IM speak pervades student writing

My husband sent me an interesting article while I was at work yesterday. The premise of the article is about how IM speak is cropping up in student work at school more and more. As an elementary educator I have not seen too much of this first hand, but this topic does seem to be sparking quite a debate. Are social networking, email, and instant messaging sites causing our students to become lazy with language? What do teachers need to know or do to overcome these issues?

David Warlick was quoted in this article and disusses this issue in his blog. He says this type of language should be aknowledged and celebrated. He points out that we are now in the 21st century where perfect grammar may not be appropriate for all settings. He argues that teachers should be sharing with students how writing will change depending on the audience. A scientist will not write a formal paper the same as an author would write a book. Children need to learn how to direct writing to a specific audience or purpose. He says IM speak may have a time and place in the classroom, do you agree?

On another note, I was lucky enough to see David Warlick lead a workshop for LCPS during Staff Development at the start of this school year. His life's work is currently about promoting 21st century literacy, especially through web 2.0 tools. I reccomend you check out his website. His blogs, wikis, and podcasts are all very informative and give an interesting perspective on classroom uses for Web 2.0 tools.