The research paper

The primary focus of my research paper is how the World Wide Web is used in the elementary classroom. My thesis explored whether or not this is a helpful innovation, or whether it's just been more trouble than it's worth.

My research proved to bring up some interesting points. Firstly, there was a lot of information on how students typically know more about the internet than their teachers, because they have been raised in homes where computers are an everyday appliance. Since the computer and internet has become such a large part of American life, educators found it almost impossible not to incorporate it into the classroom.

The internet is not a replacement for books and traditional learning, but rather a suppliment which allows students access to an endless supply of books and periodicals posted online, as well as contact with experts in the topics that they may be researching at the time. It also allows them to display their work to a larger audience with online journals and Web sites allowing them to post information for the general public.

The obvious problem that comes along with internet use in the classroom is the issue of how to control what students are looking at and how to keep them from inappropriate sites. Various methods, from student agreements which they have to sign and return to the school, to filtering software programs, have been used to try and stop this issue from becoming too large.

But despite the negative aspects, the internet has been more of a help than anything in the modern classroom. It teaches students to multi-task and to think critically. It seems as though it is a classroom tool that won't be going away any time soon.

Resources for Research Paper

"How is the Internet used in classrooms?"

Hird, Anne. Learning from Cyber-Savvy Students. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2000.

Morton, Jessica G. Kids on the 'Net: Conducting Internet Research in K-5 Classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998.

Grey, Duncan. The Internet in School. New York: Duncan Grey, 1999.

"Superhighway Safety". Department for Education and Skills. 18 September 2004. .

Genres

The genres of Web writing that I am going to be focusing on in my research paper include educational writing and informative writing. I am going to be looking at how the internet is used in schools, therefore I will be looking at what type of writing is used on educational-based Web sites.

Changing Technologies

As technology expands, the web is becoming increasingly easier to use, and Web sites are increasingly more simple to create. I feel this has caused writing for the web at large to become a much more diverse genre of writing.

Newspaper and magazine writers now have a new vehicle for which to write; one that calls for more brief articles but allows for much more color and graphics at a much lower cost. One of the major changes in the type of writing done on the web came with the advent of the online journal. This increased the number of people writing on the web immensely, as well as diversified the backgrounds of these writers. Before, those who wrote for the web were typically only advertisers and Web site creators. Now pretty much anyone can create their own site easily, making the type of writing seen on the web much more varied.

I think that the continuous updates in the amount of graphics and media able to be used on the web, and their ease of use, are large contributors to the way Web sites are set up. Having animations and graphics that are so easily attainable for those who construct Web sites has a direct effect on the writing used on these sites. In the past, much of the information on the sites needed to be given through the text. While the text is still incredibly vital, many charts, graphics, animations, and even videos can be placed on sites as alternate ways for readers to gain the information. I think that this slightly effects the style of web writing, as it needs to be as exciting and attention-grabbing as the accompanying animations and graphics.

Overall, I think that as writers for Web sites we need to be aware of all of these changes and of all of the people who are joining us in writing for this genre. This awareness can ensure that, at least the legitimate Web sites, maintain a higher standard for the writing on their sites. While writing for this forum does need to be more concise, that does not mean it needs to become less comprehensible.

Blogging making teens better writers

I partially agree with the point that was made in this article. I do think that it is definitely a good thing that more teens are writing and expressing their thoughts as a result of AIM and blogging, particularly because I'm sure there are many teens who would not be writing at all if that outlet was not available. All in all, it is a great resource which is much easier and less tedious to use than the classic pencil/pen and paper method.

On the other hand, I don't know that the internet shorthand is necessarily a good thing, particularly for very young writers. If a student is just learning proper writing format (paragraph formation, etc.) the style used in blogging and AIM imparticular is likely to confuse them. This may end up hurting them in the end when they are handing in assignments with improper formatting.

So I guess that overall, I do think that it is wonderful that teens have more opportunities to write, they just need to be aware of when they can use shortcuts and when they should not!