Learning to spell before we type

Since the beginning of my lifetime (though not biblical times), new technologies and ways of accessing information have emerged with the intention of making our lives easier. My generation both depends on and sometimes misuses these resources — particularly spell-check and auto-correct applications. Even as I write, I notice my text being inundated with red and green squiggly lines. Not because I can’t spell (one would hope), but because I can’t be bothered to spell correctly. This is evident in my own text messages. For example, I once sent out a rather unfortunate mass text inviting people to a birthday party in the park. It said: “Come to the park, being naked goods.” In my defense, if you examine the Blackberry Pearl, my communication device of choice, you’ll notice that the same combinations of buttons produce both “being naked goods” and “bring baked goods.” Anyway, the birthday party went on all right, but I have since become infamous for my text message typos.

Whereas I sometimes fall victim to auto-correcting, others use it as a crutch. Don’t know how many r’s there are in harass? Microsoft Word will tell you, so don’t worry about it. But truly, I’m not all that concerned about people never learning to spell, since we read and write enough to figure it out. However, spell-check’s manifestations in other fields are perhaps more of a concern — if abused. There are learning aids in the form of computer applications and instantly accessible sources of information: for example, Wikipedia and SparkNotes. But though reading SparkNotes’ Moby Dick isn’t as good as Melville’s, using SparkNotes or Wikipedia as a base, or for supplementary information, is undeniably useful.

Likewise, Wolfram Alpha is an example of a computer application that serves a similar function for math subjects. In fact, many an engineer should consider sending fruit baskets to the Wolfram Research offices in Illinois. Wolfram Alpha is a “computational knowledge engine,” which means that it can perform many tasks, acting as an online almanac or solving complicated integrals. For many, Wolfram Alpha is absolutely essential in the homework process; it not only spits out answers, but also tells you how it got there when the question demands it. (And it’ll graph an integral for you, too!)

I don’t intend to address whether or not this is ethical, but rather whether this is productive for learning. On the one hand, it can provide students with a correct answer without requiring them to do any work. On the other hand, its ability to walk through problems can be hugely helpful and elucidating, providing answers in a way that’s more accessible and sometimes clearer than, say, a preceptor.

A similar option exists for classics students. Known as the Perseus Project, it has three particularly useful functions. First, it has quite a few Greek and Latin texts available online. Second, it has an online Greek wordbook. Third, it parses through forms for you — identifying the case, number and gender of any word — and sometimes links this information directly from the text.

When faced with a particularly hefty assignment, I sought aid for the first time in a computer cluster where I explored the wonderful beast that is Perseus. Guilt immediately took hold as I looked around to see if there were any classics majors, or young men with side parts that could be classics majors, about.

Throughout high school my teachers had condemned Perseus for ruining the capabilities of young classicists. With this in mind, I apprehensively stepped into cyberspace and temporarily abandoned my dictionary. Now I’m terribly embarrassed to say that I drank the Kool-Aid. I’m besotted.

Infatuation aside, I’m not convinced that Perseus possesses any devilish powers to ruin language skills, at least not always. In order to get a definition from the online dictionary, you have to first translate the Greek letters into Latin alphabet equivalents, a process that actually requires some thinking, perhaps more than leafing through a book. I’m inclined to think that this process actually requires us to consider the words more deeply. And though Perseus makes the word’s form available, as a classics student, I actually enjoy parsing the form myself.

This is an important distinction: These tools are only helpful if we use them as guides to discovering answers, rather than as search engines for answers.

This concern makes new technologies seem scary. In fact, the fear of technology and changing learning habits have made careers for people like Nick Carr and Mark Bauerlein, writers who have focused on technology’s impact on culture and intelligence.

Indeed, getting back to Perseus for a moment, the quality of classicists over the years has, on the whole, undeniably diminished. But we have yet to see a correlation between this and technology. Likewise, developments in engineering have not been slowing down as a result of these online tools. So are we headed to Stupid Town? “Is Google making us stupid?” Carr asks. No — Google provides us with necessary news quickly. Wolfram Alpha and Perseus won’t ruin us, so long as we keep them for reference and not for support.

In short: We should learn how to spell before we type.