Memo 6: Making Sense & Drawing Conclusions

“Where am I? What am I doing here? How did I even get to this place?!”

That’s exactly what I thought I’d be asking myself by the end of this I-Search journey, but I must say, it’s been a rather smooth process. Beginning the I-Search, I was filled with anxiety about which topic to choose, where to find information, and how to navigate an innovative research project like the one I was about to embark on. The first two weeks were a bit of a challenge, as I got stuck on a topic that was too narrow. I originally wanted to investigate how technology impacts language, but there were two major problems with that: 1. I couldn’t find much research on the topic, and 2. The topic wasn’t exactly tied to the teaching of writing, or the practice of writing in the classroom. Keeping an open mind helped me to find my way through the I-Search process, as I began to broaden my topic ideas and flow along wherever my research took me. This open mind brought me to where I am today. My I-search went from inquiring about how technology impacts language, to ways we can implement technology to teach writing.

So here I am, six articles, three interviews, and multiple observations later, still trying to find out what cool ways we can implement technology to teach writing. I’ve learned so much through my research that I plan to apply to my future classroom, but now I’m craving more ideas to add to my “teacher toolbox.” I’ve discovered multiple online resources that are being used by educators to connect their students to literacy assignments. Initially when I thought of implementing technology into the classroom, I only thought of social media, Microsoft Word, Excel, and other typical writing tools. I didn’t realize that there is a whole market of literacy tools targeted to secondary educators and their students. One resource in particular caught my attention, and that was Newsela. According to their website, “Newsela is an innovative way to build reading comprehension with nonfiction that's always relevant: daily news.” This online resource connects students to the world around them through the use of articles. What’s great about this tool is that the articles can be tiered so that an entire class can read the same material in different versions that correlate to their reading level. The website uses Lexile scores to provide students with readings that are appropriate for their reading level, and it can even track reading and writing progress. Students not only read articles, but they can annotate and even respond to guiding questions and other writing assignments posted by their teachers. There is an entire world within this website, and I strongly encourage educators reading this blog post to take a look at: https://newsela.com/about/.

Going beyond online resources like Newsela, I’ve also learned that we don’t necessarily need to have access to technology to actually implement technology into the writing classroom. This AHA moment came to me while trying to figure out how to provide students at lower income schools, like Central Falls High School, the same educational opportunities as students in more affluent areas, like Coventry Middle School (I’ve observed at both schools this semester). In one of the articles I read, the author discussed how implementing Twitter into the curriculum could engage students with writing and collaborative discussion. Things like live Twitter conversations are great ways for students to quickly write down (or type) their ideas about a specific topic. The author discussed this idea in relation to a live conversation about civics, but I thought of it more in the sense of brainstorming ideas about writing topics, and getting immediate feedback from peers. I think this would be a great tool to utilize in the classroom, only one problem: what about the school that doesn’t have access to this kind of technology? It would require every student to have access to a computer or smart phone. So I’ve found ways to adapt this idea so that students are live tweeting, but doing so by writing on poster paper rather than an actual internet post. Another idea is to have students create their own Facebook profiles on a piece of blank computer paper. They can get creative and tap into their interest of social media, but they can also develop their narrative writing skills by writing their “about me” section in a narrative format. There are numerous ways that educators can tap into social media to teach writing without actually having direct access to social media within the classroom.

So I’ve discovered hidden online tools, and even learned of ways to incorporate technology without having access to technology. However, one of the most important things that I’ve learned is that the implementation of technology to teach writing, while effective for some, may be ineffective for others. This was a tough concept for me to grasp at first, because I am a strong believer (or was, before this I-Search project) that technology can only lead to student success. My first thought was that all students (especially at the high school level) would benefit from utilizing a word processor to type written assignments rather than write them by hand. I guess I thought this would be the case because of my own personal experience with technology. I dislike writing by hand, and I feel that I not only write faster by typing, but that my ideas seem to be much clearer. I figured that since today’s adolescents are so closely linked to technology through the use of social media, that they would also be skilled at typing. Through an interview with a local high school educator, I became informed that many of her students are not necessarily technologically savvy. Like other aspects of education, some students are more advanced than others, and in a way we must differentiate our use of technology in the same way that we would differentiate things like readings. I was surprised that some students at the high school level did not yet know how to type because the world around us relies so heavily on technology to communicate. I was faced with evidence of this fact when I witnessed several students struggling to locate keys on the keyboard while typing an assignment in the school’s library. Not only did this surprise me, but it also frustrated me. The world that we live in is technologically advanced and requires knowledge and skill with technology to be successful. Most things have gone digital in the professional world, and many jobs require a minimum typing speed as a job requirement. If this is the case, why are we not preparing all students (not just those in high-income areas) to be successful in this way? These are questions, and quite frankly an entirely new subject, that will have to wait for now. I believe that I will one day investigate this further, so that I can better serve my students, but for the sake of my I-Search I had to cap it there.

