Digital technology has “tangible, beneficial impacts on student writing” and on writing instruction, according to nearly 2,500 middle and high school teachers surveyed by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
But those same teachers—most of whom are teaching students in Advanced Placement, honors, and accelerated courses—also worry that such technology is making students more likely to “take shortcuts,” more likely to let the truncated language of text messages and social media “creep” into their papers, and less able to “produce a solid piece of writing containing a coherent and persuasive argument that synthesizes material well.”
The report is the third from the research center on technology use in schools.