The following has been written for Writing Research and Technology at Rowan University and is meant to explain how the use of technology has impacted my writing.
    So far in this class there has not been a single print assignment. All of our assignments have involved reading something found online and creating tweets, a website, blog posts, and, so far, one project based on these readings. We were thrust into this world of technology immediately, and it is my opinion that this was the only way to do it. Some of the things we have been required to do are not unfamiliar to me. I have used twitter for a class, created a website for another and even kept a blog on Tumblr for another. The similarities end there. I was never before required to do all aspects of classwork online on a website that I created for myself.
    The use of Twitter was the easy part. I have only used twitter for school, but I have used it previously. Although I prefer to use Facebook, the small amount of characters was not a surprise, and I got used to it again pretty quickly. The only part of twitter I have not enjoyed is having to make my account public. I have been followed by several people I don't know in the past few weeks, which adds to my concern of how many people are reading this blog and the other things I will post to this site. In some ways Twitter provides an advantage, especially when I don't feel like writing much. I am forced to choose my words carefully and I can only post so much.
    Having created a website previously did not help me when creating this one since they are completely different formats, but I was able to appreciate how simple it was using this site and I was more aware of what my website would need. I have appreciated creating all assignments on this site because everything I have done and will do for this class is all here in one neat package. All completed assignments are added to my site live and easily changeable if I notice mistakes or just want to improve something I've done at some point in the future. While you would think that putting all assignments online would cause a feeling of finality, it has the opposite effect. Instead of handing in one final paper that cannot be edited once it is out of my hands, I can improve upon my assignments all semester.
    The most noticeable impact that technology has had on my writing is that I am more guarded about what I write, since I know that many people have access to it. While my audience would normally include my professor and a maybe a few classmates, I now consider that many others (who may or may not know why I'm writing the things that I am) could potentially read anything I write. This knowledge has caused me to want to steer clear of anything that would be too boring or unimpressive. I feel immense pressure with each blog post that I complete. While part of me believes that this is good practice for writing professionally, the part of me that sees this as yet another stumbling block that distracts me from the purpose of the assignments. I cannot tell yet if this has made my writing better, worse or unchanged, but I am sure I will appreciate this aspect of my writing experience much more in the future.
     I have had mixed results when creating my twitterive. The twitterive could not exist without technology, but I have also found that it can be a distraction here. I have had trouble finding the right balance of technology and narrative. At first I used too much technology, and now I am struggling to add the right amount of narrative to compliment it. On the positive side, I have enjoyed not having limits on how to express ideas. Instead of just words, I have videos, or screen shots, or sound-clips, or pictures, and the list goes on. I am only limited by what my imagination can come up with. I have been afforded an opportunity that no paper project would ever allow. I only see positive results coming from this, since I will be able to think of various ways to express myself and engage my audience in the ideas I am trying to convey.
    Overall, I feel that the benefits to working exclusively online outweigh any of the discomforts that I've experienced. This experience will be invaluable in the very near future since the use of technology is becoming more and more pervasive in all areas of life. Having to think a certain way when creating assignments is good practice for this future. I have already begun to change the way that I think about writing as a result of this experience.
   

Yes and no.

Yes because people use it at inappropriate times and in inappropriate ways. You could argue that this is not caused by technology and it is people who are distracting or easily distracted, but to that I say technology is by nature distracting. Social networking and video-sharing sites, games, television shows and movies are made available on electronic devices and are designed to draw the attention of the user so that they will spend long periods of time using them. Since it has become so easy to communicate with large numbers of people at once, people tend to feel that they are out of the loop when they are engaged in a single activity with only a few individuals. I cannot count how many times I've picked up my phone to look at the time only to spend several minutes looking at Facebook status updates.

No because when used appropriately technology can be used to complete productive tasks in an efficient way. Papers, for example, take much less time than they did when they had to be handwritten or typed on a typewriter. Research can be done from anywhere and is not limited by library hours. Also, easy exposure to more people from more places can be a very enriching experience. Personal and business communications that used to take hours or days can now be completed in a matter of seconds. Many tasks can be accomplished at once. I have been able to take several classes online which would have otherwise conflicted with my schedule.

I believe that the pros outweigh the cons, but I also believe that the more efficient technology becomes, the more potential there will be for distractions.

Although I don't like to admit it, I am not a digital native. I not only expect step by step instructions, I find comfort in the monotony of textbooks. I have become accustomed to and enjoy the speed at which technology provides communication and information, but there are certain settings, like the classroom, which cause me to feel uncomfortable with its use. When I am challenged to complete tasks using only digital technology, it requires much more of my time and effort and it makes me extremely nervous to think that I will have to teach things in any way other than the way I am accustomed to being taught. While I used to be proud to be a digital immigrant, I now realize that this is not necessarily the best thing, especially for a future teacher.