Summary – ‘That’s not Writing:’ Exploring the Intersection of Digital Writing, Community Literacy, and Social Justice” by Kristen Hawley Turner and Troy Hicks discusses the importance of incorporating technology into learning. Higher education institutions have said that students are not well prepared for college level writing. Schools these days are too focused on test scores and less focused on teaching things that will benefit students in their futures. Incorporating digital writing into school systems is important to the success of students as the technological tools they will use can be used in both professional and social settings outside of school. Digital writing has created new, creative ways to express ideas and though. To achieve a better understanding of digital technology, teachers need to be on board with the idea and have to be well educated in the field of technology. Younger generations are technology savvy since that is what they grew up with. Teachers need to be able to keep up with the times since they are the ones preparing students for the real world. Teachers who got their teaching degree 30 years ago may be experts in their fields, but that does not mean that they know how to teach students in 2017.

Response – I agree that students are not as well prepared for college level writing as they should be. I feel that a lot of the things we read and wrote about in high school does not relate to much of what we do in college. To this day, I still do not know how to write a résumé or how to properly write a letter. High school was so focused on 5-paragraph essays and analyzing novels. Learning things that will benefit our future should be incorporated into academia and most of those things require technology. All things business require using a computer. When I was in high school, teachers made such a big deal out of MCAS and test scores and focused less on teaching things to last. School systems are so concerned with the government thinking they are doing well that they lose sight of what is really important – leaving a lasting impression on its students. When are students going to need to write a 5-paragraph essay in MLA format after college? Most likely rarely.

Reflect  – This text relates well to “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” as it shows how much of an impact technology has had on our everyday life. Every single day we are exposed to technology. What used to be posters on bulletin boards are now ads on TV screens. If you sit on any form of public transportation and look around, almost everyone is on their phones. Both of these articles show how technology is taking over everything even down to education. Since it is the future, school systems need to incorporate more technology and teachers need a better understanding of how technology works and why it is important. This article makes me want to know even more about digital writing than I already do as this article highlights the importance of being tech savvy.