When Pens Are Passe

Abstract

The theories writers build about writing are shaped, in part, by the tools writers use. This article examines the theories and practices writers develop when they use a personal computer for writing. The data reported on here were gathered during a year-long evaluation of a computer innovation in which 47 students (mean age, 13.5 years) and their teachers received personal computers for use in class and at home. Data were obtained from questionnaires, interviews, observations, and written work. The students’ theories are considered in terms of the preferred medium for writing, writing quality, and writing behaviours. Preference for word processing was related to the ease and speed with which work could be produced. In terms of a theory of writing, speed aided generation and recording of ideas. Preference was also related to the facility with which text could be arranged and altered. These factors were seen to enable the production of better quality written work. Students were able to reflect on writing as shown by their ability both to identify the features of word processing that facilitate writing and to pinpoint changes in the way they went about composing in different mediums.

Keywords:

• home use
• instructional computing
• word processing
• writing