Overall, I feel that this I-Search journey has proven to be quite a surprising experience. Initially I was unsure of what to expect, and didn’t actually think that I would become as enlightened as I did. I can honestly say that not only have I become enlightened about a topic I thought I already knew so much about, I have truly been changed by it. What began as a simple topic of interest, has now snowballed into something that I will probably pursue for the next year and possibly beyond. Technology will always be a part of my writing classroom; there is no escaping it. I now feel better equipped to truly serve my students by implementing technology in a way that will be more accessible to them.  

** Stay tuned for the final I-Search product. There’s sure to be a ton more details and insight into this

Tell Me More: Additional Questions & New Ideas for Finalizing My I-Search

­­My I-Search journey continues, and what a journey it has already been! Over the past few weeks, I’ve been continuing to read articles that have provided me with insight into techniques for implementing technology in the classroom. Taking that a step further, I’ve been researching ways to implement technology into literacy and writing lessons, and have actively investigated how educators feel about the impacts that technology has on student writing abilities. As I continue to dig my way through the National Writing Project article, I’m finding myself more and more invested in this topic. With that being said, some of the most useful information came to me not from articles, but from first-hand experience of educators currently in the field.

 

I recently interviewed an advisor at The Met School about technology in the classroom, specifically in relation to the teaching of literacy and writing. Throughout the interview, the educator informed me of the many online resources that have been implemented in recent years. Lexia, Edmodo, Wattpad, and Newsela are just a few tools that are being utilized in today’s education system. At this point of my I-Search journey, I think that it would be beneficial to take some time to learn more about these individual tools. When first beginning my research, I had only thought to investigate the impact that social media and laptop/smartphones have on the teaching of literacy and writing. I was unaware that these online resources even existed, and hadn’t considered implementing anything like this in a classroom. Not only do these resources help students to engage in writing, but many of them also track student progress . . . ASSESSMENT, ASSESSMENT, ASSESSMENT!

Going forward, I will be taking some time to learn how these tools work, and will be asking other educators if they are utilizing the same or similar tools in their own classrooms. I have a feeling that this new idea will have a great impact on my I-Search experience, or at the very least will make for an invigorating sub-section in my final paper. While I have interviewed some educators in the field, I have not yet had the chance to interview any students. This week, I will be selecting students to take part in a survey that I have created to better understand their experience with technology and writing. I’m hoping that this addition to my research will help to gain an “honest” perspective of technology in the classroom, as educators may be a bit bias at times. (This is not to say that I do not believe the educators that have been interviewed, but simply that having the “two sides of the story” will help me to compare and better understand data.)

      While I do have a sustained interest in learning more about the aforementioned tools (Edmoto, Lexia, Newsela, etc.), I recognize that not all districts will have access to such resources due to lack of funding. I’ve learned of multiple ways to implement social media and technology into the classroom, and not all of these instances actually required technology to be present in the classroom (i.e. table-top twitter, instagram cards, etc.). One way that technology might be implemented to impact student writing is to create themed lessons based around social media. For example, having students create Facebook pages in their journals with written narratives for the “about me” section. I want to know what educators think. Are they “using technology” in this way? Do they even know that they can? I plan to ask extension questions in a brief survey. The questions might look a bit like:

- How can we use technology without having technology in the classroom?

(or)

- Is it possible for technology to impact writing without it actually being  

  accessible to our classrooms?

