Tag Archives: text messaging

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Better Spelling Through Texting?

Older people often complain about teens’ text-messaging habits. Many ask, “Why can’t they just pick up the phone and call?” According to a recent study, the average teen sends 4,400 texts every month.

Teens texting

The use of text messaging by teens (and increasingly often, by younger children) has given some people cause for concern. They argue that the abbreviations used in texting are detrimental to literacy development. Spelling, grammar, and phrasing are all somehow poised to suffer, critics of texting contend, because of the use of shortened words and sentences. Soon, they predict, students’ essays will be filled with LOLs and L8Rs.

But a new study from Coventry University finds no evidence that having access to mobile phones harms literacy skills. In fact, the research suggests that texting abbreviations (“textisms”) may actually aid reading, writing, and spelling skills.

The research, recently published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, examined the impact of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-olds. The study recruited 114 children for the study, none of whom had previously used a mobile phone. Half of the group was given access to a mobile phone.

Based on a series of reading and spelling tests, researchers found a “significant contribution of textism use to the children’s spelling development during the study.” The study made it clear that it wasn’t the access to the phone per se or even the text messaging as much as specifically the use of textisms that aided the development. The reason, writes Dr. Clare Wood, one of the authors of the study, “is partly explained by the highly phonetic nature of the textisms that are popular within this age group, as the phonological and alphabetic awareness that is required for the construction and decoding of these textisms also underpin successful reading development.”

It’s also possible, the researchers add, that textisms add value because they are “another way in which students are exposed to print outside of school.” And while sure, it’s not the same as having students exposed to “great works of literature” on the weekends, it looks like texting might be a good influence nonetheless.

 

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Text Messaging Most Important for Cell Phone Buyers

Cell phones aren’t just used for talking anymore. In a survey conducted by Amplitude Research, buyers of new cell phones look at video capability (33%), music (34%), Internet access (61%), e-mail capabilities (63%), camera (67%), and text messaging (73%) as the most important features. For driving in the car, 62% said they would use Bluetooth, while 51% would use the hands-free microphones.

Forty-one percent said they send or check e-mails one to five times per day, while 28% said they do not use their cell phones for e-mail. Thirty percent said they use their cell phones for banking transactions. As these trends continue, agencies will want to learn how to communicate with their clients in multiple ways.

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Text Info on Cell Phones

I have begun using my cell phone for more than just voice calls. Virtually every cell phone sold today has the capability to send and receive text messages. I know what you are thinking; text messaging on cell phones is for kids, not me. Yet I have discovered there is useful information available via text message.

4INFO (44636) is an example. That number is not a zip code, it is the number you text to tap into for info, a killer SMS (Short Message Service) service that provides quick access to movie times, sports scores, flight times, business directories, and other handy info-for your area. To find the nearest pizza joint, for example, just text “pizza Franklin, TN.” For movies, punch in the name of the flick or just enter “movies” in the name of the city or theater. Looking for Starbucks? You can text “Starbucks” and your zip. Within 30 seconds or so, you’ll receive an SMS containing the requested info.

While the service is great it can’t do everything. Missing from the query pool are white page listings and driving directions. On the other hand, it can deliver jokes, drink recipes, pickup lines, and WiFi hotspots — everything you need for getting around town.

Google SMS – If you can’t get the info you need from 4INFO, try Google SMS. It works the same way (you send your queries via SMS to 46645, aka “GOOGL”) and retrieves even more kinds of handy data, including driving directions, word definitions, residential listings, and reverse phone lookups. It’s short on fun stuff, long on practical information. Go to Google.com and you can print the wallet-sized tip sheet if you have trouble remembering query syntax.