AVID ETNA

I have seen several articles on this very topic recently. Be aware and make sure Standard Written English is being used in students' papers and work!

From The Tenneseean
Thursday, 01/18/07
Teachers fear text effect
Keypad shortcuts creep into English classwork
By JAIME SARRIO
Staff Writer

"Sometimes it seems like kids are using another language. And sometimes, they are.
Call it "text speak," or "Web slanguage." No matter how you label it, if you were born pre-Internet era, odds are you don't understand it.

"This shorthand style of writing omits vowels and punctuation in favor of numbers and abbreviations.

"For children with cell phones or instant messaging, text speak is a staple of casual communication, but in some Middle Tennessee schools, it's making a jump from the chatroom to the classroom." To read the whole article, go HERE.

A Glossary of common text-messaging abbreviations is included on the sidebar. Here are a few of them:
AAR8 – At any rate
AFAIC – As far as I'm concerned
AFK – Away from keyboard
4N – Bye for nowBBS – Be back soon
BCNU – Be seeing you
BRB – Be right back
BTW – By the way
CD9 – Code 9: Parents nearby
CUL8R – See you later
F2F – Face to face
F2T – Free to talk
G2G – Got to go
GR8 – Great

Another very good article entitled "IM Shorthand Slips Off Computer Screens And Into Schoolwork" appeared recently in the Washington Post.

It starts like this:
"Zoe Bambery, a senior at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, might send more than 100 instant messages -- IMs -- during a typical evening. So during the SAT exam, the 18-year-old found herself inadvertently lapsing into IM-speak, using "b/c" instead of "because" as she scrambled to finish her essay."