One final question that came up stemmed from reading Leah’s blog post about her observations. When one student was asked if her teacher allows her to use her tablet to do a lot of writing, the student stated, "Not really, some kids don't have an IPad so my English teacher says it's not fair.” This makes me wonder if it is really “fair” to prevent this student from an educational experience that involves additional technology, simply because other students don’t have access to that same technology. Would it be possible to include that students tablet as part of a differentiated approach to instruction? Moving forward, I would like to broaden this question a bit to find out if technology can be (or is already) implemented to differentiate writing instruction.

Had this been any other project for any other class, I would be very concerned that these new questions are arising so late in the process. However, I feel that the kind of thinking process that the I-Search requires can only be strengthened by these questions. I feel that my I-Search is really taking shape, and I’m starting to see why it all actually matters, as well as what it means for me as an educator.

Memo # 4: Interviews

“Operation Interviews” is underway! I haven’t yet met with the educators and students to discuss my topic, but the interviews are taking place this week. As mentioned in my previous blogpost, I will be interviewing my cooperating teacher and some of her students at Central Falls High School. Over the past week, I’ve developed a rapport with the students, and have decided which students I will be meeting with. These interviews will be held on Thursday. I am waiting to hear back from one other cooperating teacher, and plan to conduct an email interview within the next week. With that being said, I have expanded my interview search to include educators from my high school, The Met. I plan to interview two educators and their students this coming Friday. I am excited to add these educators to the list of interviewees because The Met is a charter school that doesn’t operate like most public schools. Learning how the art of writing is being taught and impacted as a result of technology in this alternative setting, will provide me with a well-rounded perspective to the topic. Adding to that well-rounded repitoire is the fact that all of the teachers that are being interviewed come from different school districts. Interviewing teachers from Central Falls, Coventry, and Providence will provide me with insight as to what is happening in classrooms around the state.

 

Although the interviews haven’t been conducted yet, I have observed two of the three educators that I will be interviewing, and I noticed a stark contrast between the two! While in Coventry, I learned that every student in the school has a laptop that was provided by the district. While some writing takes place in their notebooks, these laptops are key tools that are being implemented to help teach writing. During one of my observations, I learned of an innovative online tool called backchannel chat. The teacher sometimes conducted entire class discussions in this chatroom with her students, and I observed an increase in student participation during these lessons. With that being said, as I reviewed student (and teacher) responses in the forum, I noticed that punctuation and capitalization were often omitted from responses.  The teacher explained that this is a low-stakes activity, so she doesn’t require a formal writing style. This makes me wonder how this activity may be impacting student writing habits. As a result, are students omitting punctuation in their formal writing out of habit? I’ve decided to add this question to the list for further clarity, “What effects do you think technology has on low-stakes writing. How about high-stakes writing? Are you noticing a difference?” From what I’ve seen, activities like backchannel chat are great for getting every student involved, but at what cost?

            While I observed some digital writing in Coventry, the opposite could be said for the school in Central Falls. In fact, I haven’t observed much writing at all at this school. Most class sessions have consisted of group discussions, quizzes, or reading activities. This is not to say that writing does not occur in these classes, I just have not yet had an opportunity to observe a writing lesson from this teacher. I did observe a lesson in which groups of students were assigned to computers to locate information on the internet regarding a research topic. While some students did the research (because there are not enough computers for every student in this district), others copied that information into their notebooks. I’d be interested in reviewing their notes from that lesson with them to see how their notetaking skills may have been impacted by the use of digital information versus locating it in a book.

            Now that I’ve had the chance to observe multiple classrooms, I’m starting to see that digital writing (and the practice of writing in general) may be different from district to district. I’m interested in learning if funding has an impact on the success of teaching [digital] writing, and if so, what that impact is. After completing some observations in Central Falls last week, I’ve decided that while I should have a set list of interview questions that I will ask all teachers, I may want to create specific questions for individual educators as well. For example, when interviewing the educators at The Met, I will certainly want to cater some of the questions to the fact that it is an alternative charter school, and what that means for the teaching of [digital] writing to their student population. I’m excited to complete these interviews this week, as I feel that it will give me the first hand knowledge I need to move forward with this project! (Plus it’ll be nice to visit some of my high school teachers in the process!)

