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!