Literacy+in+the+21st+Century

In my opinion, students in today's world have much more technology available to them. They know how to do more with this technology than I was able to with the technology available when I was their age. Furthermore, they seem to be able to learn how to use the latest technologies faster than ever. However, they have lost literacy skills needed to survive in the real world.

This fact became brutally obvious to me last year when I assigned a research project that had a business letter as its culminating activity. Students would research an environmental problem, come up with solutions for it, and write to someone involved with this issue. What I learned was that more than half of my students did not know how to properly address an envelope. Apparantly, they had lost this skill in the age of email.

Texting, instant messaging, email, spell check, and instant information have weakened students' skills in problem solving and their ability to produce something they can take pride in. Instead, they must be able to get whatever they want as soon as they want it.

I strongly agree that technology is a great thing for students to use. I also agree that it can help them acheive more than ever before. However, if they are using technology as a substitute for things, instead of as a tool to supplement what is already here, the benefits may only be short-lived. Students should be taught how to do proper arithmatic before allowed to run free with calculators so they can understand the workings behind them. They should be taught proper grammar and spelling before allowed to compose essays using word processors or they will lose a large part of their understanding of the English language. They should be taught how to read a real road map and estimate distances before they turn on their GPS systems or mapquest for directions. Only then will technology provide its greatest benefits.