This short paper summarizes the development of ColloCaid (www. collocaid.uk), a text editor that supports writers with academic English collocations. After a brief introduction, the paper summarizes how the lexicographic database underlying ColloCaid was compiled, how text editor integration was achieved, and results from initial user studies. The…

Discussing available computer software for prompting for the kinds of computers likely to be used in writing programs, this paper concentrates on categorizing software programs and exploring their "uniquely electronic" features. The paper deals with the following questions: (1) What kinds of planning software are available? (2) What happens when…

This paper summarizes information about using computer hardware and software to aid in making purchase decisions that are based on user needs. The two major options in hardware are IBM-compatible machines and the Apple Macintosh line. The three basic software applications include word processing, database management, and spreadsheet applications.…

The role of computing in enhancing scholarly writing and in building student writing skills is examined, with particular reference to the social scientist's needs at the college level. Word processing, outlining, and hypertext software types are appraised in terms of their impact on writing processes, and, while strengths of each are noted, each…

Computer software style and usage checkers can encourage students' recursive revision strategies. For example, HOMER is based on the revision pedagogy presented in Richard Lanham's "Revising Prose," while Grammatik II focuses on readability, passive voice, and possibly misused words or phrases. Writer's Workbench "Style" (a UNIX program) provides…

Humor, a reversible, string-based unification approach for lemmatizing and disambiguating language data, has been used for both language corpus analysis and creation of a variety of linguistic software applications such as spell-checking. The system is language-independent, allowing multilingual applications for a variety of language types. Its…

The application of computer technology in qualitative research and evaluation ranges from simple word processing to doing sophisticated data sorting and retrieval. How computer software can be used for qualitative research is discussed. Researchers should consider the use of computers in data analysis in light of their own familiarity and comfort…

Reviews research on the efficacy of word processing programs in teaching students how to revise their papers and speculates on what kinds of programs will be available in the future. (JC)

The paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of using word processing programs with learning disabled students, describes some available programs, delineates criteria for selection of word processing programs, and considers expanded uses of word processing with this population. Advantages of word processing programs for learning disabled…

A survey of 287 staff developers was conducted during October 1986 to gather information on the use of computers in staff development offices. Questionnaires were mailed to every fifth member of the National Staff Development Council; 92 completed instruments were returned within one month for a return rate of 32%. Areas covered by the survey…

This paper outlines a presentation on the applications of microcomputers to day-to-day aspects of faculty responsibilities. A table displays a classification scheme that matches the faculty work categories of research, service, managing, advising, and instructing against available computer software packages for word processing, filing/retrieving,…

This guide provides an introduction to the use of microcomputers with qualitative data. It is deliberately non-specific and rudimentary in order to be of maximum benefit to the widest possible audience of beginning microcomputer users who wish to analyze their data using software that is not specifically designed for qualitative data analysis. The…

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…

Recent improvements in the human factors elements incorporated in the design of personal computer interfaces are illustrated by detailed analyses of two microcomputers and their word processors (Osborne 1/WordStar and Apple's Macintosh/MacWrite). The vital steps in operation are described through analyses of the behavioral requirements involved in…

An overview of the research and design process that led to the creation of the Bank Street word processing program for children is reported. The decision to create a word processor for the classroom was based on the findings that commercially available programs took too long to learn, required the memorization of too many commands or rules, had…