Text Writing or Basic Writing
Do you use text writing in the classroom as oppose to basic writing? As the professional, I feel as though that we should always be held to higher standards than that of the students, therefore we need to use proper writing in the classroom. Our younger generation, Generation Y, are so use to all of this text writing they can hardly spell. We as the instructors certainly need to lead by example and demonstrate to our students that basic writing is still the way in the professional environment. Students should be penalized if they use text writing for assignments that are to be graded. We must get our students attention and teach them the proper and acceptable way of professional writing. We are the leaders, and we have to show our students the way.
I agree with you completely. While I have not had the opportunity to teach using the online environment I have seen the decline in proper grammar and writing skills. As instructors we need to demonstrate proper writing skills and correct our students. At our school we have added general education courses to our professional courses so that our students not only acquire their specialized skills but also gain general skills that may need to be developed. It certainly takes away from your credibility when you cannot communicate properly in written or spoken form.
When I talk to groups of students about the writing, I tell them that texting and chat rooms are killing our writing abilities. I tell them that even though Word is my passion in Office, and that I am even certified in it(2007), spell check will be the death of them. They should be the final proofreaders, when they have not had anyone else read over what is written. I also remind them that any errors or missused/misspelled words will cause their resumes to be thrown in the garbage.
I help the Campus Online Coordinator with the students who take onlne classes; I have seen about every class that is offered by our college. In orientation, I tell them that the instructors DO check how things are written in discussion, as well as assignments. Even after that, I still walk by and catch students not using any punctuation, no capitalization; I make those students stop and go back to correct those mistakes. I again emphasize that it DOES matter how you write, and that the instructors will not decipher the text chat talk.
