Fuses theories about Basic Writers and writer's block. Addresses, through the use of hypertext, how computers can help Basic Writers who experience this writing difficulty. Discusses the two main branches of students' difficulties (problems with genre and problems with the linearity of texts) which may be partially alleviated through the…

As students enter college, English composition instructors complain that students lack essential grammar basics to create clear, coherent pieces of writing. The number of students requiring developmental coursework at institutions has increased significantly since the institution of mandatory placement in 2000. In the face of the challenge to…

Describes a student-centered software package designed at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin to support student writing by helping students generate ideas, improve organization and development, and improve editing capabilities. Describes UT's basic writers and presents findings from the classroom research-based program evaluation. (DMM)

Explains how a computer-based basic writing course relied on small group communication and cooperation to surmount fears of the computer and of writing. Argues that the course helped students work through the "I-You" polarity, the disparity between the author ("I") and the writer ("You"). (TB)

Argues that a computer-integrated classroom for basic writers can build community and enhance peer response. (TB)

I conducted teacher research in a basic writing computer classroom to discover what two basic writers brought to the computer classroom that could complicate their interactions with technology and their ability to write with computers during our class. My discussion is twofold: First, I explore the writers' differing attitudes towards computers,…

This paper provides an overview of the Computers and Writing Instruction Project, a field-tested curriculum for teaching writing to learning-disabled students consisting of a process approach, word processing, and strategy instruction. Its scope and sequence are described and guidelines for establishing a writer's workshop in the classroom…

Word processors can enhance the reading and writing skills of underprepared college students in a special course combining reading and writing. Word processors may serve such a course in many ways: (1) storing and retrieving students' own unpublished resource materials; (2) moving large blocks of writing at the flick of a finger; (3) serving as…

Describes and evaluates the effectiveness of an individualized Writing Lab module, developed to prepare students enrolled in Savannah State College's Developmental Studies English Fundamentals classes for the post-Collegiate Placement Examination. The module uses instructor-authored, computer-assisted instruction to provide immediate feedback on…

Over the past several years, the preeminence of the transfer function at Arizona's Mesa Community College (MCC) has been overshadowed by the increasing demand for remedial education. In fall 1992, 65% of the students assessed for placement in English, mathematics, and reading scored below college-level in at least one of these subjects, and…

Miami-Dade Community College's (MDCC's) implementation and assessment of computer software as a part of Project SYNERGY, a multi-institutional project funded by the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation designed to seek technological solutions for helping students underprepared in reading, writing and mathematics, is described in this…

With funds from the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, Project SYNERGY was launched in January 1990 to address the problem of students entering colleges underprepared in basic skills and to make use of the tremendous potential for significant remediation through computers. Twenty-two institutions in the United States and Canada,…