Responds to teachers who are still unconvinced of the value of word processors or computers in professional writing courses. Describes word processing units offered in a technical writing course and reports results from a questionnaire on the units given to students in the course. Contains a copy of the questionnaires. (EL)

Focuses on problems encountered with computer-aided writing instruction. Discusses conflicts caused by the computer classroom concept, some general paradoxes and ethical implications of computer-aided instruction. (EL)

Many different kinds of incentives and support structures must be established in order to provide a campus environment in which instructional computing can flourish. Innovative academic computing programs at six liberal arts colleges (Colby, Hamline, Marymount, Smith, Swarthmore, and Wells) are reported. (Author/MLW)

Reports an investigation into possibilities of using word processors and text analysis software with English as second language (ESL) students to determine (1) if foreign students can learn to use computer equipment, (2) if students feel time invested is worthwhile, and (3) if ESL students' problems with writing American academic prose can be…

An analysis of 87 undergraduate questionnaires found that students' perceived increased levels of expertise in 25 skills after taking a self-paced word processing and worksheet/spreadsheet applications course. Examined the relationship between age, gender, race, and grades, and found a positive correlation between grades and perceptions in…

Describes study of students at a two-year community college that was conducted to examine descriptive references to a computer for differences in interactive styles when reporting success and failure experiences while using a computer for word processing. Differences that relate to gender and computer experience are also analyzed. (18 references)…

Describes a computer applications course developed for undergraduate biology students (primarily sophomores) to teach word processing, database and spreadsheet programs, graphing programs, telecommunications, and file transfer procedures. AppleWorks software is discussed, course content is explained, and the microcomputer laboratory is described.…

Describes study of elementary students that was conducted to assess the impact of microcomputers on classroom organization, interaction between teachers and students, and student learning. Teacher characteristics and their influence on learning outcomes are discussed, and a study that used computers for a writing project is described. (nine…

Describes trends in educational software design in the United States for elementary and secondary education. Highlights include user-friendly software; learner control; interfacing the computer with other media, including television, telecommunications networks, and optical disk technology; microworlds; graphics; word processing; database…

Describes UN MENU FRANCAIS, a teacher developed-computer program for students of French, and points out the advantages of using computers in the second language classroom, despite the poor pedagogical quality of most second language software currently available. An electronic mail correspondence between students in France and Denmark is described.…

Outlines technological and cognitive considerations in the selection of authoring systems for writing computer-assisted instruction (CAI) lessons. Topics discussed include hardware selection; documentation; text display; screen appearance; branching and sequencing; text editing; graphics; animation; sound and voice input and output; student…

Discussion of the writing process of elementary students with learning disabilities focuses on studies of a HyperCard stack that was developed to help beginning writers and their teachers. Texts created with the hypermedia are compared with texts created using paper and pencil and word processing. (Author/LRW)

Recent studies at four colleges and universities (West Virginia University; University of Cincinnati, Ohio; Johnson County Community College, Kansas; University of Texas, El Paso) indicate that comprehensive writing tools software can improve both student writing performance and pass rates for disadvantaged students. (Author/MSE)

Describes a telecommunications project in Texas that used inexpensive laptop computers for word processing with classes of low-achieving tenth-grade language arts students. Highlights include parent involvement; student writing processes; telecommunication with other students via the Texas Education Network (TENET); database use; and student…

Examines computerized text analysis by considering questions related to how computerized text analysis programs function, the history of computerized text analysis, and the claims of previous research on computerized text analysis. It is suggested that claims about the effectiveness of computerized text analysis as a writing aid for…