In the current dynamic world, the fusion of technology and written content faces a paradigm shift in how students view the writing process. Gone are the days when students wrote on notepad ideas only to be erased or thrown away multiple times. Today, we delve deeper into the technological world and how it affects students’ writing processes. We explore the transformative impact on the creativity, collaboration, and efficacy of technology in the writing scene. Seasoned essay writers are exposed to various technological tools that aid and finesse the writing process. Join us as we uncover this digital revolution’s mystical truths and secrets. Moreover, we reveal some milestones reached with these technologies in redefining the writing process.
How Technology Changed Writing
The application of technology in the writing process could be more contentious. Some view it as a shortcut students use to ace a paper, whereas others view it as a writing assistant in improving the writing process. Some scholars have multiple reasons for hesitating to use technology in classroom settings. First, some of us grew up in an era in which PCs were not a common household item. Therefore, we are stuck with a sense of nostalgia in this paper.
No matter where you stand, you must acknowledge the efficacy of the technology in the writing gig. We must overcome our fears and doubts and embrace technology to improve students’ writing processes. The writing process has evolved. The way people express ideas today is different from that of years ago. However, with exposure to different technologies such as text editors, some students still need to present better-written papers with common writing mistakes. This ends up compromising the overall quality of their work.
What is the reason for this occurrence? Well, things do not completely change. A good essay requires attention to its structure, format, and content. Unfortunately, some students need to pay more attention to the written rules of academic writing. One of the most fundamental impacts of technology and writing is the thorough research process. Previously, most students spent hours in libraries reading volumes of encyclopedias and research papers. Now, students can easily find the most recent peer-reviewed research papers with a button click. Moreover, students can incorporate different aspects, such as planners, dictionaries, and online resources, into their writing processes to improve their writing strategies.
Effect of Technology on Writing
It is difficult to turn a blind eye to the close and harnessed relationship between writing and technology. Technology brings a major impact on our lives. Thus, it defines the nature of students’ essays. Although electronic devices remain pivotal in our daily lives, they also define our thinking patterns and problem-solving capability. Technology offers a toolkit that allows writers to handle different writing tasks without hassles.
Consequently, these new opportunities may result in problems such as plagiarism and killing students’ creativity. For example, instead of presenting original ideas in a paper, a student may present copy-pasted text written by others. However, in this case, the technology offers a way out by introducing plagiarism checkers. These checkers are powerful tools that can determine the smallest instances of plagiarism.
Different Writing Technologies for Students
Most students can utilize many technology writing technologies. Here, we examine different writing tools.
Writing Software
There is a wide variety of writing software available for students, including the following:
- Spell checker: This common feature automatically corrects spelling mistakes while writing.
- Thesaurus: A thesaurus allows writers to find alternate words for their writing. It can improve the quality of the overall work by making it more interesting.
- Grammar checker: This tool helps writers avoid common grammatical mistakes such as present and past tense and pronoun usage.
- Word count checker. Most writing tasks feature specified word counts. Therefore, a word count checker helps to keep writing within the prescribed word limit.
Text-to-Speech Software
Text-to-speech software is a useful tool for students who are troubled by reading or looking to save time. For example, students could speak through a program and convert words into a screen. This is helpful, especially when writing long passages and essays with many citations or footnotes.
Text Editors
A text-editor software application allows writers to create and edit text documents. There are various text editors, such as Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Good Docs.
Advantages of Technology on Writing
Here is a look at some advantages of using technology in writing:
- It improves the writer’s research skills. The Internet remains a one-stop library where writers can find information on any topic.
- Students receive immediate feedback. The writing process involves making mistakes. Technology helps students and professors communicate easily about mistakes written on paper.
- It helps check for errors. The introduction of text editors helps writers proofread their work for spelling errors, repetitive statements, punctuation, tenses, and vocabulary before submitting their final work.
- Saves a lot of time. The use of writing tools helps speed up the writing process for students. This extra time can be used to proofread the final work.
- It helps students understand their mistakes. A text editor spells out all the errors in a paper. Therefore, students became aware of simple mistakes when writing.
Disadvantages of Technology in Writing
Despite many perks of writing, technology presents some challenges for students, such as:
- Student dependency on the Tools. Most students often become too dependent on these tools to start their writing process, thus killing their creativity.
- Cases of plagiarism. Despite many online resources, it is easy to copy-paste the work of other writers, which is often caught during plagiarism checks.
- Short-form writing. It is easy for students to prefer short, informal texts when writing. Unfortunately, this reduces the overall quality of academic work.
Final Takeaway
Technology also plays a significant role in the writing process. Technology had a positive impact on students’ writing skills. Students can spark creativity and conduct in-depth research on well-written papers. In addition, using editing tools, such as text editors and spell checkers, helps eliminate common spelling mistakes.
Photo credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been done by Francesco D’Andrea.
