In an age when people like me are pushing for more computers accessible to more students more of the time, questions arise as to whether this is a good idea?  Are we taking something away from education by giving students these tools and robbing them of the challenge of developing good intellectual skills to be able to produce quality work?  Are we just handing out mental crutches?

I don’t think so.  The advent of the calculator was met with the same questions.  As a former math teacher, I was very sensitive to make sure that students were skillful in the concepts of the mathematical activities we were involved in, not just skillful with a math tool.  It did not take long for the students who didn’t really know what they were doing mathematically to reveal themselves with obviously incorrect answers.  It only takes one bad keystroke for the truth to come out.

So what about writing?  Well, research has shown varied results ranging from no significant difference to being a huge plus for students.  Most recently, Patterson compiled research over the years and concludes that word processing on computers does have a positive effect on student writing.  With ample access and skillful instruction, students tend to write more and with higher quality when using this tool.

And why not?  Paper and pencil were the tools of writing before, now the computer and word processor have joined the mix granting their own special properties that aid the human being in conveying what’s going on inside the mind.  I’m not surprised the word processor seems to enhance writing… I know I’d much rather compose on my computer than drag out paper and pencil.  Wouldn’t you?

Some references if you like that sort of thing:

Owston, R. D., & Wideman, H. H. (1997). Word processors and chidlren's writing in a high-computer access setting Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 30(2), 202-221.

Patterson, N. (2006). Computers and writing: The research says yes! Voices from the Middle, 13(4), 64-68.

Russell, M., Bebell, D., Cowan, J., & Corbelli, M. (2003). An AlphaSmart for each student: Do teaching and learning change with full access to word processors? Computers & Composition, 20(1), 51-77.