Memo # 3: Using Primary Sources

     The I-Search journey continues! As mentioned in my previous post, my research has taken me in a new direction. Originally, I was mostly interested in discovering how social media and technology impact our reading and writing abilities within the classroom, and how that effects the way that educators teach. However, most of the articles that I discovered discussed the positive effects that technology has had on the field of education. Learning about things like "live tweeting" in the classroom, and "hashtagging" homework on Twitter for student's easy access sparked a new interest in my mind. I'm now beginning to wonder how else educators can use (or already have used) technology to reach their 21st century students. With that being said, my I-Search has become more focused on the topic of technology in the classroom, specifically how it is being used and how it impacts student success. I will no longer be investigating the effects of social media on reading and writing abilities, and while it was a bit uncomfortable to make that decision, I'm excited to continue embarking on this new I-Search journey. 


     Now that I have focused my topic in a bit, I will continue to find secondary sources that provide me with more information about the implementation of technology within the classroom. Going beyond journals and articles, I also plan to interview current students and teachers about their experience with his topic. Fortunately, access to these primary sources will be rather easy for me, as I will conduct interviews with educators and students from my current Practicum placements. I have recently developed a strong rapport with my previous cooperating teacher at a middle school in Coventry, Rhode Island. Throughout my time at this school, we often discussed technology being used in the classroom, not with regards to my I-Search investigation, but simply because it was a topic of interest to the both of us. With this being said, the interview process with this teacher will be rather smooth and natural as I ask questions like: 

- How do you implement technology into your lessons?
- What impact do you think technology has on student success and engagement? Does it have an impact? 
- How has your classroom changed over the past 6 years you've been teaching?
- Does technology ever pose as a barrier between yourself and your students?
- Is there professional development at your school based around technology? 

As mentioned, in addition to interviewing this educator, I will also be interviewing students from her classroom (that she suggests or approves). I will ask these students questions like: 

- How often do you use technology (computers, tablets, etc.) during your classes?
- Does using technology help you to understand the material? 
- Do you have social media accounts? 
- How would you feel if your teacher "followed" you on social media and posted assignments there?

     These are just a few examples of the questioning that might take place. Once I have collected data from these middle school classes, I will also conduct the same research at the high school level using another cooperating teacher from my Practicum course. I anticipate using the same questions (and more) and then comparing how the views and/or implementation of technology might be the same or different between the two levels of education.

     Now that I have narrowed my search to focusing on the topic of the implementation of technology within the classroom and how that impacts students and teachers, I am much more excited to continue on this journey. I feel that my research has become much more focused and less vague, and I believe that utilizing these primary sources will provide me with the insight I need to truly do this topic justice!

Memo #2: My Research Journey

     Research typically consists of locating information that helps us support our thesis. We pick a topic, choose a stance, and find any information that may help us make our case. In most cases we may even omit information that contradicts our thesis. This is what has been drilled into us all throughout our educational experience right? Well, up until now that was the case for me, but my I-search process has already proven to be quite a different experience.

     Admittedly, I chose the topic of composing in a digital age because I felt that language has become lost amidst a myriad of emojis and hashtags. I was on a mission to seek out evidence that proved my point, offered a solution to the problem, and discussed ways for educators to have a greater impact on the digital world. After receiving feedback on my original proposal, I was a bit confused as to how to make it more about what’s happening in the field of education. I changed some of my original questions, but in the end it still seemed to be more about the impact that social media has on language, and not as much about the educational field. I even went as far as to create a hashtag that was meant to stir up conversation throughout social media platforms, and create change for digital language! As I began my research, I found more and more information that portrayed technology and social media in a much more positive light. Here I was thinking that I was going to be bombarded with information that showed a decline in linguistic and rhetoric ability as a result of technological advancements, but instead I was reading about ways to implement it in a classroom, and use it to an educator’s advantage. I have to admit, I was intrigued. I thought about what Professor Collins had said about letting the research guide us and keeping an open mind, so rather than chucking the research to the side, I decided to read further and dig deeper.

