Even in talking with my own daughter, currently a high school sophomore, she described to me a number of decisions that she makes including the intended receiver (whether the person is a close friend, acquaintance, boyfriend, or adult; the likelihood that the receiver will save or share the snap with others), the time (time of day, day of the week, month, during the school year or during vacation), the location (inside/outside, at home/elsewhere), the lighting, the font size and color, use of emojis or other “stickers,” duration of the conversation (and whether it is part of a “Snap Streak” of multiple days), and whether or not to use time and location tags provided by Snapchat.

By inviting students to focus mainly on the sounds—and not worry necessarily with image or video—Wargo and Brownell build on a rich tradition in oral history, storytelling, audio engineering, and rhetoric/composition to help preservice teachers make distinct connections with their students and also to recognize areas of difference. Digital writing requires that we explore all forms of media as text worthy of analysis, including what could otherwise be dismissed as just ambient noise.

Yet, if we do not, Price-Denis’s example reminds us that the tasks we typically ask students to do, such as creating a digital poster or recording themselves reading an essay will not have the same type of purpose, nor give students as authors the agency that they require in order to be fully engaged in the process. Digital writing requires time, space, and attention, as well as an inquiry stance.

we must keep the focus first on best practices in teaching writing and then, in a very close second, on thoughtful use of technology.