Composing is an essential part of literacy development in early childhood classrooms, and writing experiences are continually changing through advances in technology. Writing in a new language can be particularly challenging for emergent bilinguals as they navigate learning how to spell in English as part of the writing process. New pedagogical…

For six weeks, middle school students gathered information about peanuts from a variety of text and media sources to create an original informative book, thereby combining goals in both technology and language arts. By conducting authentic research about one topic for a concentrated period of time, students were able to develop and fine tune their…

Grammar checkers do not claim to teach grammar; they are tools to bring potential problems to the writer's attention. They also offer only formal and Standard English preferences, limiting the freer expression of some literary forms. Without guidance, students may misuse the checker, become frustrated, and feel discouraged. Users must be…

Offers five high school teachers' comments regarding how the computer has changed their lives in the classroom, the uses they make of it, and what it promises for the immediate future. (SR)

A program in a special school provides 60 deaf students (ages 9-19) with microcomputer access for three to four hours per week. The microcomputer is being used to develop student writing skills (creating, editing, refining), to publish a desktop school newsletter, and to participate in a telecommunications network. (DB)

Describes a one-semester academic composition course in the English curriculum of Amarillo Independent Schools, Texas. Discusses the advantages of incorporating computer technology into the course. (MM)

Describes three writing activities designed to link literature, technology, and the visual and performing arts. (MM)

Examines the effects of word processing on writing quality and the amount of text produced by basic writers. Finds that students using computers wrote more, but that there was no difference in quality between those who used a word processor and those who did not. (MS)

The two components of this document are: (1) a brief position paper; and (2) a related but independent bibliography of references on using computers in reading/writing instruction. The paper presents six recommendations for the intelligent use of computers in the teaching of reading and composition, discussing the guidelines of the International…

Word processing does not, in itself, teach revision. Students with incomplete revision strategies will not begin revising at a higher level simply by using a word processor. New computer strategies for teaching revision are needed--revision strategies that use the computer to reorganize, elaborate, and strengthen what has already been written. For…

Discusses the capabilities and limitations of 10 computer programs that analyze writing style. Describes the mechanisms by which these programs read a text, analyze the writing style, and offer suggestions for improving writing style. (KEH)

Reports an interview with writer Ken Kesey. Discusses Kesey's cooperative novel-writing project with a class of graduate students from the University of Oregon. (MM)

Annotates a selection of text-analysis and writing instruction software programs (excluding word processing), both available and in development. (MS)

In this paper, the role of computers in writing process was investigated. Last 25 years of journals were searched to find related articles. Articles and books were classified under prewriting, composing, and revising and editing headings. The review results showed that computers can make writers' job easy in the writing process. In addition,…

Describes one teacher's use of a "computer daybook"--an online journal that keeps track of students' progress in learning word processing and in grappling with the problems of writing. Lists several prompts useful for students beginning to learn word processing. (ARH)