The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools

Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., & Purcell, K. (2013). The impact of digital tools on student writing and how writing is taught in schools. Pew ResearchCenter. Retrieved from: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teachers-technology-and-writing

According to surveyed teachers of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project students, the use of digital tools has provided both advantages and disadvantages in correlation to student writing performance. Based on their experience, digital tools have allowed for a larger audience to write for, more student collaboration and provide a sense of ownership and freedom. On the other hand with the increased use of texting, Facebook, Twitter and other social media, the form of language used to communicate is abbreviated and conversational. With youth becoming increasingly immersed in these forms of writing and communication, it is only natural for it to carry over into their academic writing assignments. This is a new challenge teachers are encountering during instruction when teaching students how to write formally and with increased depth and complexity.

So, are Internet and digital technologies helpful or harmful? The teachers surveyed were very divided. Hands down, Google Docs is seen as a great collaboration tool and beneficial to student writing. But teachers expressed concerns regarding students having access to a constant stream of information shared in a multitude of ways causing plagiarism issues. The casual sharing of information has desensitized youth writers to being conscientious of copyright restrictions. Additionally, almost 1/3 of the teachers viewed digital tools as the cause of students being lazy writers.

This study and these finding are only from a small percentage of middle and high school teachers primarily teaching advanced or high achieving learners. Would the findings be the same if a larger sample of teachers had been surveyed? Teaching writing conventions, forms, styles, citations and voice is an enormous task. As an ELA teacher of 1^st-4^th grade regular ed. and GT students, I found writing one of the most complicated things to teach. This was the case with and with out digital tools. Good writing incorporates so many skills working collaboratively together. As with any new tool, there will be benefits along with downfalls. Nothing is ever perfect, so it is the teacher’s responsibility to analyze new technologies through trial and error and emphasize the digital tool’s advantages. Technology is continuously growing and changing, thus the concepts and methods of instruction need to evolve and change.

The study is an extension of PEW’s previous research. The previous studies show continued increase in the use of Internet, digital tools and social media in teens and adults. So with the information gathered, this study aimed to see the effect on student research and writing. From the survey administered, the majority of writing the students are doing in class on a regular basis is short response, opinion pieces and/or journal writing. The informal and conversational digital skills enhance these forms of writing, but formal research papers are only being assigned once a year. How can academic writing improve if it is not practiced on a regular basis? How can digital tools used for research or collaboration enhance writing if formal papers are not assigned? Surveyed teachers of all subject areas place high value on the importance of academic writing, so there seems to be a gap between acknowledging importance and instructional follow-through. Overall, the impact digital tools have had on student writing is inconclusive. Youth may be writing more in today’s society, but more is not always better. As educators, I think the focus in writing should be on thoughtful, developed, organized and revised pieces of writing and how digital tools can be used to enhance the process as well as the final product. Librarians can and should be utilized as co-teachers in developing these essential writing and technology skills.

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