When we write, for example, our brain has to be actively involved in the process because it has to not only hold the pen it also has to move it in the correct direction over and over again while another part of the brain is remembering what to write. Granted, this takes a very short amount of time, however, it is still there none the less. However, when we are simply typing keys on a computer that section of the brain that controls the hand/arm muscles is not activated and therefore a large part of the connections that the brain makes about information are no longer being made.
Kerry, I'm a mom of a dysgraphic student, and fwiw, I didn't take your comment in quite the same way the other 2e moms who replied to you did - I made the assumption that you weren't talking about children with disabilities in what you wrote. That said, I am curious about what grade you teach, and are you specifically talking about handwriting rather than written expression? I just personally can't see how this applies once a child is old enough that the act of handwriting has become automatic for them - and 99.9% of the teachers I've known through my kids' education have no concerns about this. Personally I find typing to be very freeing when I write - I can compose so much more quickly when I type than when I write that my ideas flow much more freely. And I'm *not* dysgraphic in the slightest. My kids' schools let the kids compose their stories, project work etc on the computer and there is a ton of creativity going on in those compositions. I also, honestly, feel that spell-check and word-prediction have helped my non-2e child improve her spelling tremendously.
I mentioned 99.9% of teachers above - there is one late-elementary teacher I've met who refuses to let her children write on the computers at school and she's adamant about it. She firmly believes that all students should develop beautiful and fluent handwriting before they ever use a computer. When I heard her state her opinions the first time - the first thought that flew through my head was thank goodness my dysgraphic ds didn't land in her class lol - but when I thought through it more, I just don't get it. Our kids are growing up in a world where people type, not a world where people rely on handwriting. So I don't really understand why teachers wouldn't be willing to let their students use computers for composition, unless we're talking about early elementary students who are still learning how to form letters etc. Even then, there are apps for that....
I have seen this in kids a lot - add to this that they see an electronic devise as a toy and not an educational devise you increase the likely hood of more time being spent on playing rather than on doing their school work.
I've also seen children in classrooms goofing off when there were no computers around. As well as studious students doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. I don't think the issue is the medium that is being used for learning, it's the makeup of the people in the classroom - the personalities of the children and the way the teacher deals with those diverse personalities. Electronics can be managed, just as kids who are jumping off bookshelves can be managed.
polarbear
