word processing – Rachel Bronk's MET

Writing directly on the web

I usually type my posts in MS Word and then paste them into Vista. Like you, I like the familiarity of the program but in addition, I like the “safety” of writing in Word. I know that my work will be saved within my own computer and only when I am really ready to unleash my thoughts on the public, will I paste into Vista. When I was in highschool, I used to always write my drafts on paper and then, when I was finally ready for the final product, would I type into MS Word. I see these two approaches as similar. I think the concept of a blog is changing this for people…. the idea that writing can exist as a direct stream of consciousness onto the web that is not necessarily polished is making it easier for some to go right to the endpoint in order to write. Social Media/Web 2.0 is taking a lot of the formalities out of writing in both a good and a bad way. Bad in the sense that many students seem to be losing grammar/spelling skills because of all of the online lingo but good in the sense that the process of writing itself is actually becoming easier for some students because they are so accustomed to pontificating on the web. The web is not the official place of formal writing but rather the place for anything and everything!

Word processing for students with learning disabilities

From my perspective, as someone who works with students that have learning disabilities, word processing has been a huge equalizer for those students with fine motor difficulties, dysgraphia or other disorders of written expression. The ability that students have to manipulate their words and be in a constant state of editing rather than churning out draft after draft, has made the writing process much easier for them. Being able to bold/italicize text, add bullet points, create charts in a matter of seconds has also made note taking a much less stressful process for these students as well. I know that there are critics who say that the reliance on computers is a bad thing in respect to the spelling and grammar abilities, but really, I think that word processing has made the learning process itself less onerous for these students and therefore “trumps” the issue of spelling and grammar. Bolter points to the issue of revising as being a huge affordance of a word processor and I agree – it is seemingly simple, but when we really think about the progression of the writing process, word processors have taken us a long way!