Hey Nick,

I want to gather/organize information on texting. Do you suggest I use the sites that you marked with 10 Cs? Would you say they are the most credible?

Well, I always like to start out with the reason why I'm writing. I feel that somewhere we need to fit it......

The statement "Technology (through television, texting, social networks posting, and the Internet), has contributed to an increase in literacy skills" is ----- because....or something like that... so that its obvious what we are about to talk about. It doesn't have to be those exact words but I feel that using that sentence (or something of that sort) would be helpful.

Then....

Being literate means being able to read and write and being able to comprehend your reading and writing. Failing to have these skills is the basis for illiteracy and results in lower literacy scores, lack of social competence and sometimes violent tendencies.

And from there we can talk about social media, texting, etc. And how they are hurting literacy skills... we can throw some quotes in... we already have all the information...

What does everyone think?

That's great! We can clean it up later if need be. So I went to one of the bookmarked sites...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/texting-twitter-contributing-to-students-poor-grammar-skills-profs-say/article4304193/

And I found this quote....(about students)
"Punctuation errors are huge, and apostrophe errors. Students seem to have absolutely no idea what an apostrophe is for. None. Absolutely none." Paul Budra, an English professor and associate dean of arts and science at Simon Fraser University

I think this is a good point.... punctuation is just as important as spelling. This quote ties in perfectly with how television, texting advances, social media, and the Internet have actually made it easier for people to ignore practices that enhance our literacy.

The statement "Technology (through television, texting, social networks posting, and the Internet), has contributed to an increase in literacy skills" is a misrepresented statement in many platforms. Being literate means being able to read and write and being able to comprehend your reading and writing. Failing to have these skills is the basis for illiteracy and results in lower literacy scores, lack of social competence and sometimes violent tendencies.

Technology such as television, texting advances, social media, and the Internet have actually made it easier for people to ignore practices that enhance our literacy. These technologies have replaced a vital part to our education and are beginning to take over the new digital age of children, young adults and many more. According to Paul Budra, an English professor and associate dean of arts and science at Simon Fraser University, "Punctuation errors are huge, and apostrophe errors. Students seem to have absolutely no idea what an apostrophe is for. None. Absolutely none."

That's a good idea Madeline. If we can see what you are writing then we can figure out what else needs to be done...or work around what you are writing. Did you see my last comment? I tried to give an idea of how we could put things together.

Madeline that sounds great! Maybe reword the second time you said first priority but besides that it sounds great!

Alex I'm not sure. I usually write my intro with no more than 5 sentences. But we can always revise.

I just assumed we were writing a persuasive essay... but I believe that as long as we get our point across we are good.

We are refuting the statement:

"Technology (through television, texting, social networks posting, and the Internet), has contributed to an increase in literacy skills"

So we are persuading Team C to agree with what we are saying.

Right? Does anyone else agree?

OK thanks Nick!

The last paragraph is throwing me off for some reason.

But I'm glad its there because we can work around it. Thanks Madeline.

Great point and great idea. I'm looking around.

KELLEY, SUSANNA. "Texting, Twitter contributing to students' poor grammar skills, profs say." . January 14,2014.

KELLEY, SUSANNA. "Texting, Twitter contributing to students' poor grammar skills, profs say." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/texting-twitter-contributing-to-students-poor-grammar-skills-profs-say/article4304193/. January 14,2014.

This is how it looks if I take the <> out... I'm gonna look up APA format.

I mean *going to

I found an APA format site, but if everyone is fine with the reference that I did then we can just use the MLA format since the assignment is almost due. What do you think of the reference I made for the second paragraph?

KELLEY, SUSANNA. "Texting, Twitter contributing to students' poor grammar skills, profs say." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/texting-twitter-contributing-to-students-poor-grammar-skills-profs-say/article4304193/. January 14,2014.

I am assuming that I am doing it right, but I don't know. This is the MLA format and I got it from the site that Nick linked in his last comment.

So, first we talked about grammar/writing/puncutuation...and now we can talk about reading. I like these:

With more technology available, the amount of people who read for pleasure has decreased, and according to Patricia Greenfield's studies, reading for pleasure "enhances thinking and engages the imagination..."

"Whatever the benefits of newer electronic media," Dana Gioia, the chairman of the N.E.A., wrote in the report's introduction, "they provide no measurable substitute for the intellectual and personal development initiated and sustained by frequent reading."

Critics of reading on the Internet say they see no evidence that increased Web activity improves reading achievement. "What we are losing in this country and presumably around the world is the sustained, focused, linear attention developed by reading," said Mr. Gioia of the N.E.A. "I would believe people who tell me that the Internet develops reading if I did not see such a universal decline in reading ability and reading comprehension on virtually all tests."


I took the first one from Madeline's last paragraph and the last two from Nick's last bookmark highlights.

What does everyone think?

OK cool. So what do you think of my last post? Anyone?

What about this?

According to Patricia Greenfield's studies, reading for pleasure "enhances thinking and engages the imagination..." With more technology available, studies show the amount of people who read for pleasure has decreased. Dana Gioia, the chairman of the N.E.A., wrote, "Whatever the benefits of newer electronic media, they provide no measurable substitute for the intellectual and personal development initiated and sustained by frequent reading." Mr. Gioia also stated, "I would believe people who tell me that the Internet develops reading if I did not see such a universal decline in reading ability and reading comprehension on virtually all tests." Critics of reading on the Internet say they see no evidence that increased Web activity improves reading achievement.

