This article was so fitting with some conversations I had with parents during conferences this week. Students have so many great ideas and creativity that pen and paper are not always sufficient. Today we live in a time that they don't have to be restricted with pencil and paper. We have technology, but as teachers we are still restricted by the pressures of testing. Until testing changes, I will still have to teach the conventions and rules of the friendly letter to all 4th grade students because it will be on the test. Students are being tested on how to write a friendly letter on paper when in reality they will use e-mail and text to communicate as adults.When is the last time you wrote a friendly letter on a notepad...really!
As the article states even college applications and entrance essays are digital. I had a parent tell me at parent-teacher conferences that he was concerned about his child's spelling. My response was, "Adam's spelling is close enough, spell check will catch it so I wouldn't be worried." I have hard bound dictionaries in my classroom, but only the students who publish writing on paper with pencil use them. Students using computers never touch them.
Finally, I like the part of the article with teachers giving 1:1 instruction as students write on Google Docs. This is ultimate differentiation! Why teach the whole class a mini-lesson when you can write and make instant comments to individual students about their needs. I would totally implement this if all my students had computers or ipads. Unfortunately with 5 laptops in the room and a laptop cart for 1/2 day once a week this is not something that would be time efficiently used since I would still have to teach a traditional mini lesson to my non-technology using students.
Cool article!
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