     An article written by Paige Alfonzo titled, Using Twitter Hashtags for Information Literacy Instruction, was the first of many that revealed to me how the implementation of digital technology can further student understanding. Rather than promote my thesis (that I had subconsciously developed) that social media leads to the deterioration of language, Alfonzo revealed to me that hashtags are a sort of language of its own. In fact, they are being used as a form of indexed metadata similar to the kind that librarians and students use to locate informational texts. While the article was mostly about the use of hashtags to teach research processes, it also discussed the importance of making lessons and material meaningful to students. At the end of the article Alfonzo states, “I was able to use technology that many of my students were familiar with and build on that knowledge to easily explain advanced research concepts” (22). She also explains that the use of hashtags within the classroom resulted in increased student discussion, greater class engagement, and diversified student learning. Alfonzo could have simply used the class period to lecture about what indexed metadata is, but she chose instead to link her lesson to something that is ever so prevalent in the lives of her students, social media. While the article wasn’t necessarily about an impact that social media has on reading and writing abilities, I found it very useful in determining how social media concepts can be used in the classroom, and felt that this would undoubtedly help to shape my I-search project in some way, so I decided to keep the article.

     Another article titled, Tweeting in the Classroom, by Wayne Journell, Cheryl A. Ayers, and Melissa Walker Beeson, also supports the idea that educators should embrace social media, rather than viewing it as the enemy. Throughout the article, there is frequent reference to a lesson that required students to follow a political debate and post their comments to twitter using a hashtag that was exclusive to the class assignment. Students were able to click the hashtag and see what all of their peers had to say about the topic as well. It was an innovative way of bringing the class together, and engaging students in something that is extremely relevant to us in the 21^st century, politics and technology. Furthermore, communicating in this new way opens the door for a new kind of classroom discourse. Students continued this discourse from home, which may not have otherwise been the case if social media wasn’t involved.

      At one point the authors sparked my interest in how we define literacy. They state, “The combination of tweets and hashtags creates a unique form of communication that has become a new literacy practice” (64). Here I am, attempting to investigate how literacy practices are changing due to social media, and I didn’t even stop to consider whether or not social media writing could be considered a new form of literacy! I feel that this kind of thinking is EXACTLY what I needed to truly connect with my topic and understand the impacts that technology may be having on our students and the educational system. After all, as an ELA teacher my job will be to teach literacy, which means that I will need to be sure to expose myself and learn about new literacy practices. The article goes on to say, “Twitter has become an essential way to distribute information and offers a free way to extend a message that will reach the public in the quickest way possible” (64). One facet of my research project was to not only investigate how technology impacts language, but how it is being implemented into practices within the school setting. The aforementioned statement made me stop and think about all of the students that might forget to write down their homework assignments, or that end their thinking of what they learned once they leave my classroom. What if educators communicated with students via Twitter? #MR.GHomework could be a great tool for students to utilize in terms of locating homework assignments for my course. Students will be more likely to be on Twitter or other social media sites at home than reviewing their homework notes, so why not reach them in this way instead? #MR.GHomework is something I never considered to be a part of the way that I communicate with students, until now. This made me realize that I might not have been asking the right questions originally. I was asking, “If things like social media are impacting grammar, what barriers do they pose for ELA educators?” when I should have been asking, “how is social media impacting literacy, grammar, and the teaching of ELA?” The first question already had a negative connotation attached to it. The word “barrier” leads us to already assume that social media is having a negative impact on grammar, whereas the second question leaves more room for investigation and interpretation. By re-evaluating my line of questioning, I believe I will have a much more successful and open-minded I-search investigation.

     In addition to the aforementioned articles, I have also located a research paper titled, Negative Impact of Social Networking Sites on Academic Performance of Students, written by Sanzhar Naizabekov. The straightforward title sets the tone for the reading, but is not all that concerned with literacy, rather it focuses more on things like procrastination. While the paper is intriguing and informational, I believe that it may be more useful for the myriad of resources listed in the bibliography. I have also discovered an article titled, Non-Standard English, Composition, and the Academic Establishment, by Dennis Baron. This article is useful in terms of developing an understanding of the English language, as it describes a hierarchy of language between standard and non-standard English. The author explains how language is constrained and controlled, and overall I believe it is an interesting article that will aid me in my process of reconsidering what literacy and language actually means in today’s digital age.