Or maybe we can start the paragraph with the last sentence. I didn't use my own words on the last sentence so we would have to reword it.

Yes Madeline, i edited the last paragraph.

Nick I'll get on that.

Also are we going to have a concluding paragraph/statement?

The statement "Technology (through television, texting, social networks posting, and the Internet), has contributed to an increase in literacy skills" is a false statement because technology such as television, texting advances, social media, and the Internet have actually made it easier for people to ignore practices that enhance our literacy abilities. Technology has become a first priority in society, therefore replacing the vital lessons in students' education that contribute to the enhancement of basic and necessary literacy skills. Literacy skills include being able to read, write and comprehend information. In today's digital age, the amount of illiterate people is consistently increasing as technology continues to advance. Today, technology is such an important part to people's lives, and although basic digital skills are extremely necessary for education and work today, there needs to be a balance between technology skills and basic literacy.

Across many universities, it has been noticed that students' grammar is becoming significantly worse in recent years. Emoticons and abbreviated words are commonly included in students' writing. Many professionals and experts feel that the use of texting and social media are responsible for the poor literacy skills of people now. People have conformed to improper writing on the Internet, which transfers over to the writing style they have in their careers or academics. According to Paul Budra, an English professor and associate dean of arts and science at Simon Fraser University, "Punctuation errors are huge, and apostrophe errors. Students seem to have absolutely no idea what an apostrophe is for. None. Absolutely none."

Reading online has not been proven to contribute in an increase in literacy skills either. According to Patricia Greenfield's studies, reading for pleasure "enhances thinking and engages the imagination..." With more technology available, studies show the amount of people who read for pleasure has decreased. Dana Gioia, the chairman of the N.E.A., wrote, "Whatever the benefits of newer electronic media, they provide no measurable substitute for the intellectual and personal development initiated and sustained by frequent reading." Mr. Gioia also stated, "I would believe people who tell me that the Internet develops reading if I did not see such a universal decline in reading ability and reading comprehension on virtually all tests." Reading critics have said that they see no evidence that people that use the internet more often improved in reading achievement, as stated in "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?" on www.nytimes.com.

Anyone care to conclude?

The statement "Technology (through television, texting, social networks posting, and the Internet), has contributed to an increase in literacy skills" is a false statement because technology such as television, texting advances, social media, and the Internet have actually made it easier for people to ignore practices that enhance our literacy abilities. Technology has become a first priority in society, therefore replacing the vital lessons in students' education that contribute to the enhancement of basic and necessary literacy skills. Literacy skills include being able to read, write and comprehend information. In today's digital age, the amount of illiterate people is consistently increasing as technology continues to advance. Today, technology is such an important part to people's lives, and although basic digital skills are extremely necessary for education and work today, there needs to be a balance between technology skills and basic literacy.

Across many universities, it has been noticed that students' grammar is becoming significantly worse in recent years. Emoticons and abbreviated words are commonly included in students' writing. Many professionals and experts feel that the use of texting and social media are responsible for the poor literacy skills of people now. People have conformed to improper writing on the Internet, which transfers over to the writing style they have in their careers or academics. According to Paul Budra, an English professor and associate dean of arts and science at Simon Fraser University, "Punctuation errors are huge, and apostrophe errors. Students seem to have absolutely no idea what an apostrophe is for. None. Absolutely none."

Reading online has not been proven to contribute in an increase in literacy skills either. According to Patricia Greenfield's studies, reading for pleasure "enhances thinking and engages the imagination..." With more technology available, studies show the amount of people who read for pleasure has decreased. Dana Gioia, the chairman of the N.E.A., wrote, "Whatever the benefits of newer electronic media, they provide no measurable substitute for the intellectual and personal development initiated and sustained by frequent reading." Mr. Gioia also stated, "I would believe people who tell me that the Internet develops reading if I did not see such a universal decline in reading ability and reading comprehension on virtually all tests." Reading critics have said that they see no evidence that people that use the internet more often improved in reading achievement, as stated in " Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?" on www.nytimes.com.

In conclusion, technology has not contributed to an increase in literacy skills. The decline in proper grammar, writing, punctuation, and reading in the society somehow stems from technology. Many may beg to differ, but professionals have done their research. That research shows a decrease in literacy skills due to an acceptance of the new standard of communication. Since technology got society to this point, hopefully technology can turn it around. If not, the mass majority of the population will have to deal with headaches, low test scores, and no hope for a literate future.

Do you guys see any errors? Since time is running out I'll work on the bibliography. It will be done by 10. If someone could please check for errors and if we could come up with who is going to send it in that would be great. If anybody wants to help feel free.

No you can do it this is what I have so far:

RICH, MOTOKO. "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?". http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. January 15, 2014


KELLEY, SUSANNA. "Texting, Twitter contributing to students' poor grammar skills, profs say.". http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/texting-twitter-contributing-to-students-poor-grammar-skills-profs-say/article4304193/. January 14, 2014.

I thought we were supposed to reference the website so I think I'm doing it wrong.

Alex would you like to turn it in?