Examines the work of five researchers who have conducted studies of writing with computers or writing with computer-assisted instruction in the following areas: composing with word processing; writing improvement attributed to computers; instructional software; computer networks for writing; and collaborative writing through telecommunications.…

Outlines a first-day lesson plan for a first-year writing class in which the instructor engages students at the outset in building an electronic online community. Provides step-by-step methods and discusses specific advice for what to do and not to do within the context of achieving an online emphasis. (HB)

Illustrates how a new technological-writing practice, World Wide Web publishing, meshes and clashes with what academics have meant by plagiarism. Applies psychologist Pierre Bourdieu's theories of capital and symbolic violence to examine some ways Web publishing challenges and complicates scholars' taken-for-granted ways of controlling and…

Examines effects of teaching hypertext markup language on students' perceptions of class goals in a networked composition classroom. Suggests sending documents via file transfer protocol by command line and viewing the Web with a textual browser shifted emphasis from writing to coding. Argues that helping students identify a balance between…

Describes the electronic network for interaction (ENFI) used by the author's writing classes and offers a brief example of "the conversation that it has helped student negotiate." Concludes that student discussions mediated by ENFI can enrich writing and literature classes. Presents evidence of how a specific sample of computer-mediated…

Presents a research agenda for examining learners' and teachers' conceptions of computers, language, and writing and their relations to one another. Claims that theories of computer usage are connected to notions of language and writing. Provides a theoretical foundation for proceeding with needed research. (HB)

Argues for a reworked pedagogy in the networked computer classroom to counteract the emergence of prejudicial attitudes which marginalize people in online discussions. Encourages interventionist strategies such as centralizing discussion and giving preparatory lectures. Proposes that instructors should be more accountable for confronting and…

Draws on results of a four-year effort to establish a campus-wide, computer-supported writing environment to suggest that computer networks and specifically designed instructional software can provide the basis for network-supported, writing-center-based writing-across-the-curriculum programs. Discusses development of network communication tools…

Examines different ways in which a range of computer-mediated communication tools can be used in similar classroom settings. Argues that curriculum design for writing classes is inextricably tied to how computer communications will be used in the class. Presents results of a semester-long study of two first-year writing classes using computers.…

Examines existing copyright law, the ambiguous case law concerning copyrightable material and educators; university policies toward patent and copyright law; and the changing nature of educational institutions in the 1990s. Considers the question of who "owns" an online composition course. Outlines issues that composition instructors need to…

Notes that Interdisciplinary Studies Program faculty at Wayne State University devised courses and assignments using computer conferencing to create a collaborative, democratic, and nonauthoritarian learning community. Discusses an assignment based on the film "Grand Canyon" that encouraged students to take on roles of their racial and…

Presents brief descriptions of 46 software programs designed to (1) help writers collaborate over a network; (2) help writers invent; (3) allow comment after critical reading; (4) help writers write research papers; (5) help writers analyze style/mechanics/usage; (6) offer on-line reference guides; (7) author multimedia courseware; and (8) assess…

Describes how using conferencing software in a computer-assisted writing environment became a catalyst for a distinctive learning ecology that interrelated prosocial student behaviors, learner-centered teaching, and assessment. Argues that the conferencing class not only helped students apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills in…

Describes how an online conference was used in a graduate poetry class with students not accustomed to using technology in their coursework. Suggests that it extended the depth and quality of discussion, opening up new areas of discourse; and that students went beyond assigned topics to create and engage in their own discourse enriched by their…

Notes many networked composition classrooms can be considered "transitional;" focus of the classes is neither exclusively on print-oriented skills nor on electronic-literacy skills. Focuses on an instructor's first-year composition courses in a computerized environment. Outlines ways teachers may employ a portfolio pedagogy in networked…