I'm interested in the way the Internet will change the way we write. I think hyperlink and multimedia will really change the way we structure our writing and what we focus on. I can only image how many times I have told a student to break a paragraph into smaller paragraphs in order to structure their information. Will there be a day when I tell them they need to insert a hyperlink? That part of their writing should be put on a separate page with a link to the original? Will there be a new structure to writing?

I know that the way we write has changed writing. Chip writes that technologies do not replace each other, but their roles change. I still use a
pen to write notes to myself, fill out documents, sign checks and other "official" items and send letters. For all of my other writing, I use a
computer. My writing process has changed so much that I no longer feel comfortable writing with pen and paper. I cut, paste, and delete so much that paper writing is painfully slow and messy. (plus, being such a poor speller I feel helpless without the spellcheck- bad spellers of the world UNTIE!)

I can already see how the uses for a pen are diminishing already. People write notes to themselves in their Palm Pilots; many documents such
as tax forms and college applications are on-line; financial transactions are becoming paperless with automatically withdrawals and direct deposit; e-mail has replaced many social and business correspondences. What will I use my pen for in 20 years? Will it become as charming and useless as the quill? Using a computer rather than a pen is usually faster and easier for me.

Unfortunately, I have had a difficult time finding information on the way technology is changing our writing structure. I have been able to find information about how the Internet is changing newspapers. There are fundamental changes taking place in newsrooms as the new competitor takes shape. This affects the way news is presented and, to a lesser extent so far, how it is written.

Many reporters have been trained to write until the deadline. Keep adding and changing until the absolute last minute the copy is due. This works well when the press turns on at a certain time every night and the paper is printed and shipped off to your doorstep. How do you write to a deadline when your copy goes on-line? The deadline is always now.
 

For more on how journalists view the new literacies check out:
"Adopting a Digital Mindset" by Bill Boyd