For a technically challenged, older student, I’m actually feeling quite proud of what I’ve learned this semester! I have: created a blog, opened a Myspace, learned (in ED 205) how to do Power Point, Excel, create a Webquest and a website, plus, I have learned a ton about Instant Message language.
As a parent, I’m continually fascinated by the mode of communication between my daughters and their friends. They don’t talk on the phone like I used to with my friends (partially because they don’t have their own cell phones yet). They chat via instant messaging on the computer. They can type faster than I could at their ages, without taking a formal typing class as I did in High School. I am amazed at how far technology has come, and how it has changed our ability to communicate.
Much debate has gone on over Instant Message/Text language, and its affect on Standard English grammar. Many teachers and grammarians are up in arms over IM showing up in students’ work. However, I believe most students know how to switch between modes of writing, just as they do communication, depending on the context. Humans are capable of code-switching, learning multiple languages, and determining what is appropriate in certain situations. While I still believe there is a time and a place for everything, and IM shouldn’t regularly show up in school work, there are, and should be, opportunities for students to express themselves through this language they have so creatively, and yes, systematically come up with to fit our computer age communications.
I’m sure it would be difficult to convince many teachers, parents, and administrators the effectiveness and potential of IM’s use in the classroom; however, as I’ve said in many of my posts before: we aren’t going to turn back time and get rid of IM language and technology, so why not embrace them both and use them as tools to get our students writing! I can definitely envision IM as a writing genre, allowing students to take pride in, and explore creativity through their writing.
