Students frantically clacking away on laptops and texting on BlackBerries are increasingly common sights in Penn lecture halls.
Some educators fear the advent of new technology signals the collapse of written expression. But others consider it a new frontier of communication that gives students more practice and pleasure in writing.
As instant messaging took off over the past decade, a slew of studies and articles bemoaned the death of English composition. "Txt speak" shortcuts would replace students' grasp of proper grammar and punctuation and they would lose the capacity for refined critical writing.
"Some professors encounter students who forgo capital letters and see it as the end of civilization," Critical Writing Program Director Valerie Ross said.
But Ross said technology invites users to write more frequently and enjoy the process.
"It is no longer only about work, whether academic assignments or career demands, but rather a way to connect and communicate with others socially," Ross said.
Though knowing one's audience is crucial in academic settings, Ross said she doesn't view breaches of spelling and grammar as assaults on language because the rules are continually evolving. They are the "etiquette of the moment" rather than the substance of communication, she said.
Wharton junior Christopher Caponetti, an English teaching assistant and peer writing tutor, said work littered with "LOL" would be rare at Penn. The line between online chats and academic papers is more often blurred at middle- and- high-school levels, he said.
But all writing is good practice, he added. Message boards and blogs, for example, help students practice composing and analyzing arguments.
"Increased exposure to different forms of writing is beneficial because it spills over into the ability to do good critical writing," Caponetti said.
But technology also changes the writing process, which could result in less contemplative compositions. Current technology allows students to revise as they write, instead of producing several identifiable drafts, Ross said.
Chemistry professor Ponzy Lu said he appreciates that technology enhances faculty-student interaction but thinks the swift, shallow nature of new forms of communication makes people think less about what they write.
"You get stuff in e-mails that is as stupid as things people say in high-school cafeterias," said Lu, who refuses to carry a cell phone because of the immediate response it demands.
"People use text messages, phones and e-mail in a conversational way," he said. "Nobody thinks about eloquence."
But Ross said today's advent of technology requires new ideas about communication and its purpose. She compared the transitional phase to the introduction of the printing press, which also required new ways to think about writing.
"At this point we're in flux," Ross said. "Who knows where we'll end up, what new forms writing will take."
