Blog #5
Commenting on Heidi Cross blog #4 inspired me to do a little research on Handwriting.
Commenting on Heidi Cross blog #4 inspired me to do a little research on Handwriting.
Handwriting is one of the basic three skills of education; reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The invention of typewriter and ever-increasing use of computers are writing off handwriting.
This video expresses how student perceive handwriting in this digital world.
This video expresses how student perceive handwriting in this digital world.
Handwriting is seen as one important developmental stage. According to Pica, (2011), “a pediatric occupational therapist confirmed to her that, handwriting promotes manipulation and finger isolation skills that are useful for other fine motor activities, including self-care and use of technology.” She continues to say that “learning to write by hand has a positive impact on emergent literacy, as it gives children an important opportunity to physically experience the spatial orientation and directionality of letters in a way that keyboard simply can’t”.
Research indicates that, there is a correlation between handwriting and brain development, therefore hand is essential to both verbalization and increased creative thoughts. Some experts ague that, when handwriting is taken away from the curriculum, we impede that part of development of the right side of the brain hand-eye coordination and creativity.
Handwriting expresses identity, others gain self esteem in writing. Studies show people retain information better when they write than type it.
We cannot do away with handwriting. Students are going to sign their names on legal documents and also write checks.
In todays world, we communicate through a range of of media including emails, blogs, online-environments, chats, texting and many more all using keyboard. Students are actively more engaged and motivated to complete work when they use these technologies. This calls for the teaching of keyboarding skills. Keyboarding skills are taught earlier in schools now and handwriting appears to slowly recede into the background.
Parents these days show of their children when they know how to work these modern technologies, rather than showing of their children’s beautiful hand writing.
In our U.S history class, we give extra credit to students who type their outlines and project works. It looks like handwriting is losing its grounds.
On the flipped side, considering the developmental importance of handwriting, do we have to teach handwriting, or teach more keyboarding skills which is a key surviving skill in the 21st century.
References
Luck, M. (01-31-2011) Good Question: Should Schools Teach Handwriting?
kxly News
Pica, R. (07-21-2011) Should We Teach Handwriting in the Digital
Walker, S. (08-23-2011) Still the Write Stuff: Why We Must Continue Teaching Handwriting
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rae-pica/should-we-teach-handwriti_b_905721.
http://youtu.be/YcaXce85STU
http://youtu.be/YcaXce85STU
I taught Keyboarding for five years and I certainly understand how important it's in the 21st century. Like you mentioned, now a days, most of work is done with the use of computers and it would be a sin if we don't teach our students to effectively and correctly type. Knowing how to correctly type will not only save them time, but will also let them focus on other more important issues. For example, instead of typing a 10 page report and spending most of the day doing that they can focus on research. Many believe that if they know how to use today's modern technologies, they know how to type and most of the time it is not case. It was also a challenge to teach keyboarding. I don't believe learning how to type correctly is a hard, it is just a drill and kill activity which would bored students to death, but how else can they learn to type without typing? There should be a balance to teaching handwriting and keyboarding skills. There are both crucially important to their development and success.
ReplyDeleteI also have taught Keyboarding for many years. I agree that it is very important as technology grows. It is a challenge to teach people how to type. They get bored with it quickly and don't want to practice. To become a great typist you must practice. When you can type you can maneuver better around on the computer better.
ReplyDeleteBut people also need to know how to write legibly. When I was in school we practiced handwriting everyday. Nowdays people don't teach handwriting and some of the handwriting is so hard to read and students miss out on correct answers because of that.
The state of Texas agrees with you about the importance of handwriting. In 2009, English Language Arts teachers received updated TEKS. For English IV, SE 18 is this:
ReplyDeleteOral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to correctly and consistently use conventions of punctuation and capitalization
Obviously, there is more involved than JUST handwriting but this is the first time in a long time that it's been included as part of our curriculum
For an online teacher, like myself, I have to interpret it differently than face-to-face teachers. I require students to fully spell out words and not use text abreviations, like thay are prone to do. I also focus on things like capitalizing "I" and understanding that all caps is yelling, etc. It's a difficult concept but definitely one that needs to be practiced by all!
I don't believe handwriting will ever be completely obsolete. I currently teach second grade, but have taught kindergarten for many years. The children loved to write in kindergarten, I think for them it is a form of art. In second grade they beg to learn cursive and will write endlessly when allowed to use cursive writing. There is room for both. Even though we teach the use of calculators, we still teach the concept of addition and subtraction, becuase it is necessary for children to understand the basic concept. I believe it will continue to be the same for handwriting.
ReplyDeleteI feel handwriting is an important skill which needs to be learned by all. I don't feel it is given the attention it deserves in today's classrooms. Many of the teachers I know send handwriting home as homework and it is left only up to the parents to make sure it is done. In what I have seen their are not any consequences for not developing this task in a legible manner. That is not to the extent that it was when I was in school in the 70's and 80's.
ReplyDeleteHandwriting? What is that!?!?!? I teach 2nd grade and my students' handwriting is horrible! I have a very difficult time reading it. I also encourage my students to type information. They may be a little too young to be teaching keyboarding, but I'll start them early!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I thought about is writing checks. Students have to be able to write legibly and use cursive to sign checks. If they are not taught this is the classroom, then they may never learn.
What is the answer though? I think for now, students need to have a voice to type program. The students should be able to say words and the computer type them for them. This will help them document their words in a manageable way. Windows 7 already has this built in!