Technology and writing

Students taking English 1101 and 1102 are already writing before the first day of class! Just about everyone I know except for my mom uses their phone to send text messages, and all three of my daughters use Facebook. There’s also other social networking sites such as MySpace and Second Life that many students use. Do you blog, follow zines, or write comments on blogs?  Then you are writing. Do you use abbreviations when you text? LOL! (see Teen Chat Decoder). Just about everyone uses those. Your teacher will, however, expect you to use coherent English in your paper (not abbreviations), so you can ask your teacher for help, go to the Writing Studio in the English Department, or take advantage of the Writing tutors in the library (see Learning Commons).  I did the library session for a class this week using writing and technology as the general topic.  Here are some ideas we explored in class: advertising apple computers, teenagers/college students using abbreviations in texting, online identity theft, writing emails, zines as a means of expression, blogging. Most students know how to use Google, but what about library resources?  I suggested the students use the Library’s Electronic Databases. Here are few to try: Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost), Research Library (Proquest), LexisNexis Academic Universe, and Issues & Controversies. Want to know more about this topic? Leave a comment on this blog, send an email to rdrummond@gsu.edu, or chat with me on Meebo.