Parents have a long list of concerns about children using technology: Will they be hurt by cyber bullying? Or meet with online predators? Will their homework suffer because they're texting 100 times a day? Are they sexting? But what about a more basic question like, Will they be able to hold their own in conversation?

The explosion of social media has completely changed the way we communicate with each other. Whether via laptop computers, advanced mobile devices, Wi-Fi or enhanced 4G wireless networks, we are more connected than ever to everyone we know. Texting and the slang that goes with it have crept into students' more formal writing.