One of the many hot topics in education is the debate over whether or not texting has a negative impact on students' spelling and writing. Since I am a high school ELA teacher, this is a topic that really hits home. It’s definitely something worth researching in order to better understand the impact technology use is having on my students’ writing abilities. I found several sources that either highlight the positive effects, negative impacts, or show no correlation at all between texting and writing skills. I have compiled an outline of sources here using the Outliners feature of Diigo.
Before I continue, here is a brief tutorial of how to create an Outliner using Diigo for those of you who may have never seen it before:
After you have added sources (urls, images, or pdfs) to your Diigo Library, complete the following steps:
1. To Create an Outline, click “My Outliners” in the top menu of your Diigo homepage, and then click the green + in the top right corner of the screen. Type your outline title, and click “create”
2. Click the "Library Icon" in the upper left corner of your page, and a list of all of your saved urls, images, and pdfs will appear. Simply drag the source you want over to the outline on the right. You can also drag and rearrange sources once they are on your outline.
3. Click the "?" icon, and a box will appear that shows how to format the outline.
4. Continue adding, rearranging, and formatting until your outline is complete.
After you have added sources (urls, images, or pdfs) to your Diigo Library, complete the following steps:
1. To Create an Outline, click “My Outliners” in the top menu of your Diigo homepage, and then click the green + in the top right corner of the screen. Type your outline title, and click “create”
2. Click the "Library Icon" in the upper left corner of your page, and a list of all of your saved urls, images, and pdfs will appear. Simply drag the source you want over to the outline on the right. You can also drag and rearrange sources once they are on your outline.
I chose to use Diigo as my curation tool for several reasons. First, since all of the resources I have found (so far) are articles, I didn’t need a curation tool that showcased images or videos. I had originally planned on just using the regular Diigo page. I’ve used it in the past for group projects and it has worked well. However, while exploring the Diigo page, I saw the Outliners tab. Upon further investigation, I realized this would be perfect for highlighting the different viewpoints of my hot topic. I was able to organize the six articles I’ve found under distinct headings relating to positive, negative, or negligible correlations between texting and writing/ spelling. The Outliners also allows for text to be inserted, so I was able to write a brief summary of each article beside the links so that I would easily be able to distinguish between them.
While my Outliners page is not as visually appealing as information curated using other tools, a huge advantage is that it is neatly organized and explained, which is an important factor to me. For this particular task and my particular topic, I believe organization is more important than visual appeal. However, I understand that this would not be an ideal tool for everyone.
In regards to the sources I’ve found, I have a solid array of opposing viewpoints for my topic. However, I would still like to delve deeper and locate more research. Additionally, I would like to find more resources that provide actual teacher feedback regarding whether or not they have noticed any correlations between texting and spelling/writing (if you have an opinion on the debate, please feel free to comment below).
I’m very glad I stumbled upon the Outliners feature of Diigo because I’ve been looking for a better way for my students to organize research ideas. WIth this tool, students can easily create an outline for research papers and include the actual link to online sources. This will make it easier for them to keep track of their sources. I essentially plan to do the same for my final project; I will use my Outliner to organize all of my thoughts, and I can transfer that into my presentation when I’m ready.
Hi Elaine--
ReplyDeleteYour post is so informative! If I had seen this before I made my Pinterest page, you may have converted me :) Diigo does seem like a very organized and useful tool and I may use it in the future!
The effects of texting on spelling seems like the perfect topic for you to research. Most of my assignments are in Spanish, but on the occasion that I do assign something in English, I am often surprised by the poor spelling of some of my students. They also tend to use informal language very freely, even on formal assignments. I'll be interested to look over your research and Diigo page!
-Andrea
Thanks, Andrea! Yes, I see the same writing issues in my classroom, so I'm trying to dig deeper into the research to find more correlations.
DeleteElaine
I love the topic that you chose for your project. I am a middle school English teacher and I have definitely noticed students trying to use texting shorthands in their writing. It isn’t as bad this year for me as it was in years past because I now have sixth graders who are more restricted with phones and technology but, when I had eighth graders the past three years, it was a big problem. In fact, there was once a student that turned in an essay in which every “you” was just “u” even though it was typed up! It is crazy to see how much of an impact texting has had and I will be interested to see your final project and what you find out. As for your curation tool, I quickly ruled out Diigo for myself because I couldn’t quite make sense of it but your tutorial is very easy to follow. I still like Pinterest but I may be interested to try Diigo in the future since you made it easier to understand.
