Discusses the use of word processing in an experimental business writing course at the University of South Carolina. Students found that word processing made the task of writing and revising easier and more interesting. (JN)

Discusses advantages of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in a community college writing/reading curriculum. Using word processing software, students write reports, themes, and essays on the microcomputer. Other software is used for learning vocabulary, grammar, reading rate and comprehension. Includes problems to avoid to ensure success in CAI…

Identifying types of available courseware, examining potentially useful items, and generating ideas about directions composition instructors at Drexel University might take in adapting quality software for the Macintosh and designing courseware for their specific educational needs are the identified goals in Part I of this Report entitled "A…

Recent developments in personal computers will affect the teaching of reading and writing because they offer capabilities that simply were not possible before. For example, an information storage and retrieval system, developed as a "library" for elementary school children, allows them to store and retrieve information under different…

The effect of microcomputer word processing on college students' writing was investigated with three sections of a required freshman English course at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Half of the subjects were randomly selected to use the university microcomputer in a laboratory setting to write eight essays, while the other half worked in…

The home's supportive setting, which has the potential to encourage children to share their thoughts and feelings through spoken language, is the basis of the home's strength as a communicative context. Teachers can help extend this sharing of meaning by creating classroom environments in which written language experiences and microcomputer-based…

This paper synthesizes some of the many ideas and issues pertaining to research on the development of writing skills, and on creating new technologies for writing. Such technologies include computer-based production tools, videodiscs, and other mass storage technologies with potential for knowledge storing and structuring. The discussion also…

The articles in this collection identify and discuss challenges facing community colleges as they attempt to implement the new microcomputer technology for instructional and administrative purposes. The collection includes: "The Microcomputer Revolution and Its Impact on Community Colleges," by Donald A. Dellow and Lawrence H. Poole;…

Since spring 1987, Mitchell College has included a computer laboratory component in its basic writing curriculum to teach students word processing skills. The development of the program posed a number of challenges: (1) introducing word processing to all students without revising the curriculum; (2) designing a computer facility that could serve…

With increasing attention being given to the importance of microcomputers in the schools, there is concern about how new teachers can best be prepared to use the new technology effectively. This paper presents a perspective on teacher training based on three categories in which computers may be used in the classroom: to provide unique learning…

Written from a variety of perspectives, the 13 articles in this journal issue focus on the use of the computer in teaching English. Specific topics discussed in the articles are as follows: the era of the microcomputer, by R. Baird Shuman; pedagogical issues involving computers, by Duane Roen and Margaret Fleming; computer rhetoric at the…

A mail survey of two-year colleges was conducted to identify (1) two-year colleges using computer technology to teach reading, (2) the types of hardware and software used, (3) the courses in which computer technology is used, and (4) the ways in which computer technology is used in two-year college reading programs. Responses from 181 two-year…

A cooperative program conducted by the Logan (Utah) City School District and IBM Corporation used computers in the classroom to develop new teaching and career guidance approaches while enhancing students' process writing skills. The program included units designed for student and teacher awareness of the impacts of technology, the need for a new…