In today’s world, technology has made it clear that it is here to stay. As part of this, digital writing has increased so strongly, that personally, sometimes I wonder if one day there will be a generation that will learn about writing by hand only as something of the past that humans used to do. Given the place that digital writing occupies in people’s daily lives, jobs have shifted to where feeling comfortable using technology to write and being an efficient digital writer is necessary.
According to Lawrence (2022), “even a strictly creative writer must contend with word processing software to prepare their manuscript for submission, send emails to literary agents, or use social media to promote their book reading” (p. 27). In my opinion, although this may seem intimidating for some, the truth is that we are already constantly involved in some form of digital writing (like text messaging), even if we are not aware of it. Hence, if finding a career in digital writing is something that interests us, it sounds like a good idea to draw on something we are already doing to improve our digital skills. In relation to this, “candidates with strong digital skills listed on a resume may stand out amongst competitors as having technical edge or skill-based advantage” (Lawrence, 2022, p. 27). For this reason, I will be sharing an online resource I liked where the author listed some great tools to support our writing and editing process in 2024.
15 Best Writing & Editing Tools in 2024 (AI Tools Included)
Very importantly, for people seriously interested in seeking a digital writing job, Lawrence (2022) stated that an ingenious job seeker does not limit their job search. For example, some of the titles that may be found that rely on digital writing and digital media skills include Web Manager, Social Media Coordinator, Social Media Specialist, Marketing Coordinator, Marketing Specialist, Email Marketing, Digital Marketing Specialist, Communications Specialist, Copywriter, Public Relations, User Experience, Journalist/Reporter, Editor, and more.
Of all the options previously mentioned, one that particularly caught my attention was the job of an editor because an editor can use their knowledge to apply it to most of the other jobs listed due to the high level of skills it requires. Regarding this, there is an interesting journal article that actually discussed editing journals, which is a great example. In this article, it is emphasized that “critical thinking and detail orientation are also indispensable skills a journal editor needs to develop. When an author sends a manuscript to a journal, they do not only expect insightful feedback from reviewers” (Laoriandee, 2023, p. 403).
Watch this short video about some editors sharing what they do!
While personally I had assumed that the job of an editor was more simple, I have now realized there is more complexity to this particular job. That is, Laoriandee (2023) mentioned that journal editors do not simply edit and send what they edit for review, but before the final product is published, they must check every detail. In addition, journal editors are also expected to explain why a given journal is rejected from making it to the reviewers. The way I see it, if within journal editing, editors can cover different aspects of the writing process before a product is published, then the same could apply to being a digital editor for other jobs. For example, an editor may be asked by a website manager to use their skills to ensure that the final product is without errors.
With all this being said, there seems to be a growing interest amongst people to pursue jobs with high use of technology. The good news is that when it comes to digital writing, there are more careers than what many may think. It is a matter of researching and becoming the best possible for when the time comes to apply for a digital writing job of our interest.
References
Laoriandee, W. (2023). Idea sharing: Becoming a journal editor as professional development.
PASAA, 67, 401–409. EJ1413994.pdf (ed.gov)
Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Ontario,
Canada: Broadview Press.
Your blog post was so interesting with how the world of digital writing is growing and how to better our own digital writing. In the growing world filled with technology that we are living in today, there are so many things that are slowly going "extinct" in our society. Along with the rise of digital writing, there are so many things that have been taken over by technology. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and having every answer to almost any question at my fingertips but we are losing a sense of humanity in my opinion. I think that it is great that the digital world is progressing, and I agree that there will come a day where physically writing will be something that is taught as something that "old people did". This is ultimately going to mean taking away so much of peoples own privacy as we get farther and farther into the digital world. Like I shared in my own blog, Lawrence (2022) stated, ""Technology companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter deal primarily with data. It is the data they collected that made them powerful and valuable". We are involved in a world where social media and digital writing is valuable and so important for sharing ideas but also a place that we have to be cautious and careful with.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital Writing: A Guide to writing for Social Media and the web. Broadview Press.
That first resource is a great list of ways AI can help edit. I was only familiar with 3 or 4 of them! Because so many of them were new to me, I looked into just how much teachers are using AI to create or edit their lesson plans. Van den Berg and du Plessis (2023) wrote a great summary of the use of ChatGPT and AI within education. Their article focused mainly on using these tools to provide a framework for lessons, which helps teachers avoid missing key pieces of instructional design. The authors didn't get very far into AI for editing, although they did mention that ChatGPT can provide feedback. I recently took on a volunteer position as an editor for Science & Children, which is the National Science Teaching Association's elementary NGSS journal. In my first article to review, I had to answer a set of about 15 questions that required me to analyze not only the science and engineering content/connections, but also the instructional design of the unit explained in the article. Although he is referring to digital writing in the form of social media posts, Lawrence (2022) mentions that editing involves way more than meets the eye (p. 35). After my first editing experience, I can say that I agree!
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.
Van den Berg, G. & du Plessis, E. (2023). ChatGPT and generative AI: Possibilities for its contribution to lesson planning, critical thinking and openness in teacher education. Education Sciences, 13(10), 998. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13100998