The Story Remains the Same . . .
     I was there, at the start of the digital age. Computers came to the Harbert Writing Center at UM, where I was a tutor. I couldn't imagine that those glowing screens could replace my pen, paper, and electric typewriter. But soon, students were coming with floppy disks, composing, saving, printing on the dot-matrix printers. They appeared mesmerized by the blinking cursor. We never went back to the old way after that.
     Digital writing opens up a world of possibilities in regards to text and format, no doubt. However, the craft of writing remains the same: think, write, rewrite, revise, etc. Whether on paper or on a computer screen, writing still comes from within us. Digital writing is the "means" in the MAPS of Hicks's model on p. 21 of the text.  All the other elements of the MAPS are ours. Elyse Eidman-Aadahl puts the connection between craft and digital writing beautifully in this video:

    I like what Hicks says about digital tools:  "These additional elements help us focus the conversation on what a writer can do to make a message effective" (2013, 21). He and Eidman-Aadahl both make the point that "intention is the beginning of any well-crafted, creative piece of writing" (Hicks 2013, 23).
     Writing's process begins with ideas. Those ideas still need to be molded into a form that can convey a message.  I tell my students that just because they can write something on their social media posts doesn't mean they should. What we write opens us up to the judgment of others. Digital writing may make publication easier, but it does not make the message better. That onus is on the writer.
     Writing's process begins with ideas, but digital tools can spark the imagination and foster creativity.  Last semester, after teaching a unit on short stories and at the beginning of a unit on writing, I had my sophomores write a short story of their own using Storyboardthat.  Their story was to follow a plot line and use five panels. After some initial struggles with the website, my students figured it out and they were off! Two days later, they had stories to share--stories that reflected their interests and personalities--stories of romance, princesses, adventures, superheroes, fishing, and hunting.  They were proud to share their creations on the Smart Board; I was proud to see them use technology to accomplish what people have been doing for ages--with and without technical tools--telling stories.
     Storyboardthat is just one of the many tools available to teachers and students. In a June 22, 2014, post in EdTechReview, Saomya Saxena calls this web tool a format that allows students to "reinforce what they have learned and further their learning." I guess that is what digital tools do best:  allow us to use what we have learned and apply those lessons in creative ways.
     What an amazing time to be an educator! The world is literally at our students' fingertips. They can explore the world in a variety of ways:  they can communicate with the world beyond their small towns without leaving the classroom; they can access information in a moment that took me hours to find combing through library resources. Teaching them to effectively harness the power of digital tools is the newest teaching objective.  And it belongs to all of us--regardless of the subjects we teach. "We need to teach craft in a variety of ways, and most likely a number of times, to the whole class, to small groups, and to individuals. Only then will students truly understand and own the technique" (Hicks 2013, 20).
     We are living in a Gutenberg moment. Everything we ever knew about communicating is changed. More people have access to information; more people have opportunity to publish.  To be relevant, I know that I must gain expertise in this new age if I am to give my students the skills that will translate into success in their own endeavors.

References

Hicks, T. (2013). Creating Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres. Portsmouth, 

         N.H.: Heineman.
Eidman-Aadahl, E. (24 September 2013). Elyse Eidman-Aadahl on Writing in the Digital Age (Bit
        Thinkers SeriesI. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUlrzkpIgq8.
Saxena, S. (2014, June).  Storyboard that: Online storyborad creator. EdTechReview,  Retrieved from
        http://edtechreview.in/reviews/1291-storyboard-that-online-storyboard-creator