The study aims to identify the effect of using word processor in teaching writing skill among secondary students in private schools in Jordan, clear out the differences in writing skill between the control group taught in the ordinary method and the experimental group taught using word processor. The study follows the descriptive and experimental…

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…

The study compared stories written on either a word processor or handwritten by 15 children (ages 8-12) with learning disabilities. Use of the word processor resulted in fewer spelling errors for children with severe spelling problems and longer stories for children having problems with the mechanics of the writing task. (Author/DB)

This study investigated effects of five proofreading conditions on the spelling performance of 12 college students with learning disabilities. Conditions were handwriting with no additional assistance, with a print dictionary, and with a handheld spelling checker; and word processing with no additional assistance and with a spelling checker. All…

Computerized spelling programs or "spelling checkers" can be a wonderful tool for writers at any level of competence. However, they should not be used as adjuncts to the teaching of writing unless they meet two boundary conditions, one of size and one of design. The problem with design of the programs is that they allow for the…

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…

A study examined the effect of word processing on students' revision of compositions and attitudes toward writing. Sixty seventh-grade students enrolled in a required writing course were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. The experimental group used a word processor for all stages and aspects of writing, while the…

Two studies with a total of 82 students (grades 5-7) with learning disabilities found that, unaided, students corrected 9% of their errors; with spelling checkers, they corrected 37% of errors. Spelling checkers failed to identify about 30% of errors. Students usually selected the correct word from spelling checker suggestions. (Author/DB)

This article offers a British perspective on ways that information technology can help pupils with specific learning difficulties to overcome problems with handwriting, spelling, and structured writing. (DB)

Two studies compared handwriting, word processing, and word prediction with speech-synthesis software (PR) with three intermediate-grade students with severe spelling problems. Results suggested that PR software can improve the writing of such students under certain circumstances but that constraints, such as the difficulty of using the software,…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a 3-year project that studied the effectiveness of word processing tools in improving the literacy skills of students with learning disabilities in grades 4-12. In Year 1 (1994-95), four text entry strategies were compared in 132 students with learning disabilities: keyboarding instruction, alternative…

A study of the effects of a typing tutor plus a computer-based word processor versus paper and pencil on the writing of six elementary students with behavioral disorders found small improvements in capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and complete sentences attributable to either method, though story length increased for three of six students…

The paper discusses: features of word processors and their impact on the writing process and the social context for writing; research on word processors in schools and the potential instructional role of extensions to word processors, such as spelling and style checkers, synthesized speech output, computer networks, and interactive prompting…

This article reviews ways that computers can support writing by students with learning disabilities. It discusses research on word processing, software for transcription and sentence generation, spelling checkers, speech synthesizers, word prediction programs, grammar and style checkers, prompting programs, outlining and semantic mapping software,…

Prepared from taped transcripts, this report summarizes presentations and panel sessions from a conference at Syracuse (New York) University that investigated the power that computers deliver to teachers and students of writing and editing, and the challenge of making the transition from typewriters to computers in the classroom. Titles of the…