Summary on the new literacy

Chad Pleadwell

Eng 100 k

Mary Hammerbeck

January 24, 2010

Words : 500

Summary on the New Literacy

In Clive Thompson’s article “the New Literacy”, he suggests that today’s youth is so depended on technology such as facebook, blogging, and PowerPoint; that it’s diminishing the way kids write today. On the other hand Professor Andrea Lundsford at Stanford University thinks otherwise. She claims that we are in “a literacy revolution”. By this meaning that today’s generation spends more time writing then any before. Part of the reason why is that we have so much technology at our dispense. If kids weren’t constantly chatting online or texting today’s youth wouldn’t be so in depth with their writing.

She goes on to say that technology isn’t destroying our writing but bring it back to life. With all of the new technology we are constantly pushing our writing in all new directions. She found that more than thirty eight percent of kids took writing outside of the classroom. She also explains that if the internet didn’t come along that most of today’s youth wouldn’t be spending their time writing anything, ever, if it was an assignment. After these kids would get out of school virtually they would never write a sentence or paragraph ever again.

The way that we write today is being that we always are directing it towards someone. Virtually we always have an audience. Always having an audience is great because it gives us a different sense in whom we are writing to. She found that her students were less excited about an in class assignment because it had no audience, but the teacher. The composition didn’t serve them any meaning but a letter grade. Today the students want something more beyond that letter grade. Having an assignment directed to someone other than the professor would be ideal. When it’s addressed to someone informally it’s more interesting. Students today I feel get a better sense when things are more relaxed to whom they are writing to. When writing to a friend, you get a sense of comfort ability.

We know that today we have to sometimes be formal and up front with our professors. The way that the media and technology are pushing writing on youth is simply amazing. Kids are having fun posting updates and chatting online. We are constantly developing in a sense a haiku- a short form of poetry. The plus side of writing today knows who it’s going to and what it’s for. Knowing who we write to plays an important factor through our education and careers.