With Alan Turing in mind, I'm going to get a wee bit controversial here.
My hunch is current grammar checking works like a spell checker. It finds things it has been programmed to find that are bad grammar and proposes a fix – just like a spell checker. Have spell checkers helped students spell better? Hard to know would be my guess. Certainly there are fewer misspelled words in student papers, but my guess is because the software fixes it for them, not because they've learned to spell better. Grammar checking software will highlight bad grammar and students will command the software to fix it, thus resulting in better grammar, but whether or not they LEARN better grammar is not clear.
Let me suggest to folks on this list that someday (very soon now) our computers will prepare all our communications for us and grammar (and language for that matter) will no longer be an issue. Yikes I hear you say… but how many of us can calculate square roots? Not the same you say!! Yes it is, if you ask me. The only difference is computers have not yet be programmed to do this… but that is coming. It is only a matter of time before Word's little green line turns into an automatic fixer.
Remember that the little devices we are all carrying around these days that we call "smart phones" aren't phones at all. They are supercomputers. What will the world be like when we all are carrying around supercomputers connected to each other?
P.S. Using Turnitin in a non-punitive way sounds better to me, but whether or not students learn more this way – well I just don't know.
Mr. James B. Greenberg
Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
Milne Library
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, New York 13820
email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
phone: 607-436-2701
fax: 607-436-3677
Twitter: greenbjb
"Ignorance is curable, stupidity lasts forever"
From: "Nepkie, Janet" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Reply-To: Teaching List <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:49:53 -0400
To: Teaching List <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Subject: Re: Status of Computer's Ability to do Grammer Checking
Jim,
Thanks for passing along the information about this grammar checking program. I'd like to hear ideas about ways in which our group might use this software to help our students improve their writing skills. Would it be helpful if students used the grammar checker before they turn papers in to us?
This reminds me of a comment I heard recently in which a teacher suggested that we allow our students to use Turnitin.com to check their own work BEFORE they submit papers to us. The person who made the comment said Turnitin.com could be used to help students learn how to properly cite works.
Interesting - - yes?
Thanks
Janet
Dr. J. Nepkie
NEW EMAIL ADDRESS
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
SUNY Distinguished Service Professor
SUNY Music Department
Oneonta, NY 13820
tele: 607-436-3425
fax: 607 436 2718
From: "Greenberg, Jim" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Reply-To: Teaching Breakfast List <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:13:48 -0400
To: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Subject: Status of Computer's Ability to do Grammer Checking
TBers,
I am sometimes asked by faculty or students, "how good are computers at checking grammar?" Well if they were really good, you'd never see a grammar error in my posts!! Still, there are grammar checking services that are getting "pretty good." Here is the latest of them, thank to Dr. Mohammad for passing this along to me. I also posted a recent review of this service.
http://www.grammarly.com/
A review of it can be found here:
http://online-grammar-check-review.toptenreviews.com/grammarly-review.html
Mr. James B. Greenberg
Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
Milne Library
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, New York 13820
email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
phone: 607-436-2701
fax: 607-436-3677
Twitter: greenbjb
"Ignorance is curable, stupidity lasts forever"
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