Author Archive
I recently watched David Crystal’s talk Tweets and Texts – Myths and Realities. Crystal attempts to dispell the top five myths regarding texting and tweeting, stating that “technology is not the enemy.” I found his information very interesting. I have been thinking about two of the myths in particular – that texts and tweets are full of new abbreviations and a new-fangled language that is negatively impacting our ability to use the English language, and that texting is ruining young people’s ability to spell and use correct grammar. Crystal feels that both statements are myths, but I will argue that one, in my experience, is seemingly a reality.
Crystal had me hooked when he said that technology is not the enemy. I have been witness to teachers who treat technology as the enemy and not only refuse to use it in the classroom, but also refuse to embrace the fact that it is not going to go away! Students often DO know more about technology than their teachers, and that may be unnerving to some, but it is a fact that they should accept. I liked how Crystal compared today’s technology to yesterday’s inventions. Texting and tweeting is a more (rather, MUCH more) efficient version of a telegram. A message was relayed through very few characters – that is nothing new. Those who argue that texting’s abbreviated method of writing is ruining the English language forget that telegrams and secretaries’ shorthand writing is much the same. Crystal also said that we needn’t worry that everyone will begin writing in abbreviations, as only 10% of text messages are abbreviated anyway. Crystal also gave some interesting information pertaining to this “new-fangled abbreviated language” that many people are worried will ruin the English language. He said that abbreviating words, such as “C U l8r” is nothing new. Victorian parlour games were based on rebus puzzles much the same as these text abbreviations. I give my students different rebus puzzles each week to solve, and now that I look at them, they ARE very similar to text abbreviations! I was discussing this talk with some of my teacher friends, and one who teaches Information Processing to grade 9 and 10 students said that she had them complete a typing test. One student said that she could type the test entirely abbreviated, text-style. My friend said that she flew through the test and abbreviated it all in a record amount of time. We both agreed that her abbreviated texting was not to worry about – her efficiently would have been applauded in a secretarial position when typing everything in shorthand was required!
Crystal argues that texting and tweeting need not be seen as something damaging to the English language. He gave examples of how Lewis Carroll used to play with language in his writing, and poets of days past used to create amazing images and ideas in short passages of text. He said that teachers should use texting and tweeting in the classroom in creative ways, such as challenging students to write a poem in only 140 characters. There are some examples of this on Twitter, and I checked some out and was very impressed! When I teach my poetry unit this year, rather than simply having the students write a haiku, I’m going to have them write a Text Poem as well!
The one myth that Crystal presents that I must argue is that texting and tweeting is damaging students’ ability to spell and use proper grammar. Crystal says that this is a myth, and that students actually ARE aware of the difference between text speak and spelling, and grammatically correct language. I must disagree. I am aware that I have only been teaching for seven years, so most of my students have been on instant messengers or texting since I began teaching. Their spelling may not be as affected, but their grammar definitely is. Each year, as more students own cell phones and use instant messenger and Facebook more often, I see a decline in the use of capital letters and punctuation. Capitalizing “I” and names is particularly bad. I often see students using “u” , “ur”, “r”, and even “lol” in their daily writing. Thinking that my experiences were maybe an exception, I asked several of my friends who are teachers (ranging from teaching grade 5 to adult education) if they had found a decline in their students’ grammar or spelling, and if they think that the decline is related to texting and messaging. (Incidentally, I sent this message over Facebook at 10pm and had a number of replies by morning, showing the efficiency of social media!). Every one of their replies stated that they had seen a dramatic decline in students’ ability to use grammar and punctuation correctly. A few, but not all, said that spelling had gotten worse, but everyone was in agreement that capitalization and punctuation was a constant struggle in their classrooms.
In discussing this issue through many messages, my friends and I agreed that texting is not a trend that is going to simply die out. Thus, we must work WITH it! I have found that the best way to combat my students’ lack of capitalization, punctuation, and inappropriate use of text abbreviations in formal writing is to teach them not to do it! It sounds simple and no, it is NOT fixed in one lesson, but if one is consistent, I think that it can definitely help the problem. I use my students’ spelling words in grammatically incorrect sentences on the board a few times a week. I often include abbreviations, uncapitalized pronouns, and “text speak” in my examples. When the students consistently see these errors being corrected, I’m hoping that they will pick up on how to use them correctly. I also show them examples of answers to questions on my blog that are done correctly. When a student writes a grammatically, correctly spelled response to one of the blog questions, I will show it to them and positively praise that student. That way, they can see that proper writing mechanics also must be used online in certain circumstances. I also teach them when it is appropriate to use text-style abbreviations and language, and when to avoid it. I compare it to answering the telephone. You may greet someone in real life saying, “Hey, what’s up?” but would you answer the phone that way if you did not know who was calling? I feel that it IS possible to teach students the difference between the two forms of language.
Have you found a decline in your students’ usage of grammar, punctuation, and spelling with the rise of texting and instant messaging? If so, what do you do to combat this issue?
I’m Back!
Posted on: September 15, 2011
After a hiatus between online classes, I am ready to resurrect this blog! I started this blog in the spring of 2010 for my EC&I 834 class. In that class, we were to post our assignments and modules in separate pages, as seen above. Rather than remove them all, I will leave them as they are, despite how cluttered I feel it looks. I will most likely ‘renovate’ the blog at some point soon. In the meantime, I will be using this blog for my EC&I 831 class.
