Abstract
The present paper focuses on the latest research about the difference between cursive writing and keyboarding, in an era where children are texting, tapping and typing on keyboards more than ever, leaving less time to master that "old-fashioned" skill known as handwriting. But what is the real value of learning handwriting skills versus being able to type 100 words per minute on a QWERTY keyboard? Since the personal computer and now the telephone have become the primary methods for recording our ideas, we simply do not write with an actual writing implement like a pen or pencil as much as we used to. Or, the benefits of gripping and moving in a controlled manner a pen or pencil on a piece of paper reach beyond communication. Emerging research shows that handwriting increases brain activity, hones fine motor skills, and can predict a child's academic success in ways that keyboarding can't.
So, we must ask ourselves, is this really a problem? Studies suggest there's real value in learning and maintaining this basic skill, even as we increasingly communicate electronically via keyboards big and small. Instead of asking questions about the validity of teaching handwriting in schools at a time when technology is asserting its primacy, it would be more beneficial for the educational actors to understand that both of these views are not mutually exclusive, and that we can even use, in an interesting twist, new software for touch-screen devices, such as the iPad, to reinvigorate the practice. The pages below aim to reflect that, regardless of what age they are in, students need a variety of technologies, including cursive handwriting, in order to succeed. |