On digital publishing

Over the past few years, learners have been granted new opportunities to tell and share their own stories. Students who write and publish, hone their communication skills and contribute their emerging creative voices to our world. We can nurture young writers by providing them the tools they need to create and share.

Teens will use formal writing skills as needed

Young people communicate in instant-message conversations much as they do when speaking to each other, says Sali Tagliamonte, a professor of linguistics at the University of Toronto, adding they seamlessly blend slang and short forms -- just as adults do -- with the more conservative, formal language one might expect from their parents or grandparents. Read more here.

Technology a key tool in writing instruction

While there are still many obstacles facing teachers in implementing technology, teachers play a critical role in driving the use of technology to teach writing, says “Writing, Learning, and Leading in the Digital Age,” a recent report by the National Writing Project (NWP) and the College Board.

Second annual National Day on Writing

The second annual National Day on Writing, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, will be celebrated October 20, 2010. In preparation, NCTE is collecting a vast sample of writing from across America at the companion National Gallery of Writing -- a virtual space "where people who perhaps have never thought of themselves as writers -- mothers, bus drivers, fathers, veterans, nurses, firefighters, sanitation workers, stockbrokers -- select and post writing that is important to them." The Gallery welcomes submissions of all types in many formats and includes a Local Partner Gallery with works from writers in classroom and schools, clubs, workplaces, cities, etc.

21st Century Writing Experiences

This blogger, at Tech Learning, advises teachers: "We shouldn't ignore, nor belittle this new kind of writing, but simply acknowledge that writing has changed over the last years."

New Report Finds Writing Can Be Powerful Driver for Improving Reading Skills

Writing To Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading, a report from the Carnegie Corporation, notes that writing supports reading and reading development. Read more in this press release from Vanderbilt University.

21st-Century Skills: Evidence, Relevance, and Effectiveness

This essay in T.H.E. Journal does a great job of explaining "21st century skills." I particularly like the "digital storytelling" example explored as part of project-based learning.