Friday, January 29, 2010

Thank You Twitter, I'm Writing Better.

I wouldn't consider myself a great writer.  Matter of fact, as a business, recreation and physical education major, writing didn't come easy.   I avoided writing at all cost.  I procrastinated on research papers in High School.  In college I choose presentations over term papers.  I hated writing a journal during my student teaching.  Fast forward 20 years.

But then it happened.  I signed up for twitter, and really didn't know what to expect.  Writing my first post, I was nervous. Will people like what I have to say? Will people follow me?  Yes, I was scared to make people my "friends."  My mind was filled with "what if" questions.  What if I am stalked?  What if people said mean things?  What if my password is breached? Cyberbullies?

Over 1600 post later, twitter has changed my life.  My PLN is fantastic as we share concepts, articles and best practices in education.  I love to find new trends and best practices as we strive to become better educators.



While I'm currently consumed in the process of writing, yes twittering,  I didn't realize condensing text down to words fitting the 140 character limited has made me a better writer.  Most likely it's the result of just writing more, but I feel better about expressing my thoughts and ideas.  Here is what I have found:

1) My concepts are clearer.  140 characters makes you think about what you really want to say.

2)  I'm using fewer words.  Not as much fluff.

3)  A thesaurus is my friend.  Online thesauruses help me explore using different words.

4)  I'm aware on verb tenses, Yes, I know I still need additional help with verbs.

5)  I'm not worrying about making a mistake or three.  It's the process that counts.

Studies are supporting my finding.  Recently techdirt.com posted an article with the title:   Even More Research: Technology Is Making Kids Better Writers, Not Worse.  In the article it states,

"Every few months or so, we read about some freaked out reporter/columnist/pundit/politician complaining about how the internet and texting are destroying kids' ability to write. Yet, pretty much every study on the subject has found the opposite to be true. Study after study after study after study after study have all found that kids today are better writers than in the past."
So, the fact that twitter has helped me to become a better writer is enough to say, "Thank you twitter for helping me."


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