     While I feel that most of the previously mentioned material will be of great assistance to me, the greatest gem that I discovered through my research thus far has been a study that was conducted by the National Writing Project, titled, The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools. This study is a “gold mine” of information that will be of great regard during my investigation. The study surveyed teachers and students across the country, and discusses the positive and negative effects that technology has on student writing. Researchers Kristen Purcell, Judy Buchanan, and Linda Friedrich explain, “ . . . how easy it is for students today to copy and paste others’ work into their own and how difficult it often is to determine the actual source of much of the content they find online” (pg. 5). Here they depict just one of the issues facing the authentic creation of writing by students due to technology. Yet the researchers go on to say, “Despite some challenges, 50% of these teachers (across all subjects) say the Internet and digital tools make it easier for them to teach writing, while just 18% say digital technologies make teaching writing more difficult. The remaining 31% see no real impact” (pg. 5). It is clear that the research conducted by the National Writing Project through Pew Research Center, offers balanced perspectives that are authentic and rather free from bias. “As a group, the 2,462 teachers participating in the survey comprise a wide range of subject areas, experience levels, geographic regions, school type and socioeconomic level, and community type” (pg 8-9), thus furthering the reliability of the information presented.

     Going back to my thoughts on redefining literacy and writing, “These teachers also point out that “writing” can be defined more broadly than written work assigned in an academic setting. In focus groups, many teachers noted that in addition to the “formal” writing students do for class, they are engaged in many forms of writing outside of the classroom, much of it using digital tools and platforms such as texting and online social networking . . .” (pg. 14). This opened my eyes to the fact that writing is not always formal. In order to truly investigate how technology is impacting rhetoric, I must first reconsider my definition of literacy and writing. The article goes on to state, “Asked in focus groups to clarify what, specifically, they consider “writing,” the majority of teachers indicated that “formal writing” and “creative writing” fit their definition of “writing.” Slightly fewer said they would classify “blogging” as writing, and very few said they would consider texting as a form of writing. Asked how they thought students would categorize these same writing forms, the results are comparable. Most of these teachers do not think their students consider texting writing, but rather confine their definition of “writing” to those exercises they are required to do for school. A handful of teachers went even further, saying that some students define "writing" only as something that requires them to use complete sentences” (pg 17). I found this information shocking because it is our job to ensure that our students are prepared to write in many different styles of literacy so that they are prepared for the real world. The 21^st century digital world requires citizens to send emails, post blogs, and many fortune 500 leaders even communicate with others via Twitter. There seems to be a prevailing discourse that educators are becoming blind to. How are we preparing students for writing in the real world if we aren’t even considering real world writing practices?!

     The research that I have discovered thus far has opened my eyes and made me reconsider what my topic should actually entail. The world of digital writing is too vast to cover in just one I-search paper, so I am grateful to have found information that was extremely useful in assisting me to narrow my ideas and hone-in on what I am actually trying to understand. There were several points throughout the readings that directed me to ways that technology and social media can be empowering within the classroom setting. I think that rather than approaching this investigation through a lens of what is wrong with digital writing, I should search further into how technology might be changing the definition of literacy and writing, and how social media might be impacting literacy, grammar, and the teaching of ELA.

Stay tuned for more developments regarding the #DigitalLanguageRevolution!

Memo #1: Proposal- #DigitalLanguage

WHAT

     My morning routine typically begins with me lying in bed for about fifteen minutes checking all of my social media apps. As I scroll down my timelines, I see most status updates that seem to omit punctuation, spell words based on how they are spoken rather than written (anotha vs. another), and even the substitution of words for emojis. I’ve noticed that due to Twitter’s character count feature, which limits the amount of characters that can be in a single tweet, things like apostrophes and commas no longer exist. My generation has become experts on the use of digital shorthand that is short and sweet, yet gets the message across. After all, in the fast paced Western world that we live in today, who has time for GRAMMAR?!

            For this reason, I have chosen to write my I-search paper on teaching in the digital age: Are rhetorical situations changing? Are those changes impacting the teaching of genre, format, and purpose in an English/writing class? Throughout the research paper I will explore burning questions like:

- How do character counts, like that of Twitter, impact standard grammar? Do these “Twitter habits” sink into our subconscious and become part of our daily language/writing?

