Citations

Barack, Lauren. "Twitter, Texting Enhance Writing Skills, Says Expert." Home. Media Source Inc., 2009. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6711519.html>.

"Can Texting Improve Your Child’s Reading Skills? : Internet Safety." Surfing the Net with Kids: Educational Site Reviews and Kids Games. Sunfetkids.com, 01 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. <http://www.surfnetkids.com/go/safety/674/can-texting-improve-your-childs-reading-skills/>.

Carvin, Andy. "Should Schools Teach SMS Text Messaging?" PBS. PBS, 16 Oct. 2006. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2006/10/do_students_need_to_learn_text.html>.

Couros, George. "Texting Improving Literacy? | edSocialMedia." Exploring the Role of Social Media in Education | edSocialMedia. 22 Apr. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2011/08/texting-improving-literacy/.

Daily Mail Reporter. "Texting: Does It Help Children's Literacy Skills?" Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 04 Feb. 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353658/Children-regularly-text-message-BETTER-English-dont-thy-use-txt-spk.html>.

"Does Text Messaging Harm Students' Writing Skills?" K-12 Education & Learning Innovations with Proven Strategies That Work. The George Lucas Education Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.edutopia.org/poll-text-messaging-writing-skills>.

Garvey, Jude. "Could Text Messaging Be Beneficial for Children’s Spelling and Reading?"Gizmag. Gizmag, 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.gizmag.com/could-text-messaging-be-beneficial-for-childrens-spelling-and-reading/13942/>.

Lanir, Lesley. "Text Messaging May Improve Literacy Skills | ."  | Science News, Information and Theories for the Interested Observer. 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.decodedscience.com/text-messaging-basically-addictive-or-essentially-additive/7597>.

"NEA - Can Tweeting Help Your Teaching?" NEA - NEA Home. National Education Association. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nea.org/home/32641.htm>.

Interview with Professor Anderson

1. Do you feel as though social media and text messaging are negatively affecting student literacy and language skills? Why or why not? (this is my issue)

- I believe that text messaging and social media can be helpful if students learn to write for the appropriate audience. What I mean by this is, text messaging and social media really help students think about their audience. They write with a high awareness that other people will read their writing. However, if students are asked to write a professional paper or an academic article, they need to be aware that the writing should be more formal in order to be read as credible and appropriate for the situation. Therefore, if students learn to write rhetorically (that is, with an awareness of who they are writing to and what type of writing would be appropriate), then I think that social media and texting can be positive. 

 2. As a teacher, do you feel that incorporating a lesson using social media and texting would be beneficial to student language skills? Why or why not? 

- I think that incorporating a lesson using social media and texting could be helpful, but it needs to be mixed in with other genres of writing as well. Students should get practice writing academic genres as well. 

 3. How long have you been an English teacher and what grades have you taught?

- I have been an English teacher for almost 5 years. I have taught 7th, 9th, and 12th grades in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and I have taught college students at UCF. 

 4. What types of texts do you most often read?

 -I read a variety of genres on a regular basis, such as academic journal articles, magazines, text messages, e-mails, and books. If I had to pick the genres I read the most, I would have to say e-mails and academic journal articles. 

 5. Do you have any other questions that could be beneficial for my project?

-I think that's it! :)