Gives historical background of the achievement of Ellis Page and his attempt to create a means by which computers could be used for analyzing and evaluating student writings. Provides critical reception of the original studies by Page. Discusses three current computer approaches to the task of evaluating student writing. (HB)

Considers whether differences might emerge in writing quality when students wrote examinations by hand or on a computer, and whether raters differed in their evaluation of essays written by hand, on a computer, or by hand and then transcribed to typed form before scoring. Finds no statistically significant differences in ratings among the three…

Presents a method that uses computers for writing placement exams, a "structured decision system." Argues that it is more economical and efficient than the process that uses real people as readers. (SR)

Examines relationships among computer experience, attitudes, writing behaviors, and writing quality for advanced undergraduate students who have owned Macintosh computers for at least three years. Finds that writing attitudes and practices are fairly well ingrained for the less competent writers, and they need to become comfortable with the…

Reviews videotapes of three professional writers composing several essays from start to finish, both by hand and by computer. Discusses similarities and differences among the completed essays. Finds that writing appears to be governed by deep cognitive models that are little influenced by the mode of text production or by the writer's preference…

Discusses the relationship of assessment and computers as two technological forms that share positivist assumptions about their value-free roles as instruments with application for solving large-scale problems independent of context. Offers suggestions for using computers to deliver, organize, review, and share assessment procedures that include…

Compares students' writing in a computer classroom and in a conventional pen-and-paper classroom. Finds that students in the conventional classroom responded readily to the same pedagogical approaches without the aid of computers. Suggests that it is nearly impossible to account for the results without weighing the roles played by pedagogy,…

Discusses implementation at Conestoga Elementary School in Gillette, Wyoming, of an electronic portfolio system to store both two-dimensional information, such as writing and drawing, and full-motion video sequences for each student. Notes that teachers, parents, and students can access the portfolios, which reside on rewritable optical disks; and…

Addresses the disruption that frequently follows the insertion of computers into non-computer-mediated practices. Describes several traditional and computer-mediated peer-response strategies. Analyzes what is gained and lost when students move from traditional to computer-mediated peer-response groups. Acknowledges that computer-mediated…

Provides an overview--especially for administrators, developers, and tutors new to electronic tutoring environments--of issues and considerations unique to online tutoring that training programs need to address. Discusses three aspects of online tutoring: appreciating text-only environments, developing procedures for responding online, and…

Describes a creative writing class in which students used hypertext to develop their writing portfolios. Suggests that, much like "Kansas Dorothy" who ventured into Oz, a "tornado" carried these students and their teacher from the safe Paperland to the yellow chip road of electronic portfolios. Notes that students' portfolios…

Discusses results of a college writing instructor's initial experiment with electronic portfolios-in-progress that caused her to reconsider how she used the system and what she would change. Notes that the instructor found herself taking charge of student texts in ways she had not done in years, and effectively violated most of her beliefs about…

Argues for having first-year composition students "publish" electronic portfolios on the World Wide Web. Provides background on attaining a computer-mediated pedagogy that accounts for its electronic presence and transcends traditional classroom practice. Presents an actual electronic portfolio. Concludes that making an electronic…

Theorizes that three features of electronic texts have changed writing and writing instruction: the creation of a seamless flow of text, word publishing as a rhetorical act, and hypertextual writing and thinking. Discusses implications for how teachers read, respond to, and evaluate student writing. Stresses importance of linking writing…

Outlines three forms of electronic portfolio based on a student's work, a class project about a specific topic, and a class seminar on a broad topic. Discusses logistical problems of management, access, and cross-referencing; technical problems of input, access, and copying; and theoretical issues of the lack of realia, of ownership and copyright,…