The paper describes two experiments conducted to improve writing skills of learning disabled adolescents. Experiment 1 used creative prompts plus a cut and paste editing strategy. In experiment 2, the same creative prompts were used with the Bank Street word processing program. Writing samples were scored for composition quality (holistic, number…

In a class of eight students, an attempt was made to determine the effects on student collaboration of using the computer as a writing instrument and the influence the computer might have on social relationships in a high school writing class. Student collaboration consisted of several kinds, including: (1) the sharing of technical help for using…

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…

Offers a personal perspective on the use of computers in English instruction. (FL)

Computer technology (primarily word processing) enables the student of public relations writing to improve the writing process through increased flexibility in writing, enhanced creativity, increased support of management skills and team work. A new instructional model for computer use in public relations courses at Purdue University Calumet…

Extension leadership articulated several broad goals for the use of microcomputers within cooperative extension. These included providing information, service to clients, office automation, and enhancement of the educational process. A questionnaire was administered regarding microcomputer use within Washington State University County Cooperative…

Technical writing instructors at Drexel University (Pennsylvania) use computers to excite students about something they usually regard as a chore. Most of the students are engineering majors, but do not necessarily know how to use a computer. However, they accept the necessity of following a logical set of commands, and that every program must be…

"Guides," the College Board's software for developmental students, was leased by Western Oklahoma State College (WOSC) in spring 1993 in the hopes that it would enable the college to implement a remedial program independent of the classroom. Because of funding considerations, the Learning Resources Center (LRC) and the Communications Division had…

Uses of the computer to support the development of writing skills was examined in a computer-intensive educational context, the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT). Subjects were 55 sixth-grade minority students, 25 of whom were ACOT participants and the remainder members of a matched control group attending the same school. Computer-based writing…

In the absence of appropriate instruction, word processing programs in general and stylistic analysis programs in particular can reinforce the unproductive revision strategies of inexperienced student writers. For example, the predilection of inexperienced writers to see text as parts (words) rather than as whole (communication) can be reinforced…

A study was conducted to determine the effects of word processing on the correctness of student writing. Student papers produced on the word processor were compared with those produced without the word processor in two classes of freshman English--an experimental and a control. The teacher attempted to keep the teaching methods and curriculum in…

A study sought to determine the effect of computer-based text editing on the revision strategies of inexperienced writers. Four subjects, none of whom had experience with computers or word processors, were selected from an introductory college composition course and required to master the basic terminal functions that would be necessary for…

The use of word processing in composition classes provides the student with both the opportunity to experience a significant technology and the ability to improve the mechanics and style of their writing. Word processing software has many benefits over "drill and practice" programs, "dialogue" software, and "whole process" programs, since word…

Generally, there are three kinds of software that could be used in college writing courses: word processing programs, interactive questionnaires, and text parsers. Although the benefits of these programs are well known, they still pose some problems. Word processors, for example, have been designed to "process" existing text; few have…

Ways in which various uses or applications of a microcomputer can help improve the image of a college or university department are discussed in this paper. The paper discusses applications such as instruction, word processing, management, programing, communications, statistics, and graphics, and audiences for these applications, such as department…