As English language arts (ELA) teacher educators committed to growing students' passion for reading, writing, and thinking critically, the authors acknowledge the impact that emerging digital technologies have on educational practices. Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is one such technology that has sparked both excitement and concern.…

Describes clientele who could benefit from software being developed at University of Iowa for writing effective prose; what these authoring tools do and how they work; and design standards likely to produce a successful product. The software's design scheme, general design principles and objectives, and educational potential are discussed. (MBR)

Describes the parallels between writing in English and LOGO in planning, audience awareness, and revision and gives guidelines for making students aware of these useful ideas. (CRH)

Presents specific practical suggestions about evaluating and selecting word processing programs and text editing programs for students learning to write on microcomputers. (CRH)

Idea processors are computer programs that can aid the user in creating outlines by allowing the user to move, reorder, renumber, expand upon, or delete entries with a push of a button. The question is whether these programs are useful and should be offered to students. Theoretically, an idea processor prioritizes ideas by placing them in a…

Discusses selected theories of second-language acquisition and their implications for developing a computer-assisted language-learning tool for learners of German,"Textana." Textana was planned as a generic text production tool to provide help to learners in outlining, editing, and postediting texts in German as a foreign language. (Author/VWL)

Examines a number of language activities in educational software, noting that most focus on surface structure and conventions, thus closing off students' options rather than expanding them. Discusses how, by improvising with word processors, teachers can tailor activities to help students explore and reflect on their reading and writing…

Relates how a student's composing process will be shaped and influenced by the microcomputer and word processing. (HOD)

Examines the history of scholarly writing, concentrating on how computers have affected the process. Discusses the advantages of word processing, spelling checkers, computerized thesauri, and style checkers. Cautions writers against letting computer programs reduce their writing style to a basic or generic level. (GEA)

Word processing programs offer five capabilities that can help students over the physical and psychological constraints associated with writing. First, producing text on a word processor is more tentative and more noncommital than producing text on paper. This reassures the writer that it is all right to experiment with words. Second, the blinking…

In the proliferation of articles about using computers in the composition classroom published in the last five or ten years, few mention anything about preparing students to compose on a computer while all assert that computers do indeed help the composing process. Preparing students to compose on a computer involves three major processes:…

Since there are similarities between the process of writing computer programs and the process of writing successful expository prose, a student's knowledge of computer programing can contribute to the understanding of some principles of composition. The establishment of a clear objective is the first priority of both the writer and the programer,…

Presents three general professional concerns to help teachers ride the third wave of computer technology, and three forms of CAI to enhance the recursive cycle of their students' writing. (CRH)

In the area of composition, computer assisted instruction (CAI) must move beyond the limited concerns of the current-traditional rhetoric to address the larger issues of writing, become process-centered, and involve active writing rather than answering multiple-choice questions. Researchers cite four major types of interactive CAI, the last of…

This document describes how computer assisted instruction and word processing can combine the systematic coverage of a writing class with the individualization of a writing workshop. Ways to revise computer programs for use in a writing course are reviewed and currently available relevant programs are detailed. The act of word processing itself is…