Out the Old Door...Open the New

If you haven't read "The New Writing Pedagogy" in the November/December 2009 District Administration, it's worth taking 10 or 15 minutes to read. The article suggests that we very well may be entering the next revision of writing pedagogy. Social networking tools, such as, blogs, wiki's, and Faceook to name a few have opened one of the doors of digital literacy that provide opportunities for linked conversations.

Years ago written communication was done using paper-pencil/pen, typewriter. or word processor depending upon how far back one wants to remember. At that time the audience was very limited to one, possibly two, readers. Remember the days when the teacher would assign a writing topic, the student completed it, and turned it in? The teacher returned the written piece with red marks and a grade. Then, there were the days when the written piece was handed to a peer for a review and feedback prior to submitting it to the teacher. again, a limited audience. For a wider audience, posting on the school's hallway walls or, for that matter, on the refrigerator door were the paths one took to expand the reading audience. And, I say reading audience, because the writing documents done at that time were one-way, writer to reader. (Notice, I didn't say, "during that time". I sure don't want to date myself more than I may have already.) The writer writes, submits paper; then, moves on. Within time, the paper is returned. The audience even if the assignment stated otherwise, most likely, was the classroom or subject area teacher.

Facebook, ePals, blogs, wiki's, twitter have expanded the narrow audience of the past to a global community in learning space with hundreds, possibly thousands, of readers who, in turn, have the opportunity to respond to the written piece. We now have two-way communication and the writer is writing for a real audience and for a real purpose. Opportunity exists for readers to offer feedback that enriches the content as well as other elements of the document.

Are we at a point where we need to take a serious look at our present pedagogy of writing and reframe it to teach students to write in our digital society where they frequent online spaces? After all, many students have their own cell phones, blackberrys, Iphones, netbooks, laptops, etc and access the global world numerous times throughout their day to connect and communicate with others.

Troy Hicks believes that "inviting students to create, share and respond to digital writing: blogs, wkis, electronic portfolios, podcasts, and more are more means they are learning how to compose various texts, with different media, for audiences and purposes within and beyond the classroom." As educators we can help students become critical thinkers, writers, and readers as they learn how to communicate with the outside audience, which includes experts. Are we in the middle of a literacy revolution? Are we facing a revision of writing pedagogy as we enter the doors of digital literacy?