Internet and Students' Writing

In my research that I have been conducting in relation to my Web 2.0 paper, I have discovered some very interesting issues, chief among them, is that of how the Internet affects students’ writing. This struck me because I am a frequent emailing person, using all the shortcuts associated with emailing. What I have realized is that sometimes in my formal writings I fall prey to email and IM talk and I quickly have to correct myself. The integral issue here is that I am able to correct myself and I can differentiate between both types of writing but there are students who are unable to do this. There are many studies that have been conducted in order to determine whether the Internet and its socializing tools have hampered the writing skills of many students and there are mixed views. As teachers I believe that we play an integral role in fostering not only good writing habits but also good oral habits as well. Students often write how they speak so in order to help them along the way I believe that we ought to have a few guidelines in our classroom as well as the Internet if we share these socializing tools with our students. Friess (2003) in USA Today iterated these:
 Always use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling (when writing) when communicating with children even if they do not.
 Find ways to correct the child gently without seeming preachy.
 Remind children that formality is a requirement when writing school essays and filling out job applications.
 Review the child’s school work to ensure that Internet lingo is not being used.
 Send old-fashioned letters to children from time to time to show them how printed communication ought to be.
I put forward one question before exiting this blog though: Do you believe that Internet talk is indeed hampering proper oral and written communication?