In a class of eight students, an attempt was made to determine the effects on student collaboration of using the computer as a writing instrument and the influence the computer might have on social relationships in a high school writing class. Student collaboration consisted of several kinds, including: (1) the sharing of technical help for using…

If research into writing, particularly on computers as writing tools, is to assist teachers to improve writing pedagogy, the emphasis should be toward conducting naturalistic and context-sensitive studies. Early studies involved traditional experimental research instruments and looked not at the learning process but at the written product,…

In a high school writing class of eight students, a computer was used as a word processor to permit close observation of students as they learned. The class was studied using ethnographic techniques: videotape, audiotape, teacher/researcher journals, student writing, and interviews. Three types of learners emerged: marginal--those who had…

An ethnographic study of a writing class learning to use the computer as a writing tool indicated that learning word processing while learning how to write was a highly stressful experience for some students, and that a word processing course taught by writing teachers who attend to the special needs of writers should be available separate from…

Creating a writing workshop atmosphere using computers in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom improves the opportunities for integrating all language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The computer also represents a new way of learning, emphasizing students' problem solving strategies and learning processes. Teachers…