On the other hand, using it to send nude or semi-nude photos and promiscuous texts when you're a teen could have a really negative outcome. I could see this going either way!
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