RESEARCH BRIEFS

RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY
ON THE TEACHING OF WRITING

By Louise Ann Burner, Education Consultant, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Description

Technology has been a tool for teaching writing since its introduction into the public schools. The effect of this practice is widely disputed, and the evidence is mostly anecdotal. Few scientifically designed research studies on the effects of technology on the teaching of writing have been carried out, and the results of these studies are contradictory on the actual benefits of word processing for writing. This question is part of a continuing debate on whether technology and educational media are more than a mere delivery system for instruction and on the importance of the teacher's role.

The use of technology for writing instruction includes computer-based word-processing, projects to provide laptops to all students in schools, software programs that direct writing instruction and assist students in developing their own writing skills, as well as classroom email, website and blog activities.

Schools in Maine, Kentucky, Virginia and British Columbia have invested funds in providing laptops to all students in certain schools. Jefferson County, Kentucky, has recently provided laptops with wireless access cards to every student and teacher at four under-performing middle and high schools. Maine, through the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, has been providing laptops to all eighth grade students for two years and is planning to expand this program to include high schools. They are also planning to experiment with testing online. Since 2001, Virginia's Henrico County Public Schools has provided 25,000 wireless laptops to its middle and high school students and teachers. For grades six and seven, a school in British Columbia initiated the Wireless Writing Project, which focuses on improving written expression. Other state-wide one-to-one computer programs are underway in New Mexico, Michigan and New Hampshire.

Many schools are continuing to utilize classroom and school-based computer labs and related software to teach writing. Teachers are also using email, blogs, (personal weblogs) and websites to encourage student writing and communication.

Evidence of Effectiveness

Most evidence supporting the effectiveness of technology on teaching writing is anecdotal. Most reported results included in this brief are from small samples of students in classroom situations with few or no controls on the other variables, such as methods and strategies.

Schools with laptop programs in Maine after two years have made no gains in standardized tests but report "measurable gains" in writing on an online writing test at 60 schools (Kenning, 2004). These gains are not described nor scientifically documented. School systems just beginning the laptop program in Kentucky are predicting higher achievement and a reduction of the "digital divide," but have no data to support such an effect. Likewise, the results of Virginia's $24 million program are still being measured.

In one school in British Columbia, a similar laptop program raised the percent of students scoring at proficiency levels in writing from 70 on the pretest to 92 percent ("Test Scores Fuel Laptop Debate"). These results are from one school and the other factors that might have changed are not indicated.

In a study published in the Journal of Research on Computing in Education (Langone and Levine 1996), the use of computer-based word-processing was found to have a positive effect on the writing of students with disabilities by making them more independent. Other students' writing showed little improvement, except that they were more likely to edit, spend more time on their writing and express a more positive attitude toward writing.

Only small differences could be definitely linked to the computer use (Langone and Levine 1996), but more study is necessary to identify the other variables that might be affecting the outcomes. One of these variables is the increased social nature of writing when students work together on computers during the composing process. Also, evidence indicates that mechanical concerns, such as those that can be alleviated by using a word processor, can interfere with the higher level skills involved in the writing process (Macarthur 1999). Without these barriers, students should be able to concentrate on generating ideas, organizing, making generalizations, evaluating and the other aspects of writing.

A meta-analysis of 176 studies from 1990-1995 (Coley 1997) indicated that using technology for writing instruction was valuable in improving writing because of the ease of editing. Thus the quality of writing was improved. Also, writing that was shared over a network with other students was of higher quality than that which was only shared within a classroom. Macarthur (1999) theorizes that the idea of publishing their work is a motivational factor that increases students' efforts and personal concern for doing well.

The New Jersey Networking Project (with NSF funding) research indicated that the effects on education of technology are more on teachers and how they teach with technology, that is, how technology enables them to teach differently. Simple uses of computers, such as drill and practice for non-writing skills, have been found to be effective and efficient, and the results can be assessed. More pedagogically complex uses, such writing instruction and higher level thinking, often produce inconclusive results, probably because of the multiple variables in the instruction.

The classroom use of email and blogs is increasing in popularity (Selingo). The Education Bloggers Network has 130 teachers registered through their clearinghouse. The advantages are that blogs take less time to maintain than websites and teachers can provide immediate feedback. They also provide a wider audience so many students are more concerned about their writing and engage in collaboration with their peers. Most of the writing is done during the school day, not after school or during the summer as teachers had hoped, so the predicted increase in frequency of writing is not found. Some problems exist because of the lack of mechanics and the casual nature of the writing, but some teachers require prewriting and revising before posting to the blog or email. An article in Writing (Nankani 2004) outlines one teacher's suggestions of how to use email to teach good writing habits in the email formats.

Implication for instruction

Most of the research studies are ten or more years old, and much has changed in the public schools involving technology. Many of the studies are small and anecdotal in nature. More research on the effects on writing is needed because of the complex nature of the task of writing and the many variables that might affect the students' learning and performance, as well as the accuracy of the assessment. Constance Mellon (1999) in the Journal of Research on Computing in Education stated that although the integration of appropriate technology into education can "greatly enhance learning," these effects will not have the same impact as an effective teacher using effective teaching strategies. Mellon refutes the commonly held assumption that just the presence of technology implies more learning. This attitude is supported by facts such as many states reporting progress in technology as increases in numbers of computers and related hardware in their schools, rather than learning outcomes as a result of technological use.

According to Richard Coley (1997) in the Electronic School, "Assessments of the impact of technology are really assessments of instruction enabled by technology." These outcomes are dependent on the "quality of the implementation." In other words, the effectiveness depends on the teacher's ability, and how the technology is integrated into the curriculum and individualized for each student. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and the need for various teaching strategies to reach all students is one basis for this skepticism toward the attitude that technology is the best method of teaching all students all subjects, including writing (Mellon 1999). Also, poor application of any software can at best cancel out any potential advantage it might offer, and according to Roy Pea, director of SRI's Center for Technology in Learning (Coley 1997): "Educational technologies cannot be effective by themselves." Teaching strategies and the social organization of the class heavily affect the impact of computers on the writing process (Macarthur 1999).

One positive aspect of technology in education is the effect it has on teaching and teachers. Gita Wilder of the New Jersey Networking Project says, "It's time to stop discounting the importance of changes in teaching practices that accompany the use of technology in the classroom" (Coley 1997).

The effects of technology on the teaching of writing need further study to evaluate and to differentiate among the uses and applications of technological resources in that area of learning.

References