Effects of word processing on text revision

Revising is an evaluating and editing process that is an essential part of text production. Is text revising facilitated by the use of word processors? After examining the related research, it is difficult to conclude with certainty that the use of word processors is always effective in improving writers' revising skills, or that their use necessarily leads to the production of higher quality texts. Their effectiveness depends on a large number of parameters (computer equipment, writing skills, task execution conditions) which psychologists are now starting to measure

The Relationships of Word Processing in Academic Work and Student Achievement Scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress

This study is a secondary analysis of the 2011 NAEP writing test investigating the relationships between word processing in academic work and achievement test scores. Using data and methods to overcome several of the limitations found in research surrounding instructional technology, the statistical analyses constructed a table of z- scores and p-values that describe the relationship between both general use and specific uses of word processors and the total score on the NAEP writing assessment. Heuristic analysis of this table finds that there is a persistent and positive relationship between the use of word processors and writing achievement score. Specifically, the use of the backspace key, using word processors to make changes to a paper, using word processors to complete writing started by hand, and using the thesaurus function included in word processors are strongly related to achievement score. Further, the interactions of composition, editing, and revision are more complex that previously thought and may be growing as students comfortable with a new generation of technology continue to break the paradigm of the writing process. Finally, this study explores a new relationship between small edits and measuring the quality of writing by suggesting that word processors make the purpose of edits more important that simply the size of the edit

Program Serves Needs for Word Processors

News release announces that the University of Dayton has implemented a program to train qualified people as word processors

Using the Word Processor to Clarify Textual Phrasing

This article briefly reviews the literature relevant to investigating the effects of textual phrasing on the efforts of children to comprehend, and then addresses the question, Is there evidence in the reviewed literature that the use of word processors could have an impact on helping children improve their comprehension? Some suggestions for use of word processors, based on the reviewed literature, are made

Word Processors with Line-Wrap: Cascading, Self-Organized Criticality, Random Walks, Diffusion, Predictability

We examine the line-wrap feature of text processors and show that adding characters to previously formatted lines leads to the cascading of words to subsequent lines and forms a state of self-organized criticality. We show the connection to one-dimensional random walks and diffusion problems, and we examine the predictability of catastrophic cascades.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX with RevTeX package, 4 postscript figures appende

Word processors in secondary English : A survey and discussion of usage in West Australian high schools

The word processor would seem to have many positive applications to student writing in the English classroom. Writers working in the field (Chandler, 1987; Jenkins, 1989; Snyder, 1994) all agree that whether the technology is used as an editing aid to help poor hand writers and weak spellers get through the grind of writing, or as a dynamic tool which can be used as a new and exciting way of making meaning, its usefulness in subject English should not be overlooked. However, initial inquiries undertaken as part of this study, suggested that word processing technology had been largely ignored in West Australian government high schools. The aim of this Honours Thesis was to investigate the theoretical and practical issues that surround the use of word processors in secondary English classrooms. The goals of the research were: to establish a theoretically based rationale for the use of word processors in subject English; to assess the level of usage of the technology in West Australian secondary schools; and to consider the educational and social implications of this use or non-use. These research objectives have been met in two ways: through a critical discussion of the relevant literature on the subject, and through a survey of actual usage. The critical discussion draws upon current theoretical knowledge in the areas of writing pedagogy, literacy practices, and the discipline of English, to develop a rationale for the use of word processors. The survey of usage has provided information from 55 secondary schools (160 received questionnaires) throughout the state, with detailed observation and interviews carried out in two government and two non-government schools. This approach was employed to allow the large body of literature on word processors in English to be considered in the West Australian context. In summary, the study confirmed that word processor usage in West Australian English classrooms is minimal. The study also confirmed that there are systematic differences in the experiences of state and private schools in their use of word processors in English. The thesis provides those interested parties working in the area with a much needed overview of the extent to which word processors are being exploited in English in West Australian high schools

Precious words

Thanks to digital technology and the internet it’s never been easier to express yourself. Word processors have made writing as easy as tapping your fingers

Human-Readable and Machine-Readable Knowledge Bases Using Specialized Word Processors

The maintenance of knowledge bases is one of the crucial activities in the life cycle of knowledge systems. This paper describes an innovative approach to write complex and large knowledge bases using specialized word processors. According to this, a knowledge model is represented as a conventional document that is written following the standard operations of word processors. Following this approach, domain experts that are not familiar with computer languages could easier read and write complex knowledge models. In addition to that, the processor is able of interpreting the content of the document to automatically perform tasks of the knowledge model. The paper describes the basic characteristics of the document and its specialized word processor and presents our experience following this approach for a knowledge system in the domain of hydrology

THE INFLUENCE OF SPELL-CHECKERS ON STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO GENERATE REPAIRS OF SPELLING ERRORS

Recent studies show that spell-checkers help reduce students’ surface errors in writing by flagging spelling errors and giving correct spelling suggestions. This study investigates if the error correction provided by the spell-checker tool in word processors are internalized by students. A quasi-experimental two-group study was conducted on 30 Form 1 students in a school in Kuching, Sarawak.  The learners were given dictations which contained words listed as commonly misspelled words according to Oxford University Press (2012). The experimental group were given three dictations- one in which they used word processors and allowed to use the spell-checker tool and the control group was given two dictations, both handwritten. The data gathered were analysed using a software for statistical analysis. This study found that, while the spell-checker helped the learners revise their spelling on one dictation exercise, learners still made the same errors in their spelling after the use of spell-checkers. Therefore it argues that while spell-checkers help eliminate surface errors, they have very little influence on correcting the errors on the cognitive level. Keywords: Spell-checkers, word processors, error correction, dictation, spellingCite as: Rimbar, H. (2017). The influence of spell-checkers on students’ ability to generate repairs of spelling errors. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 2(1), 1-12.  http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol2iss1pp1-1