Describes five categories of software that can be useful in the basic writing classroom: computer-assisted instruction, computer-controlled instruction, artificial intelligence, computer-based rhetorical invention, and word processing. Evaluates each type of software in terms of their ability to fulfill the goals of basic writing instruction to…

Describes a five-year study at University College, University of Cincinnati, comparing the writing of basic writing students who (1) did not use computers; (2) used a computer and word processing program; and (3) used a supplementary program guiding students through the writing process. Reports no significant differences in writing quality. (DMM)

Describes a student-centered software package designed at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin to support student writing by helping students generate ideas, improve organization and development, and improve editing capabilities. Describes UT's basic writers and presents findings from the classroom research-based program evaluation. (DMM)

Reviews recent research concerning the use of computers in language arts instruction, reporting little impact on writing quality, but improvement in students' attitudes toward writing. Provides suggestions for effective computer use and warnings concerning their limitations and misuse in the teaching of basic writers. (DMM)

Explains how the search feature available with most word processing programs can reinforce grammar and proofreading skills, helping students focus on grammatical agreement, comma usage, and sentence fragments. Discusses student responses to the technique. (DMM)

Word processors can enhance the reading and writing skills of underprepared college students in a special course combining reading and writing. Word processors may serve such a course in many ways: (1) storing and retrieving students' own unpublished resource materials; (2) moving large blocks of writing at the flick of a finger; (3) serving as…

Presents results from a study of eight college freshman to determine differences between revising essays on-screen and on-paper. Eighty-one percent of on-screen changes were above the mechanical or word level, often related to meaning and content. Students working on-screen tended to add more information and recreate paragraphs, but sometimes…

Over the past several years, the preeminence of the transfer function at Arizona's Mesa Community College (MCC) has been overshadowed by the increasing demand for remedial education. In fall 1992, 65% of the students assessed for placement in English, mathematics, and reading scored below college-level in at least one of these subjects, and…

Miami-Dade Community College's (MDCC's) implementation and assessment of computer software as a part of Project SYNERGY, a multi-institutional project funded by the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation designed to seek technological solutions for helping students underprepared in reading, writing and mathematics, is described in this…

With funds from the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, Project SYNERGY was launched in January 1990 to address the problem of students entering colleges underprepared in basic skills and to make use of the tremendous potential for significant remediation through computers. Twenty-two institutions in the United States and Canada,…