Suggests that, although the benefits of word processing are widely acknowledged, writing is still perceived as a difficult activity. Considers the degree to which particular features of word processing might constitute new and significant impediments to individual writers. Discusses this issue with writers who expressed concerns that their…

Argues that Marcia Peoples Halio's "Student Writing: Can the Machine Maim the Message?" (which argues that students using IBM computers wrote better than those using Macintosh computers) is seriously flawed by methodological and interpretive errors. Explains the problems of Halio's article. Notes that the present article grew out of a…

Argues that Marcia Peoples Halio's "Student Writing: Can the Machine Maim the Message?" (which argues that students using IBM computers wrote better than those using Macintosh computers) is flawed by poor experimental design and is filled with questionable logic and evidence. Contends that she overlooks many specific features that make…

Presents a detailed critique of Marcia Peoples Halio's article "Student Writing: Can the Machine Maim the Message?" (which argues that students using IBM computers wrote better than those using Macintosh computers). Rejects the "Macintosh versus IBM" contention. Explores ways technology influences education and the growing…

Responds to criticisms of "Student Writing: Can the Machine Maim the Message?." Argues that cognitive psychologists, human computer interaction specialists, and teachers have provided "heavy support." Supports the use of "Writer's Workbench," the writing topic selection, self-selection, teaching methods, computer…

Discusses the need for research about writing and technology. Poses needed research questions regarding descriptive research, correlation research, and qualitative research. Offers experimental questions as well. (PRA)

Discounts Collier's study of the effect of computer-based text editors on the quality of students' revision, arguing that editing is not an innate skill and that the computer predictably would not improve upon a process with which the students are not familiar. Collier replies that he excluded several methodological alternatives to reduce the…

Provides a brief history of research in word processing and writing, describes the use of word processing as a writing aid, and discusses the problems and issues in research design in the area of word processing instruction. (MG)

If research into writing, particularly on computers as writing tools, is to assist teachers to improve writing pedagogy, the emphasis should be toward conducting naturalistic and context-sensitive studies. Early studies involved traditional experimental research instruments and looked not at the learning process but at the written product,…

A review of the literature on computers and writing reveals that a dichotomy exists. The great debate that has been taking place in the world of writing instruction mirrors the emerging debate concerning the implementation of computers in education. Applications and research fall into one of two categories: the computer as a teaching instrument of…

The commonest context for the use of word processors with primary school children is collaborative small group work. The two major reasons for this organizational decision are resource-based (i.e. due to the scarcity of computers in the classroom) and educational, stemming from an increased use of cooperative learning methods. In order to improve…

Presents a research agenda for examining learners' and teachers' conceptions of computers, language, and writing and their relations to one another. Claims that theories of computer usage are connected to notions of language and writing. Provides a theoretical foundation for proceeding with needed research. (HB)

Explains how a year of observing two successful novelists write and revise on the computer provided a number of ideas that are encapsulated in the concept of a fluid text or the writer's conscious avoidance of a text that becomes static or fixed. (HOD)

Surveys and critiques what has been written about style checkers and text-editing capabilities of the computer to assist in revising technical writing. Finds the literature inconclusive largely because it is anecdotal and methodologically flawed. Suggests a new research agenda and focus. (KEH)

The English Microlab Registry (EMR) was first designed as a database, or research tool, for planners of English microlabs in order to give them access to information about all aspects of microlab management. But EMR also provides descriptive data about what a microlab is and may well provide insight into whether those labs will survive. An…