Digital Writing in Education
The term “writing” has taken on an entirely new meaning now that we are deep in the age of technology. It’s pretty much “typing” at this point, but that is in no way belittling the field as a whole. Writing is an essential component to many aspects of life, and teaching this early on is vital to set up young minds for success in the future.
The only difficulty is the blurred line between how writing should be taught now that it has changed so drastically over time. Traditional methods involved focusing primarily on handwriting in younger children, whereas today, that is being somewhat phased out. Digital writing however, cannot be so easily defined as typing.
While blogging and writing papers via desktop computers does fall into this category, there are several other platforms around the web that harness digital writing in various ways. Facebook, for example, has become one of the largest shared writing platforms in the world, and its content can differ greatly from traditional writing methods. Now that more and more businesses are beginning to utilize social media, introducing this style of writing required for relevancy in this field into curriculums has become much more prevalent today.
Teaching writing skills is extremely important in schools, as it supports the learning of many other subjects. However, the digital age has pushed many teachers away from teaching this skill, assuming children today already possess the necessary skills to thrive in a writing community. While it is true that youth today will write more than any other generation thanks to technological advancements, that is no excuse to avoid sharpening their skills in this field.
Nearly every business today looks at an applicant’s writing or typing abilities before hiring that person. Without the skills and knowledge required to enter the working world, students will have a great deal of trouble landing their first jobs. Younger individuals love to write. They just don’t know it. With how many teenagers that are currently on social media, whether it is Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, they are constantly writing and developing their own individual tone of voice. Expressing this to them in an educational setting can inspire them to improve these skills, and increase their chances of being hired in their first jobs.
Many educators may feel that teaching digital writing is something they are not capable of. However, there are countless resources online that teachers can take advantage of to better their methods in improving students’ writing skills, and with how quickly the world of writing is changing, it’s best to utilize these for some extra help.
Understand that writing today is just as, if not more important than it was 10 years ago, and the coming of the digital age has drastically altered how educators go about teaching it. The key is understanding each student’s skill set, how it can be applied to certain platforms, and stressing the importance of digital writing in the working world.