- If things like social media are impacting grammar, what barriers do they pose for ELA educators?

- How are educators adapting lesson plans to engage students in a new digital age (implementation of technology & social media within the classroom & lesson plans)?

- How is technology impacting the way that we present material to our students?

Essentially, this research paper will consist of two main parts. To start, I will be investigating what impact technology and social media has on our linguistic skills outside of the classroom. I will then move into what this means for students, educators and the educational system as a whole. I believe that in order to truly understand what composing in the digital age consists of within the realm of the world of education, we must first explore that idea beyond the classroom.

WHY?

     There are many benefits to conducting research that analyzes the impact that technology and social media has on writing and the teaching of language arts. On a personal level, it will help me to become more self-aware of the issues that I may be facing with writing as a subject of social media and the digital revolution that we are experiencing in the twenty-first century. Having the opportunity to delve into the psychological aspect of social media as it pertains to language (the subconscious rendering of digital shorthand) and the teaching of language, will provide me with insight that will not only improve my writing skills, but also develop my teaching style as well.

     In regards to my research impacting a community of people, I believe that research of this kind will have a positive impact on current and aspiring educators. It is my belief that technology will continue to rapidly advance and be thrust into our daily lives, even more so than it already has. I’m hoping that through conducting this research, I will be able to present data that will influence not only myself, but also my peer educators, in a way that helps us better understand how to reach and connect with our students. As future educators, it is crucial that we begin to understand the level of influence that technology has on our abilities to read and write. It is through this understanding that we will be able to better serve our students’ needs. Through researching what kind of impact technology may have on linguistic skills (if any), we will be better equipped to assist our students and improve their reading and writing. Furthermore, through also investigating how technology is being used (or can be used) as a mode of communication within the classroom, we will be able to improve the effectiveness of our lessons in an ever-changing digital classroom. Being informed of new technological innovations is crucial in today’s society, especially to educators. Years ago, chalkboard’s were our main mode of presentation; then came the whiteboard, overhead projectors, PowerPoint, and now even smart boards. I believe that my research will draw attention to technological advancements and the importance of educators gaining a coherent understanding of how to incorporate it effectively. This research will help me to gain a deeper understanding of how I will one day teach writing in a digital world. I'm hoping that the information that I gather will influence my understanding in such a way that I am able to develop and implement innovative lesson plans that are both engaging and valuable to the lives of my future students. Digital media is already a huge part of today's American society, so I can only imagine what our classrooms will look like in 20, 30, even 50 years from now. By investigating how technology impacts literacy and writing, I will be better equipped to serve my students and meet their educational needs.

Who? When? Where? How?

     In terms of gathering data to further investigate my topic, I plan to use scholarly sources from credible databases such as JSTOR, ERIC, and EbscoHost, all of which can be accessed via Adams Library. I believe that in order to truly do this topic justice, I will also need to go beyond accessing scholarly articles. I plan to utilize high school students and their teachers as a mode of primary first-hand perspective. These are the students that are currently being molded by Secondary Education, so I feel that it is best to hear what they have to say about the topic. I may ask them to submit sample social media posts (with names omitted) to be analyzed by myself. To gain insight into the world of teaching English/writing courses in a digital age, I will also be conducting interviews with one or more educators (cooperating teachers from my SED 412 course).

Going Forward

     I am excited to begin exploring this topic, and will be conducting research shortly. Being that this topic is multi-faceted, I will need to be diligent about completing and analyzing research in a timely manner. While formatting of the paper may change as the project unfolds, I plan to complete the assignment using subsections for a more organized and coherent style of writing. I am confident that the diversity of the modes of research that I have chosen will help to prevent bias, and lead to a well-rounded series of evidence. Not only do I feel that this topic is innovative, but I believe that it will be crucial to the success of aspiring educators, as we come to the understanding of how things like rhetorical situations, formatting, and teaching the genre of English/writing are changing due to our technologically advanced society and the social media influences that are ever so present in our daily routines.

JOIN THE REVOLUTION! #DigitalLanguageRevolution #DLR

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