The Age of Composition

It is ironic when I hear comments about teens not reading or writing because they are "always on the computer", because when they are on the computer they are overwhelmingly engaged in reading and writing. Watch a student keyboard either on a cell phone or at a computer, and invariable they are relaxed and their fingers (or thumbs) are flying. No writer's block, no fear.

The terrific post from Jeff Utrecht's blog, The Thinking Stick, beautifully lays out the evolution of The Age of Composition, and the need to re-think how we teach writing. We have moved away from writing as a subject to go through, to writing as a subject to be studied. It is a more dynamic and pertinent mode of communication as the world becomes increasingly networked and communication more dynamic. Global events unfold and are shared and reported on Facebook and Twitter in close to real-time, with thousands and sometimes millions of people following and/or participating in the conversation. And there are still people who think kids aren't engaged in reading and writing?

Here is an additional link from eSchool News on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) - good stuff.

NCTE Defines Writing for the 21st Century
New report offers guidance on how to update writing curriculum to include blogs, wikis, and other forms of communication