Final Project

Since the beginning of humans, man has been seeking to communicate with each other, whether it was sounds, hand gestures or markings. From an early age the benefits of writing have been clear, to provide communication that was consistent, more permanent and could travel distances. A large area of historical studies involve analyzing the different language systems that developed over peoples and time. Different civilizations not only developed unique writing systems but they also developed tools to write with. With the passage of time and emergence of technology, writing tools have shifted significantly over generations, moving from physical tools to digital tools and this shift has ongoing implications for literacy and for education.

Over man’s existence there are countless tools that people have used to communicate, and this overview will look at the most prominent tools, focusing on today's digital tools. Early writing tools consisted of just stone used to carve into stone, or fingers to paint images onto stone. The earliest cave paintings date back to 38,000–32,000 A.D. after which pictographs began to develop (Klahold, 2020). While stone carving and painting continued, Mesopotamia developed a new system, using clay tablets and a reed as a stylus to put triangular marks known as cuneiform (Gard, 1937). This new technology allowed the clay tablet to be transported, which was becoming essential as the civilization formed and became more complex. Next came the Egyptians and their development of papyrus paper, reeds and carbon based ink (Gard, 1937). From there, the Ancient Chinese did a lot of experimenting creating inexpensive paper, even using silk, which was abundant, in 102 A.D., and brush and ink (Fischer, 2003). The oldest discovered paper from Ancient China is from the 2nd century A.D. and consists of rags and raw fibers, and until the 700’s, China had a monopoly on paper (Fischer, 2003). From there, paper was the predominant medium to write on. It is important to note that in these ancient times, the writing tools and knowledge was reserved for only select people, and usually those of higher standing and wealth. The tools and knowledge of the writing system were not disseminated to the lower classes.

It wasn’t until the 6th century that people began to use feathers as a quill and that was the main tool (along with an inkwell and quill knives) used for writing until the invention of the ballpoint pen in the 19th century (Hurford, 2009). The graphite pencil became available in the 1500’s the quill was still the preferred method of writing (Hurford, 2009). The quill nib was another tool used that began to be mass produced in 1820 (Hurford, 2009). From there, the first form of a typewriter was developed at the beginning of the 19th century (Klahod, 2020). It is important to note that casting, blocking, and printing are left out of this historical list as they are tools to reproduce writing and are not used to create original work. The first practical typewriter was put on the market in 1873 by Remington Company (Fischer, 2003). What followed was a series of improvements to the typewriter, but it marks the first time man is authoring work in which the letters were not formed by hand. In 1967, the first word processor was developed, and by 1984 there were over 300 word processor programs on IBM alone (Klahod, 2020).

From there, a rapid development of digital forms of writing pursued. We can now not only type writing into computers, tablets, phones, but we can use voice to text applications that will take our words and put them into text. Though that is not to say that the pen is obsolete, as developers are releasing new technology all the time. There are now smart pens that you can either draw or write on a tablet like paper with different colours, brushes and thicknesses, or you can write on paper and it will transfer it digitally as well. For example, the Livescribe Aegir Smart pen has you write on Livescribe paper and not only will it transfer the image digitally, it will also record any audio you wish to record with it (Dove, 2021). These new technologies reinvigorate the ‘old pen and paper’ style to include the newest tech and digitize anything you write. That being said, typing (on a real keyboard or a digital one) as well voice typing has changed the tool. People can now author using all of these devices, but what effect will that have on society and education?

Technologies are rapidly improving and developing everyday, making the next step in writing technology unimaginable. In this modern, digital age of writing, students are required to be ‘transliterate’ which Davis describes as someone who needs to read and write in many platforms including both print and electronic mediums (Davis, 2014). So one must wonder, what effect on literacy and education is this technology having? In Canada, cursive handwriting is something that is no longer taught when previously it was considered to be a sign of an educated individual (Supon, 2009). However, cursive writing can be difficult for left handed students to learn, as well as those on Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and those who English is not a first language (Supon, 2009). Students are no longer expected to be literate in cursive writing, both reading it and creating it. The idea of ‘signing’ their name, for students, is something foreign to them. So what effect does that have? If cursive writing has become a thing of the past, will printing also go away as a literacy in the future? The idea of that has great implications with education. Not only would it require digital literacies to increase, it would also demand very young ages to be more literate in digital literacies in order to learn how to read and write. It would require the education system to invest a large amount of funds into technology to support that. In one study, it showed a clear connection between mastering handwriting skills and academic achievement, suggesting that motor training helps students mentally represent letters (Semeraro, 2019). This suggests that at least printing would remain a staple in education, but could the move to smart pens be in our future? Only time will tell.

Though worries of the disappearing art of printing and cursive are apparent, there are also positive results of digital writing. In one study, students have rated their writing to be higher quality when using digital tools and that producing writing for an online audience helps their writing skills (Nobles, 2015). Though this study does not explore if the students writing was indeed better, if students feel more confidence and positive about their writing using digital tools and online spaces, perhaps education should be incorporating those tools to foster that positive outlook. Collaboration on a piece of writing is now easy and seamless for any group of people, across any distance. There has been comparison between the authoring of papers through digital tools vs. traditional meetings and it found that the collaborative tools were preferred, time saving, and more productive (Hynninen, N. 2019). Much of the current research does not yet explore if collaborative tools actually improve writing, but instead look at perception of students. Once such study surveyed education students (adults) and it showed that the younger the students were, the more positive their perception was around digital collaborative tools in writing (Brodahl, 2011). More research is needed within education and school age children in this area to explore the perception of students and teachers, but also the efficacy of these collaborative tools to increase writing skills. Another area in question is digital tools to improve writing skills, such as voice to text. The ability for school age children to use a variety of methods to communicate such as text, facebook, instagram and/or snapchat has actually provided students with greater experience and chance to write than previous generations (Vue, 2016). Not only can students use technology to write, they also have the ability to speak into a microphone and have the computer write the words has taken away the need for letter formation, and pen to paper. This can open up writing to those with physical and/or learning disabilities which educators are using and exploring, though the research is lacking in the area.

Davis (2014) suggests that students need to be transliterate and use both print and electronic forms to read and write, but one must wonder instead if our future involves saying goodbye to print all together. What implications does that have for learning, and education? Educational facilities are already experiencing the monetary pressures of keeping up with technology, but also need to come up with a plan as to how digital tools will change education. More research needs to be done, but in a world of rapidly evolving technology, the research may always be one step behind the innovations. Instead, educators have student perception to go on. If students perceive writing tasks more positively, and feel more positive about their writing when using digital tools, educators can attempt to incorporate that into their practice. When students are engaged in their work, their learning and product tends to be better. Instead, the goal should be finding ways to harness the power of technology to empower students to improve their writing skills, regardless of the tool and traditional norms.

Bibliography

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Semeraro, C., Coppola, G., Cassibba, R., & Lucangeli, D. (2019). Teaching of cursive writing in the first year of primary school: Effect on reading and writing skills. PloS one, 14(2), e0209978.

Supon, V. (2009). Cursive writing: are its last days approaching?. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 36(4).

Vue, G., Hall, T. E., Robinson, K., Ganley, P., Elizalde, E., & Graham, S. (2016). Informing understanding of young students' writing challenges and opportunities: Insights from the development of a digital writing tool that supports students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 39(2), 83-94.