MY CLASSROOM USE OF WORD PROCESSORS AND WHAT I'VE DISCOVERED

Becker(1991) states, “Perhaps no other technology resource has had as great an impact on education as word processing.” Edwards and Havriluk(1997) stipulate that this technology can be used to support any kind of direct instruction or constructivist activity . In my classroom I have applied ordinary word processing functions that have yielded some extraordinary educational outcomes. My students eagerly engage in organizing, entering, editing, formatting , storing, retrieving and printing their letters, stories, ideas, poet forms such as Haiku and anything they might write in subjects across the curriculum. They have learned to use the text-editor to compose their narratives and different types of letters on the screen before committing words to paper. Their revision requires no erasing, cutting and pasting and no tedious and time consuming retyping of subsequent drafts. When we do expository text reading in Science , Social Studies and even Mathematics, they think about their previous knowledge and organize their learning through the use of graphic organizers which they build using the Table application.
I have noted a gradual improvement in their writing process and written product, but what is also noteworthy is that my students who previously were hesitant to write using paper and pencil/pen, seem more motivated to write via this technological resource. I have also observed that a few students write more detailed stories. My students have told me they feel like “real” writers and think they can experiment more with language . In trying to account for the differences, I believe using this resource has made it easier for them to reflect on the thinking that goes behind the writing. I am now working on a win-win situation by getting them to transfer that eagerness and blossoming literacy to traditional writing resources.
Share your thoughts with me .
Lemoy