We propose a two-component theory of text signaling devices. The first component is a text-based analysis that characterizes any signaling device along four dimensions: (a) the type of information it makes available, (b) its scope, (c) how it is realized in the text, and (d) its location with respect to the content it cues. The second component is…

This study set out to determine the effect of teaching business communications by a traditional writing and a word processing method upon the students' attitudes and cognitive achievement. There was no significant difference found in student attitude, but there was significance found between treatment groups on the combined mean scores of the…

Discusses what computers (word processors) can do for the writer. Examines the physical and psychological constraints experienced by writers and explains how word processors can help in overcoming them. (FL)

This paper considers the effect of computer use (word processing) on the compositions written by minority college freshmen in basic writing courses, focusing in particular on differences in composition quality and the kinds of thinking evidenced in the essay, as well as determining whether any differences were gender related. Subjects were 40…

Word processing programs offer five capabilities that can help students over the physical and psychological constraints associated with writing. First, producing text on a word processor is more tentative and more noncommital than producing text on paper. This reassures the writer that it is all right to experiment with words. Second, the blinking…

Suggests the growing use of computers to process information in today's world increases the human need for an interactive competency in writing and reading. The integration of instruction in reading and writing, particularly through use of word processors, is discussed as a way to strengthen this interaction. (MBR)

People construct macrostructures to reduce and organize incoming semantic information. When they make a prediction on a paper's outcome based on the work's first sentence or paragraph, readers are using preliminary input to construct a macroproposition about the paper's focus. The macrostructure may be explicitly stated--either in the opening…

This report summarizes and synthesizes current research on the effects of using word processors on students' writing performance. The report examines cognitive models of the writing process, issues in the assessment of writing performance, and research on instruction in keyboarding. The work was carried out as part of a course requirement by…

Literature on word processing (WP) and writing in elementary classrooms is reviewed. Five propositions are constructed to provide a schema for understanding what is known and needs to be learned about young writers and WP. WP's effects on students' composing processes, written products, attitudes, and keyboarding/systems skills are considered.…

The computer can improve writing instruction only if it is integrated into a systematic pedagogy that distinguishes between writing behavior and higher order cognitive skills. Underlying the present concern with the writing process is the behaviorist assumption that promoting a certain writing behavior can provoke thought. Unfortunately, while…

Designed to help classroom teachers discover how to use computers effectively in teaching writing, this annotated bibliography contains citations of articles that have appeared in education journals, books, and the ERIC system. Among the topics covered in the more than 50 articles cited are the following: (1) feedback programs for individualized…

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…

A study investigated the writing strategies used by bilingual and monolingual students. Specifically, the study looked at field dependence vs. independence, possible differences in strategies employed by the two groups when using a word processor, the effects of strategy on the types of revisions made, and the types of revisions and cognitive…

Discussion of cognitive process research on writing focuses on a study of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade middle school students that tested a generative-evaluative model of composition. Treatments for experimental and control groups of ability-grouped students are described, and results are analyzed. (58 references) (LRW)

Current research and evaluation studies describe changing knowledge about the effects and conditions of computer-based tools in learning and teaching in elementary and secondary school classrooms. Current studies of computer-based tool use are characterized by: (1) a focus on many dimensions of learning, learners, and learning environments; (2) an…