Currents in Literacy

Research Update: Technology and the Writing Process

By William T. Stokes

There are two compelling questions for the coming decade concerning the importance of technology and children's literacy, and in particular, children's writing. The first question stems from the conviction that access to computers provides significant advantages for students learning to write and to engage in research by way of the World Wide Web. How can more children gain access to these technologies? The second question concerns revealing more about the nature of the presumed advantages. Is it possible to determine how access to word processing software and other aspects of the technology actually influence the behaviors of writers?

One Classroom-Based Project in Arlington, Massachusetts

In the Spring 1998 issue of Currents in Literacy, Barbara Siegel described the initial introduction of one intriguing new technology which promises to significantly increase students' access to sophisticated technology at a modest price. The technology is an AlphaSmart keyboard with a four line by 40 character LCD display. It offers eight separate memory files totaling 64 kilobytes, equaling about 64 pages of single-spaced text in all. It can run on AA or NiCad rechargeable batteries, weighs about two pounds, and costs less than $300 including cables and case. The keyboard essentially is a small, lightweight, laptop computer with just the basic functions for word processing.

Barbara Siegel, a fifth grade teacher at the Hardy School, has been conducting a study, in collaboration with Assistant Professor Elaine Bukowiecki of Lesley University, on the effectiveness of introducing these keyboards into the classroom. The classroom has five Macintosh computers on which the students do many of their class assignments. With class size usually exceeding 20 students, it is difficult for all the students to gain necessary access to the computers to do all their writing. The introduction of six keyboards has greatly expanded students' access. Students typically use them for note taking and rough drafts. When this phase of their research and writing is complete, the keyboard is connected to the desktop computer with a simple cable and files are down-loaded very quickly to the hard drive of the desktop computer. The student can then use the full power of the Macintosh (or PC) to do revisions and editing, while another student uses the keyboard. Because the keyboards are light and sturdy, and battery powered, they are easily taken around the school, on field trips, and even to children's homes -- this is especially significant for children who do not have access to home computers.

Preliminary results of the study are very promising. Students are enthusiastic about using the keyboards; parents are as well. The students are using them for writing assignments all across the curriculum and more students can take advantage of the technologies at the same time. The fifth graders who write for the student newspaper have also used the keyboards in the preparation of their contributions to the newspaper, The Hardy Times, by again taking advantage of their portability. Ms. Siegel has also started training other teachers at the Hardy School so they will be able to use the keyboards in the future.

One of the striking features of the use of these keyboards is that they once again make "visible" certain aspects of the writing process, especially the relationship of writing a draft to subsequent revision. The students consider it simply standard practice to get their ideas down in the form of notes and drafts, until they have sufficient material to warrant downloading to the desktop computers for revision and editing. There is no possibility of printing out a first draft, without at least going through the effort of transferring the rough draft to the desktop computer. The students are eager to use the keyboards and show no reluctance about then taking their work to the next stage of rewriting. In relation to the second question posed in the introduction, the study being carried out by Siegel and Bukowiecki may extend our understanding of the effects of these technologies.

Inevitably, there are a few drawbacks. Students can only see four lines of what they are writing at a time. Cursor functions are a bit slow, and, although there are very basic edit functions and spell checking, very little revision can realistically be done on these machines. Batteries do run down and need replacing or recharging. On the whole, these are minor problems. More important is the need to provide training for teachers that will foster the most effective uses of these devices.

The full report of the research by Siegel and Bukowiecki will appear in the Fall 1999 issue of the Currents in Literacy.

Editor's Note: The specific brand described is the AlphaSmart 2000; contact Intelligent Peripheral Devices, Inc. www.alphasmart.com for more information.

William T. Stokes, Ed.D. is a Professor at Lesley University, co-Director of the Literacy Institute, and the Director of the Hood Children's Literacy Project. For the past twenty-five years he has focused on children's language and literacy development.