Research Plan: Does Autocorrect Technology Help Us Learn?

1038 Words3 Pages

Introduction Is technology making us smarter or dumber? With the increase in the use of smartphones and autocorrect technology for the past ten years, the eras of the dictionary are over. These days, corrections are made with a mindless click of a button, which does not allow the users think themselves. Individuals have a tendency to use spell check more often than actually knowing how to spell a word, or how to use grammar correctly. Technologies like word prediction can compare a typed word with a word in the dictionary list and recognize a mismatch as a misspelled word. This helps the writers who unconsciously reorder the letters a lot while typing. It can also assist a writer in guessing the spelling of a word. With the widespread use of digital technology, the classroom teaching approaches and practices went through remarkable changes. When compared to the past ten years, today the classrooms look entirely different in terms of programs and technical tools used to enhance the learning skills of students. Problem The problem with autocorrect technology is that, spell check can misspell a word by automatically changing the intended word, leading to spelling a completely different word. This can cause miscommunication due to misspelled words and incorrect usage of grammar. For instance, if a person types “there” in place of “their,” spell check will not recognize it as a misspelled word, even though it could still be the incorrect word. It might also highlight a word as misspelled only because it does not identify it. With the added features in smartphones, word prediction can be difficult because it automatically pulls up a word, which is similar to the word previously used. So, the word prediction will give the same wo... ... middle of paper ... ...1320. doi: 10.1177/1461444812442927 Drouin, M., & Davis, C. (2009). R U Txting? Is the Use of Text Speak Hurting Your Literacy?. Journal of Literacy Research, 44(1), 46-67. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?q=texting+spelling+grammar&id=EJ862013 Gleick, J. (2012, August 4). Auto Crrect Ths!. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com Powell, D., & Dixon, M. (2011). Does SMS text messaging help or harm adults’ knowledge of standard spelling?. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(1), 58–66. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00403.x Shellenbarger, S. (2012, June 20). Grammar Gaffes Invade the Office in an Age of Informal Email, Texting and Twitter. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com Toppo, G. (2012, May 31). Good spelling still matters in world of texting, spell check. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/

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