Are Computers Beneficial or Harmful to the Development of Writing Skills?
Posted by: bsp1 in UncategorizedIs the resource you chose and the educational issue of importance that everyone in class should read about?
Apart from the 30 pages of references, appendices and graphs at the end of the article, I strongly feel that authors address a very important aspect of instruction and how it relates to written output. In an educational context, I feel that writing skills acquired during the schooling years are an essential skill which may determine whether students are able to get through high school and move on to post-secondary education. Furthermore, writing allows individuals to express their opinions to the public and also allows people to advocate for themselves or an idea. As educators, we must develop teaching strategies which will allow students to get the most out of the writing process. There are positives to writing with pen/paper as well as writing with computers. I would like to explore this topic to expand my horizons with a hope of developing a teaching plan which will optimize the development of writing skills of my students.
What are your views about this issue? Do you agree or disagree with the author?
After reading the article, I did agree with most of the points that the authors made. Their stance strongly supported the use of computers to develop writing skills. Even though I did agree with the points, I feel that I need to look at the other side of the coin to determine the benefits of traditional pen/paper writing activities before I take a stance on this topic. I am certain that each method has its benefits. At the same time, I feel that the role of the teacher in each setting changes. In the computer lab, I feel that the students are more independent and are not as reliant on the teacher as a leader/instructor/director etc. This puts students at the center of their own learning and much research/theory supports this approach.
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June 26th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I found that computers improved the quality of writing beyond my wildest dreams. Just by by taking away the need to rewrite you allow the students to focus on the quality of the writing. Editing and keeping track of changes is easy and encourages them to refine their work. I also like using peer reviews.