Technology and Writing/Education

A lot of people make a big fuss about texting/chatting online and how it affects kids and their ability to write. Some people say all this technology is making them dumb and killing their ability to write formally. They text all day and it shows when they sit down to write their assignments for school. Some teachers allow some words in rough drafts but require the students to clean it up before they turn in the final paper. I think it's great that the kids are getting so much practice writing. I think they're all a bit obsessive about it but at the middle school and young high school age they're all obsessive about something, at least it's not guns or something awful. If our education system will stick to teaching the correct rules and spelling then I don't see why the students won't learn it. As long as teachers are clear about what is formal writing and what needs to stay on your phone then kids will learn and understand. They're not dumb. They switch their speech back and forth depending on who they're talking to and I feel that writing is the same. They know when and where to use which style of writing.
If it does effect the students it will be their attention-span and access to information. We can expect more out of students because they can find the answers to almost any question we ask them. We need to stress individual thinking rather than copy and paste education. We also may have to change our lesson plans from an hour to 15 min. A lot of time is wasted at school. If home schoolers are doing about 2 hours of work a day and coming out with the same knowledge then why is everyone else at school or 8 hours? Students can be pushed to do so much more if we raise our expectations and give them access to internet and technology.
I am more and more aware of how much and how many people are attached to electronic devices. It's insane. When I look at people when I'm driving they're all talking on the phone or listening to music. When I'm at school everyone is typing away on their laptops. At work people sit in front of computers... it's every where. I keep getting flash backs from the movie Wall-E. The scene where the people are riding around in their hover chairs with a three paneled screen in their face. They order food from the screen, talk to their friends, sleep, move, everything on the screens from their chairs. They can't even walk anymore from years of being in the hovering chairs. They don't even realize they're passing people or know where they are. The man was shocked when Wall-E bumped into him and broke his screen. It was like he was finally awake, just seeing where he had been all these years. I wouldn't doubt if that is where are lives are heading. Surrounded by so much technology that we forget what reality is.