To investigate whether a creative writing unit in upper secondary education would improve students' creative as well as argumentative text quality and to examine whether it would change students' writing behavior, we tested a creative writing unit based on encouraging writing in flow by using divergent thinking tasks. Four classes (Grade 10)…

This intervention study aimed to test the effect of writing process feedback. Sixty-five Grade 10 students received a personal report based on keystroke logging data, including information on several writing process aspects. Participants compared their writing process to exemplar processes of equally scoring (position-setting condition) or…

This study compared the effects of computer-mediated (CM) versus pen-and-paper (P&P) writing on written accuracy and feedback processing in tasks written and rewritten collaboratively following a pedagogical treatment in two intact authentic classrooms. The study involved 32 secondary education low-proficiency English-as-a-foreign-language…

Aim/Purpose: In this study, the authors examine how an online word processing tool can be used to encourage participation among students of different language backgrounds, including English Language Learners. To be exact, the paper discusses whether student participation in anonymous collaborative writing via Google Docs can lead to more…

Google Docs, an online word processing application, is a promising tool for collaborative learning. However, many college instructors and students lack knowledge to effectively use Google Docs to enhance teaching and learning. Goals of this study include (1) assessing the effectiveness of using Google Docs in an out-of-class collaborative writing…

Background: It is well established that handwriting fluency constrains writing quality by limiting resources for higher order processes such as planning and reviewing. According to the "simple view of writing" then slow keyboarding speed should hinder the quality of keyboarded essay compositions in the same way that slow handwriting…

Investigates the theoretical basis of the writing process and describes the possibilities of word processing as a tool to support it. Writing process models are compared; the advantages of word processing are discussed, highlighting the revision process; and a model for use by elementary and secondary teachers is suggested. (21 references) (LRW)

Differences between letters of four adolescent mildly mentally handicapped (MMH) students written by hand and those composed on a microcomputer using a word processor were examined in terms of amount of time a subject spent completing a letter, the length of a completed letter, the number of words written per unit of time needed to complete a…

Suggests that when first-year students composed on screen, they developed a tendency to expand their writing processes; and that when upper-level students did, they tended to collapse their processes. Suggests that first-year and upper-level students interacting with a computer can learn and adopt different types of writing strategies. (SR)

Discussion of the use of computers as research tools to analyze the writing process focuses on a microcomputer-based software program, Recording WordStar. Studies using the software are described, including comparisons of traditional writing methods with word processing methods and utilization of the software's ability to play back a composition…

A teacher in a rural high school in East Tennessee observed that her high school advanced English students would readily agree to writing journal entries as long as they were allowed to use word processing software. In the past, students had bemoaned the daily ritual of journal writing using pencil and paper. The teacher wanted to find out if…

Based on the general lack of empirical evidence on the effects of word processors on writing quality, a study focused on changes in writing quality and syntax of first-year college writers who were taught to use word processors as part of their English composition class. The issue addressed was whether using word processors increased the syntactic…

Using word processors and the traditional handwriting method, a study investigated the relationship of learning styles to performance in twelfth graders' written compositions. Subjects (n=55) were enrolled in a public school in east central Mississippi. The study hypothesized that students using word processors and those using the traditional…

A study at a small southwestern suburban school examined specific process variables which occurred as children were taught composition skills using word processing, word processing with voice synthesis, and no word processing. Subjects were 45 second grade students, who were divided into three groups on the basis of scores on a reading…

To examine the effects of word processing on basic writers, a pilot study compared two classes of basic writers (40 students)--one class using word processors and one class using handwriting--at Glenville State College in West Virginia. At the beginning of the semester, students from both sections wrote one explanatory essay and one persuasive…