I should begin with a bit about me, even though I have a little summary on my post below. However, that one is a somewhat outdated, so here is the current “me”. I am currently teaching grade five in Regina, Saskatchewan, and this is my seventh year of teaching. I started my first year as the sole Arts Ed. teacher for over 800 K-8 students at two schools. That was pure insanity, as I was not even trained to teach Arts Ed., but you take what you can get in your first year. Since then, I have taught grades 4, 4/5, 5, and 6. This is my fifth Masters class in EC&I, and my second online class. In my spare time, I love do all things artsy and creative. I have a jewellery business called Three Little Birds Jewellery where I use vintage jewellery to create new pieces. It keeps me quite busy, and I have my line selling in a few stores in the city. I also absolutely love fashion, music, home decor, and anything vintage and retro! I was also busy for the past year planning my wedding, and was married to my husband Paul this August.
Paul and I are both avid music followers and we love to attend concerts and music festivals together, as well as play our own music. Paul is also in a local band called Left English, so life is pretty busy around our house! Adding to our enjoyment is our pup, Lucy, who is a constant source of entertainment!
Lucy, ALWAYS on Dogbook.
I am honestly excited that a portion of my new class, EC&I 831 Social Media and Open Education, contains a blogging component. Ever since I was young, I have felt the need to document and preserve things for posterity’s sake. I have kept diaries and journals, endless scrapbooks, and a number of blogs over the years. When I first discovered blogging, I was in my first years of university in the early 2000’s. I promptly began devouring fashion and music blogs as quickly as their new entries were posted. I then started my own on LiveJournal, ‘commentating’ on the movies, TV, and fashion that I enjoyed as well, and trying to get my friends to blog or comment too! (Needless to say, it didn’t catch on with my group of friends as quickly as I would have liked. However, many of them did read my blog, so at least I was partly successful!) I maintained the LiveJournal for quite a long time, despite the now old-school html coding that was necessary when inserting a link or picture. When Facebook arrived on the scene, I found that my blogging time was replaced by this amazing new invention. Being connected to practically everyone I knew was incredible! No longer did I have to encourage my friends to blog – they were all microblogging, all the time! I will definitely be blogging about Facebook and my thoughts surrounding this social media phenomenon in the future.
When I became engaged in February of 2010, I felt the desire to begin blogging once again I was scouring countless wedding blogs for ideas, while creating my own ideas, and I needed a place to organize my thoughts. Plus, two of my bridesmaids were living out of the city at the time, and this was a direct way to show them everything that I was planning on a daily basis. I started my wedding blog, along with my jam-packed wedding binder, and it was a great planning tool. Unfortunately, I have not updated it in quite some time, as the closer the wedding day became, the more I had to MAKE things rather than blog about them! I will be receiving my photographer’s pictures this weekend, and I then plan to post the pictures on the wedding blog so that I can show the blogosphere how the wedding actually turned out.
I have used blogging to document my experiences, preserve my thoughts, critique pop culture, engage others in doing so, and to organize my wedding. Another way that I use blogging is in my classroom. I have a classroom website and a weekly blog. (The website looks quite sparse at the moment, but as I write newsletters and assignments, I upload them to the page. Since it is the beginning of the year, I have deleted everything from last year to begin again) I have found that by blogging about the week ahead, parents are better able to help their children to get organized for the next few days. (I created a Jing to help the parents and students learn to use the blog.) Most importantly, it puts the responsibility on the parents to be ‘in the know’. I teach at a school where many parents are very quick to defend their children and blame the teacher when something goes wrong. The blog makes the parents responsible for knowing what their child needs to do, even if their child says otherwise. I have found that the blog has been quite well-received and that the parents are more likely to check the internet for these updates than they are to search for newsletters in their child’s backpack. Many parents print off the blog each week, so I am happy to say that it has been effective. Furthermore, I try to engage the students as much as possible with checking the blog and posting replies that I answer each week. I have been teaching the students how to write for an audience when posting replies, and to engage other students in conversation through comments. I like to give them a simple, yet journal-like prompt or question to answer each week to encourage creative sharing. I find that the students who are shy often share much more through this means than orally in the classroom.
Well, there you have it – my life as a blogger. I am wondering if any other teachers or administrators have classroom blogs, and how they have found the experience to be. What are some of the purposes for your blog or activities that you have used on your blog?
Looking forward to getting to know everyone better over the course of the term! I feel that this is going to be a very enjoyable class, and I am excited to learn many new things!
~ Chelsi
Hello world!
Posted on: May 18, 2010
Hello world! My name is Chelsi, and I am a 27 year old teacher from Regina who is currently enrolled in the Masters program through the University of Regina. In this blog, you will find my responses to a series of modules and discussion questions proposed by my professor, Steven Kemp, for my EC&I 834 class. This is my third class in my pursuit of my Masters in the Education Curriculum and Instruction program, and I am really enjoying the courses thus far. This is my first online course, and I am thoroughly enjoying it as well!
In June, I will finish my fifth year of teaching. The time has flown by, and I have been very busy with my career! This is the first year that I have taught the same grade, as I have been moved all over the grade spectrum, teaching Arts Education to 800 K-8 students in two schools during my first year, then teaching grade 4, 4/5, and now 6. I have had some students in my classroom for three years in a row, so needless to say, I am constantly trying to plan and invent new ideas! I have found that using technology in my lessons is a huge motivator for the students, as they are always absorbed in the content when on the computer, and they are so confident being online that it is so beneficial to see them using their technology skills with success.
Teaching and doing my Masters keeps me very busy, but I DO still have time to enjoy life, even if I don’t sleep that much! If you would like to learn more about me, please visit my other blog, devoted entirely to planning my upcoming wedding.
I look forward to reading your comments (if you’re so inclined to make some!) in regards to the use of technology in the classroom and operating online classes.
Chelsi's Educational Musings 