Writing involves a number of skills and being self-directed in the process would contribute to greater effectivity. The concept of autonomography, or being self-directed in terms of writing, draws from the literature on self-directed learning and specifically self-directed writing, where concepts such as self-regulation and learner autonomy are…

Describes a pilot program that used computers to help teach creative writing to children in New York's South Bronx. (CRH)

Eleven fifth- and sixth-grade learning-disabled students composed and revised stories using handwriting, dictation, and word processing. Dictated stories differed from other formats on product measures such as length, quality, and grammatical errors. Differences between handwritten and word-processed stories were found on the process measures of…

This article discusses the advantages of using computer-assisted composing (CAC) to teach composition to elementary and secondary school students with learning problems. It also describes the effects of CAC on student writing and offers several caveats for teachers who plan to use CAC in their classrooms. (JDD)

Discusses four applications of the microcomputer to the classroom: (1) a program listing of how to draw circles on the Apple II computers; (2) using a database to help write stories; (3) switching computers with others while writing stories to encourage creativity; and (4) a listing of a LOGO kaleidoscope program. (MVL)

This guide provides a collection of ideas for word processing activities that teachers have found to be useful in special education classes. The guide begins with a list of 41 computer skills, the grade levels at which the skills are usually introduced (from kindergarten to secondary levels), and provides names of commercial programs which may be…

This study investigated the collaborative interactions of junior high school boys (N=36) with learning disabilities while engaged in writing stories using a word processor. Half the subjects were of Anglo-American background and half of Mexican-American background. Each subject worked in two dyads, ethnically homogeneous and ethnically…

Created by children in grades 5-8 who were enrolled in a year-long Hupa language class, this computer-generated, bilingual book contains descriptions and illustrations of local animals, birds, and fish. The introduction explains that students worked on a Macintosh computer able to print the Unifon alphabet used in writing the Hupa language.…