We're In the Midst of a Literacy Revolution

Mike Sauter sends in a piece from Wired profiling research by Andrea Lunsford, a professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford, from which she concludes that we don't need to worry about computers and the Internet causing a decline in general literacy. "[Lunsford] has organized a mammoth project called the Stanford Study of Writing to scrutinize college students' prose. From 2001 to 2006, she collected 14,672 student writing samples — everything from in-class assignments, formal essays, and journal entries to emails, blog posts, and chat sessions. Her conclusions are stirring. 'I think we're in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven't seen since Greek civilization,' she says. For Lunsford, technology isn't killing our ability to write. It's reviving it — and pushing our literacy in bold new directions."

Comments

Liar.

[geminidomino]

she concludes that we don't need to worry about computers and the Internet causing a decline in general literacy

lolwut? I c wut shee did thar. Were all loosing r minds, u no?

Re:Liar.

[Anonymous Coward]

That's like saying, "I can't tell if that's Paris Hilton or a skanky white girl."

Re:Liar.

[Afforess]

my head almost exploded.

Don't you mean asploded?

Re:Liar.

[Chris Burke]

I deliberately included that colloquialism, just for you. :)

Re:Liar.

[yolto]

They'd better understand "Get off my lawn!" or there's going to be trouble.

Re:Liar.

[SlashDotDotDot]

TL;DR

tl;dr

[Anonymous Coward]

tl;dr

Re:tl;dr

[purpledinoz]

tl;dr

tl;dr

Re:Ya!

[idontgno]

You accidentally the English Language.

Who vs. Whom

[Cid Highwind]

To sum up that debate: On the internet "who" is generally used by a writer making an honest attempt to communicate. "Whom" is used mostly by people who didn't like the first writer's point of view but cannot articulate a real rebuttal, in an attempt to steer further discussion into futile grammar pedantry.