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…

Investigates whether more frequent revising throughout composing interferes with the constructive processes of composition of eighth graders. Finds that the effects of word processors interact with individual student differences. Suggests that researchers and writing teachers need to consider these potential differences when prescribing word…

Employs a cognitive discourse analysis to analyze instructions for using a word processor written by eighth grade students. Analyzes text structure to specify underlying semantic and conceptual knowledge structures. Finds that written instructions produced by the students were deficient in content information and did not parallel the hierarchical…

Discussion of creativity in writing focuses on a study of eighth graders that compared results of an expository writing assignment completed on word processors with the assignment using pencil and paper. Students' ability levels are considered, and revision processes are examined. (LRW)

In order to investigate the effects of computer technology on the composing processes of students in grades 8 and 12, a study compared students' writing in two conditions (writing by pen and writing by word processor), specifically addressing the questions of whether computer use led to an increase in revision and/or an improvement in quality.…

Recently a number of writers and researchers have praised the editing and text moving capabilities of word processing programs, proposing that they can be useful in helping students revise more readily and skillfully. With this premise, 16 eighth grade students participated in a program in which they used a text editor or word processing system to…

A study investigated the relative effects of using computers and writing by hand on secondary students' quality or quantity of writing, and on their attitudes toward writing. Subjects were 40 eighth-grade students in an Anglo-Chinese school in Hong Kong, with some experience in writing brief compositions. The word processing program used was…

A study investigated how eighth grade students used a microcomputer-based word processing system for composing. Five students, with a range of writing skills, used the technology across 10 class sessions. Data were gathered through interviews with the students about their models for composing, experiences that influenced their writing development,…

This report describes the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a learning activity package intended to enable middle school students to view and use the computer as a tool that has application in their everyday lives. Eighth grade students in two keyboarding classes used the computer as a word processing tool in the subject of…

This evaluation reports on a project that used word processing in process writing as a method for teaching written Norwegian to Norwegian students in grades 5 and 8. Process writing refers to the process of writing and rewriting or the various stages of producing written text. Students start with a first draft and work gradually toward a finished…