PhysOrg.com / December 10 2009
Carol L. Tilley, a professor of libary and information science at [the University of] Illinois, says that critics who equate texting with literary degradation are wrong, and that they also overlook the bigger role that texting and its distant cousin, "tweeting," could play in education and research [Credit: L. Brian Stauffer]
The impact of text messaging on the decline of formal writing among teens has been debated in pedagogical circles ever since cell-phone ownership became an adolescent rite of passage in the mid-2000s. But according to a University of Illinois expert in media literacy, not only are critics who argue that texting is synonymous with literary degradation wrong, they also often overlook the bigger role that texting and its distant cousin, "tweeting," could play in education and research.
Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at Illinois, says that schools and libraries should consider embracing texting and tweeting as a means of engagement rather than simply outlawing it.
"I think if you're an educator or librarian looking for new ways of to reach out to teens and tweens, then texting is one possibility," Tilley said. [snip]
When used as a tool for ubiquitous learning, text messaging and tweeting wouldn't be tools of distraction, but a means of engagement for this generation of gadget-obsessed teens.
"Teachers could send reminders about assignments, links to study guides or updates on their progress grading major projects by text or by tweet," Tilley said. [snip]
Students could text reference questions to school librarians without having to ask for a hall pass or having to wait until lunch, Tilley said, and librarians might tweet about new materials added to their collections.
Tilley said that Twitter, the popular micro-blogging site that lets users tweet text-based messages that can't run longer than 140 characters, is actually easier to integrate into instruction than text messaging because "you can broadcast tweets to a wider audience than texts."
!!! Thanks To / Garrett Eastman / Librarian / Rowland Institute at Harvard / For The HeadsUp !!!