"Life Writing"

This article by Clive Thompson from Wired magazine offers an interesting perspective on literacy. Many have bemoaned the lack of writing skills in "today's youth" but the Stanford Study of Writing found that students write more than ever. The study, conducted by Andrea Lundsford, a professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford University, says writing has increased,

"... because so much socializing takes place online, and it almost always involves text. Of all the writing that the Stanford students did, a stunning 38 percent of it took place out of the classroom—life writing, as Lunsford calls it."

Here's the MILI connection, as stated by Thompson,

"The fact that students today almost always write for an audience (something virtually no one in my generation did) gives them a different sense of what constitutes good writing."

That should sound familiar from our discussions of authentic, global audiences that students can reach through blogging, video production, and more. As Thompson points out, good teaching matters. Teachers and media specialists are the guides for students as they create their content in a reliable, responsible manner.

I really like that phrase "life writing."