Evolution: Chisel to Pencil, Pencil to Keyboard, Keyboard…

I had a long commute today and had the opportunity to catch up on some past podcasts by The Tech Teachers (I can’t remember which episode, but it was in the late 30s or early 40s). One of the topics discussed was downplaying an emphasis on handwriting and focusing more on typing and computer skills.  Ray and Hollye agreed that handwriting, specifically printing, should be taught at the elementary grades, but that students also need to be focusing on typing.  During their conversation I got the sense that this is seen by some as an ‘either or’ scenario, and the question of whenone should be taught or downplayed came up.  For me the answer to this question comes from watching technology grow, what I know about neurodevelopmental weaknesses in some students, and a belief in student choice and differentiation.

 

First, it comes from the wave of the future argument that says students should be typing because computers are the wave of the future and they won’t be using much handwriting.  As far as I’m concerned, the wave of the future is no longer about the future.  The only thing holding students back from going full force with computers as their main means of writing is the availability of them in the classroom, and adults with a TTWWADI outlook on using technology in education.  In fact, I once heard a teacher state that she was fearful that society would suffer due to a lack of handwritten thank-you notes.

The simple fact is that computers are here, they’ve been here a long time, and they’re not going away.  And unless you’re using a Tablet PC, handwriting is not the most commonly form of computer interface.

My second thought is that some students have serious neurodevelopmental weaknesses in what Dr. Mel Levine refers to as graphomotor function (simply stated, the physical and mental ability to write with a pencil or pen).  As simple as that sounds, it’s no simple task.  Handwriting requires students to formulate language in their minds, access their memories for the rules of sentence structure and language, access their memories for the formation of letters, hold these rules and the language in their minds, and get their hands and fingers to move in such a way that all of these things get onto the paper in a legible and comprehensible manner.  While this becomes automatic for many people, any weakness in a person’s ability to use rules, receive feedback through the writing implement, juggle their memory, or to form language not only makes writing non-automatic, but painful and embarrassing. 

So the question becomes: Why on earth do we force students to do something that is physically and emotionally harrowing when typing (or creating a podcast…) may be a more viable option?

If we take differentiated instruction into account, perhaps there is no right answer for saying when handwriting or typing ought to be taught.  If we believe in finding strategies to help all students succeed in school by modifying content, process, or product then student choice and preference may be the answer to when typing or handwriting should be used. 

That is, go ahead and teach handwriting in the primary grades, but please expose students to computers so they become keyboard users as well.  And when a student begins to demonstrate a strength or preference in one or the other, cultivate it.  If he’s a pencil and paper kid, Tablet PCs may be just his cup of tea when it comes to technology.  If she’s a keyboard user, then by all means let her type the paper.  If a student has difficulty with both, keep offering them exposure and practice, but let him or her create a podcast of their report.

As for the thank you notes?  I don’t know about you, but as much as I like getting a letter in my postal mailbox, I also like to get an e-card delivered to my inbox now and again.