Updating, but Outdated?

The role of social media as a platform for change has been seen in the protest movements of the last year. During both the Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, internet forums like Twitter, Facebook, and blogs raised and continue to raise the voices of many individuals who augment their power by connecting to the motivations of others. Social change aside, much writing occurs through digital communication, and this writing should not be foreign to the classroom if we are preparing students to meet the world.

As a believer in the power of writing, I am aware that our educational institutions often ask students to complete tasks that offer them no real purposes for writing and no real audiences for their messages. We ask students to craft five-paragraph essays and research papers, but are these forms useless outside of the classroom? I have certainly never been asked to write a research paper for any of my bosses who instead prefer that I can craft a well-written email or memo. Even if we think more broadly than job preparation as a function of education, I do not write research papers for personal enrichment or connection to others, choosing instead love letters, emails, blog posts, and thank you cards. Yet, what I have gained from academic research papers have been abilities to think critically and deeply about issues, ask questions, support my ideas, and communicate clearly. Who is to say that these same deliverables cannot be granted through the use of more updated forms of writing in the classroom?

Blogs have found their place in this English classroom, but I still sense that I am behind the times with the use of Facebook and Twitter. A student even suggested that I text him his homework. While these modes are often shunned because the conversations or thoughts are not considered as "deep" given the limitations on words/characters, an argument could also be made that because writers must sell a point as efficiently as possible the posts could necessitate more careful crafting rather than mindless rambling.

How can we feed the hunger for reading and writing mini-byte-sized messages in the classroom to give students the skills to succeed outside of the classroom? Is this new media simply a craze, or could it be the cure for remedying students’ passions for writing? Why do you write? In 140 characters or less, you decide.

P.S. As a motivator, The New York Times celebrated National Day on Writing by asking the public to tweet reasons why they write. A couple of inspirational bytes (#whyIwrite) are below:

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection.” Anais Nin

“Because I don’t get paid to tweet.” ~Andrew Shaffer