We, as students of the autocorrect generation, have noticed an increasing problem among our peers as the use of technology continues to be on the rise. Students today have a noticeable lack of language skills as they rely on technology such as grammar- and spell-checking devices. Even as we type this, we rely on spellcheck to correct even our most minor mistakes. The test scores have proven it: “With spell check off, students with high verbal SAT scores made an average of five auditing errors and students with lower SAT scores made an average of 12.3 errors. With the spell check on, high-scoring SAT students made an average of 16 errors, and low-scoring students made 17” (Sorrentino). So, is this a complete technological-dependence problem? Or do the issues come from somewhere else? Well, according to Dr. Roy Peter Clark, “the root of the problem isn't spell check, it's a lack of three basic behaviors: reading, writing and talking about how language works” (Sorrentino).
There are steps that we need to take to inform educators and those responsible for teaching children important language skills. We propose a return to the basics, especially for elementary-aged children who are learning foundational writing skills. As studies have shown that spell-check can cause students’ language skills to deteriorate with the passage of time, it is vital to instill such skills before introducing them to spell-check.
One researcher suggests that parents “emphasize the importance of correct spelling by having students complete paper and pen classwork and homework assignments that prevent students from using autocorrect” (University of Alabama at Birmingham). We must emphasize that students should not be completely reliant on spell-checking devices because such devices are fallible, and do not catch all errors (false negatives)—while sometimes catching “errors” (false positives) that are not errors at all. To rely completely on grammar and spell-checking technology, even with exceptional linguistic foundations, causes the human mind to play down to the level of technology (Galletta). In a way, we are dumbing ourselves down to match only the capabilities of the most recent technology. We must acknowledge that technology has great benefits to supplement our preexisting reading and writing skills but that it cannot compare to the ability and power of the human mind.
Moving forward, parents and educators should be mindful of the deteriorative effects of spell-checking devices and should take active steps to implement “pen and paper” methods of teaching. A shift from technological dependence is necessary in order to enhance and instill the skills that are being increasingly neglected as students rely on spell-checking devices.
Bibliography
Galletta, Dennis F., Alexandra Durcikova, Andrea Everard, and Brian M. Jones. "Does Spell-checking Software Need a Warning Label?" Communications of the ACM 48.7 (2005): 82-86. Harvard. Web.
Sorrentino, Johanna. "Is Spell Check Creating a Generation of Dummies?" Education.com. N.p., 12 Aug. 2010. Web.
University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Could texting and autocorrect affect kids' writing skills?." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 May 2014.
I love your title! It gets the point across well. You also do a nice job of incorporating your research and the cartoon. However, the content fits better as an external blog. An internal blog should be information only the employees of a company need to know. For example, this could be a blog post on writing practices for a company. The company could require every employee to hand write their posts first in order to keep them on guard against spell check dependence.
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