ReplyDeleteHi, Ashlie,
DeleteI've had countless 12th grade essays with "u" instead of "you" and "i" instead of "I". It's infuriating. One of the articles I found specifically addresses the role autocorrect plays in this issue. On our chromebooks at school, "i" does not automatically correct to "I" as it does on many other devices. Part of me wonders if it's just sheer laziness of students not taking the time to go back through and fix these errors. I will ccontinue to collect research which will hopefully allow me to draw a more informed decision on the topic.
Elaine
Elaine,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your informative post! I used Diigo in the past, but never discovered the outliners option that you shared in your post. It seems if you annotate the articles, it makes it easier to organize and synthesize the information you find. If you are looking for more personal teacher feedback, have you found any blogs? I find that Pinterest has provided me with a lot of teacher blogs that I continue to follow today. People may think it's all about recipes, crafts, and items like that, but I have found excellent resources through Pinterest.
In regards to my observations with my high school English students, I find that my students do know the difference between informal texting and formal writing in the classroom. I do believe, however, that using texting does effect a student's vocabulary, not so much their spelling. The emphasis of slang nowadays, is effecting our students' writing and spelling skills. They are not introduced or exposed to as much vocabulary because they are constantly connected to social media accounts rather than a book.
It sounds like you have your plan intact! Thanks for your post!
Kelly
Hi, Kelly,
DeleteI will check out blogs/ pinterest to see if I can find more teacher opinions. Thanks for the suggestion! You also make an important note about students' vocabulary suffering. I have definitely noticed that too, and I agree that it is related to an increase in social media use and decrease in reading.
Thanks for sharing!
Elaine,
ReplyDeleteI love your topic. I am certainly seeing this at the middle level as well. Students are relying heavily on autocorrect, and some shared stories about how his/her spelling is so dreadful that autocorrect cannot provide suggestions. I can't wait to see your final project if you decide to continue with this topic.
Thank you also for providing the screenshots of Diigo. I attempted to use that as my curation tool, but I became discouraged. I wish I would have looked at your blog first!
-Christi
Hi, Christi,
DeleteI will occassionally receive papers with random words typed in the middle, and I have learned that technology is autocorrecting, but their original word is so misspelled that autocorrect suggests something totally different. The sad part is that often students don't realize and keep that incorrect word in the paper. I think a large part of the problem is that students do not want to take the time to revise and carefully read over what they write. That's a skill I really try to push with my students to try to ensure that they are producing polished final products.
Hi Elaine!
ReplyDeleteI am so interested in the topic you chose! What is interesting is I have this conversation with my classroom assistant every day. I hand write notes home to my families every day so that the families can have a look into their child's school day. I consistently find myself using my phone to make sure I am spelling words correctly before I write them, something I never have had to do before! I feel that I have become so dependent on spell check and autocorrect that I am losing my skills as a speller. I hope I am not the only one experiencing this!
I think it is great that you found a feature of Diigo that works for you! I attempted to use Diigo for my curation tool, but I could not for the life of me figure it out. My brain does not work that way! Your screenshots and directions were helpful so that I can potentially use this tool in the future.
I cannot wait to learn more from you!
Hannah
Hi, Hannah,
DeleteFirst, I think it's great that you hand-write notes to parents! What a connection you are building with the community. Also, I sometimes have to look up the spelling of words when I'm writing comments on students' work, so you definitely aren't alone there! I second guess myself and don't want to set a bad example for my students. However, I think that part of the problem is that students sometimes aren't even willing to do that. They will just write out words and not even care or acknowledge if they are misspelled because they are so used to autocorrect doing the work for them. It's something I'm eager to learn more about as I continue my research for this project.
Elaine,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool and informative post. As a High school history teacher, I have had my fair share of battles with texting in the classroom. I will be interested to check out some of your responses to see the effect that texting has on our students. Your screen shots and all of the directions were very helpful and could be incredibly beneficial.
Hi, Brendan,
DeleteI'm glad you found my post to be informative. I'd like to stick with this topic for my final project, so hopefully I have more insight to share in a few weeks!