The development of both the materials for an intermediate-level hybrid German writing course and the software in a virtual learning environment for the course may be viewed as activity systems. Viewing the individual components of each system as interrelated enables us to conceptualize the complexities of the development process, which goes well…

Provides an overview of online education models developed by commercial and academic institutions. Examines some rhetorical strategies used to talk about online education. Outlines some of the main players and positions involved in debates about online education. Suggests strategies that academic groups might explore. Considers how composition and…

Discusses the ideological dimensions of writing instruction software. Discusses errors and assumptions of choosing software for writing instruction. Suggests that all software decisions must be tested against the instructor's own self-conscious and informed understanding of the goals of writing instruction. (RS)

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…

Assessed the effects of students' use of "Writer's Workbench" (a collection of computer textual analysis programs) in the business communication class. Found that assignment grades improved by the third semester, which may reflect the extensive refinements the authors made to the programs after the first two semesters. (PD)

Discusses writing instruction and the use of educational computer programs; provides a theoretical framework that includes cognitive tool partnerships, learning theory, writing research, and the Vygotskian theory of mediated learning; and describes a prompting tool that used the macro language of IBM's WordPerfect with college and middle school…

The use of word processing as an instructional tool is the focus of this monograph. The introductory section provides an overview of word processing and its use in higher education, while the second section explores the use of word processing in writing courses, including word processing for basic writers and learning disabled students, word…

Designed to condense the material in a wide range of articles about computers and composition, this bibliographical review on computer use in composition is preceded by brief discussions of current pedagogical theory on composition instruction and of the directions in which computing in composition appear to be developing. The reviews contain…

A brief review of shortcomings of commercially available computer assisted instruction (CAI) programs, is followed by a description of Wordsworth II, a sophisticated interactive CAI program written at Michigan Technological University for teaching English composition. Criteria met by each of the program's eight process-based modules are discussed…

Points to scholarship that helped the authors think about the ideologies behind Writing Spaces, a Web-based site for computer-mediated communication that they constructed using Perl scripts. Argues that writing teachers can and should shape online spaces to facilitate their individual pedagogies rather than allowing commercial software to limit…

Since word-processing applications of microcomputers show a great deal of promise in helping learning disabled adults overcome writing problems, care should be given in selecting the software that they use. In considering what shared needs must be addressed when selecting word-processing software, it is necessary to isolate some of these needs,…

This paper addresses the lack of evaluative resources for computer-assisted reading and writing instruction (CARWI). It begins by discussing the benefits, drawbacks, and effectiveness of computer-based instruction. It then describes types of CARWI packages, including: (1) writing process software; (2) electronic handbooks; (3) interactive…

An introduction to using word processing in writing instruction, this report first describes the basic terms and tools used in word processing and then lists the four characteristics of a good word processing program. They are the options to: (1) edit and insert; (2) cut and paste; (3) find and correct; and (4) store and save documents of between…

The recent influx of computer programs to aid students in writing has created some confusion between the linear, directed process of problem-solving and the less directed, more chaotic process of putting words down on paper. Though problem-solving and writing-as-process have some points in common, they cannot be taken as equivalent, because…

Ninety-one college writing teachers completed a questionnaire about the extent of their computer use, computers and the writing process, advantages and disadvantages of computer use, problems encountered and suggested solutions, and future directions. Among the findings are the following: (1) The majority of those involved in computer assisted…