Pros and Cons of Word Processing for the Classroom RAPS IV ARTIFACT By Kristy Wagner

How does word processing help students? Word Processing programs on computers allow students to compose various writing assignments with ease by allowing students to type work out on a keyboard. Spell check and grammar check tools assist students in checking their work during and after composition. Soft copies can be distributed easily and saved electronically in multiple formats to be modified at any point in the future. Thesaurus and dictionary tools are readily available to assist students with word choice. By using word processing programs students are improving their typing and computer skills which can be applied in the working world after they graduate.

How does word processing help teachers? Student work printed off of a computer program is neat and easy to read. Students can hand assignments in on time if they are out of the classroom by submitting an electronic soft copy via . If a teacher loses a hard copy handed in by a student, the student can easily hand in a duplicate for the teacher to grade.

How does word processing hinder students? Students don’t learn from their mistakes if spell check and grammar check proof the paper for them. Students rarely revise for content and style if relying on the program tools to clean up spelling and grammar. Word choice and placement is not corrected and students might overlook instances such as using “there” instead of “they’re,” or using a vocabulary word out of context. Word Processing programs make plagiarism among students more streamlined and electronic papers can be shared among students from various schools around the country. Word processing on a computer with internet access, while helpful for research, can be distracting to students and make it difficult for them to focus.

What can teachers do? Teachers can balance the double edged sword of electronic word processing by noticing trends in their students (detecting possible plagiarism). Teachers can routinely go over revision exercises by having students create hard copies to bring to class to revise together. Teachers can talk to students about turning off their spell check and grammar check tools while composing and revising and then advise them to turn the tools back on to check if they missed anything. Teachers can assign key vocabulary words to be included in the assignment. The words can be taught as part of the subject matter being assessed in the paper and this way students learn to think about how to use certain words correctly in the context of the sentence. Teachers should be open about the benefits of word processing for the classroom, but also warn of the pitfalls it can sometimes present to students.