What good are computers in the writing classroom?

Abstract

The computer may always be with us, but in spite of its mntfold usefulness, there is no consistent objective evidence showing that it can help students become better writers.Technology does not promise to revolutionize learning and teaching. At most, it offers a series of changes which have already modified the behavior of students within learning situations and which have altered in various ways the learning situation.-Eble, 1972.

Computers, Learning Outcomes, and the Choices Facing Students

“…Daiute [1986, p. 153] found that most "students made signifi cantly fewer revisions when they worked on the computer than when they worked in pen." Dobberstein [1990] notes, "Despite the usefulness of computers, there is no consistent objective evidence that they can help students become better writers." While reports of negative effects may refl ect the newness of the technology at the time of the studies, later studies, such as those by Wenglinsky [1998], also have found mixed results.…”