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 21st 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
21st 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!
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. 
