Describes a year-long study of five fifth grade students with learning disabilities with written language deficits that used a specially designed computer program, ROBO-Writer, as a writing tool to assist them in a weekly writing curriculum. Discusses effects on the students' behavior, attitudes, and their written products. (Contains 32…

Reports several dilemmas that a team of university- and industry-based designers encountered as they collaborated on the design and development of a multimedia software program for teaching academic writing to intermediate English as a second or foreign language learners. Discusses cultural sensitivity and program engagement. (Author/LRW)

Describes study of English education undergraduates at West Virginia University that measured attitudes toward and perceived uses of computers before and after a course on computers and writing. Prior computer experience, computer anxiety, and concerns about computers are examined, and pretreatment and posttreatment results are compared. (16…

A three-year study (grades 3-5) of two groups of elementary school students determined that writing quality improved in a high-computer-access school, as indicated by holistic measures of writing message (meaning and content quality) and medium (quality of the form and surface features). In-class observation supported the contention that word…

Reviews the research on computer use in English language arts, predominantly writing, since 1987. Highlights include writing-process theory; learner control theory; zone of proximal development; word processing; composing process software; the Writing to Read program; and future research and directions. Contains 93 references. (Author/LRW)

Examines the literature on the effectiveness of computers in social studies instruction and learning. Topics include drill and practice, tutorials, study guides, games and simulations, inquiry and problem solving, graphics, and word processing and writing. Contains 58 references. (LRW)