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…

Researcher's observation on his ESL class indicates the main issues concerning the writing skills: learners' low motivation to write, minimum interaction in writing, and poor writing skills. These limitations have led them to be less confidence to write in English. This article discusses how computers can be used for the purpose of increasing…

Discusses the learning philosophy of LOGO and how it is utilized with a word processing program to help former drop-outs learn to write. Some teaching techniques with descriptions of how they can be applied are included. (MBR)

Discusses approaches for writing teachers to use when teaching how to write a persuasive essay using the word processor. (MG)

Writing behaviors of grade 1 children were explored as they used word processors to support their writing. Information was gathered in the form of field notes and audiotape transcripts from classroom observation sessions, along with informal interviews with students and teachers. Themes which emerged from the data analysis suggested a combination…

Investigates the positive and negative potential for English-as-a-Second-Language student writers of word processing that are derivable from the properties of the medium. (40 references) (GLR)

Technical writing instructors at Drexel University (Pennsylvania) use computers to excite students about something they usually regard as a chore. Most of the students are engineering majors, but do not necessarily know how to use a computer. However, they accept the necessity of following a logical set of commands, and that every program must be…

The article describes typical kinds of writing problems found in fourth grade learning disabled students and discusses ways in which the computer makes the child's planning and composing problems more accessible to teacher help. Similarly, pitfalls of such accessibility are also cited. (CL)

The study compared achievement and attitudes of Utah State University students who experienced two different methods of teaching business communication. The experimental group used microcomputers equipped with word processing, spelling, and grammar packages. Results show no difference in students' writing ability or attitude toward writing as a…

Language arts skills and writing projects can be combined with activities that teach the fundamentals of word processing to improve the language arts curriculum. Suggested lessons cover five writing and editing operations common to most word processing software. (DF)

Applications to computer-assisted instruction, in which students are led through heuristic processes, are discussed. A greater impact can be expected on America's prose from word-processing software and from the use of the microcomputer as an instrument for writing rather than for the teaching of writing. (MLW)

Fifteen learning-disabled students, aged 8-12 years, showed marked improvement in their story writing when they used a word processor as compared to handwritten stories. Children with severe spelling problems made fewer errors in their word-processed stories. Reluctant writers tended to write longer word-processed stories compared to handwritten…

Discusses methods for students to use in revising their writing on Apple IIe and Macintosh computers, and using HyperCard. (MG)

Provides a brief history of research in word processing and writing, describes the use of word processing as a writing aid, and discusses the problems and issues in research design in the area of word processing instruction. (MG)

Discussion of the use of microcomputers as word processors in basic writing classes highlights the improvements in students' writing skills. Changes in teachers' approaches to writing courses are discussed and results of a study of 24 students in a basic writing course using microcomputers at Montclair State College are presented. (Author/LRW)