As the new millenium closes in, computers are becoming commonplace in most schools. Some districts have allocated monies for these computers due to parent fears that "their children will fall behind," while other schools without as much district support have done fundraisers to put computers into their classrooms (Potter, 1989, p.9). Just as the television, videocassette recorder, and overhead projector all serve valid instructional purposes in the language arts classroom, so must the computer.

Statement of the Problem

Teachers using traditional textbooks have been unable to help their students with poor writing skills, but with computers the revising strategies of these students may be improved (Lacombe, 1997;  Shields, 1991). Middle school teachers have found it difficult to teach all that needs to be taught or help everyone who needs help during the classroom period. Computers may help both with feedback and control of instruction (Potter, 1989).

Children today are bombarded by technological stimulation from both television and video games. Condry (1993) has stated that on average American children watch television (including video taped movies, video games, and cable television) four to five hours each day during the week and seven to nine hours a day on weekends. That computes out to approximately forty hours a week. Computer technology needs to be available to today’s students to make learning interactive and enjoyable (Gilstrap, 1997).

Purpose of the Paper

The purpose of this paper will be to show the impact that computers have on both the skills and attitudes of middle school students in language arts. It is predicted that computer use will have a positive affect on student’s skills in writing, editing, and revising; it will also have a positive affect on student’s attitudes in those areas.

Definition of Terms

Computer Terms:

As Potter (1989, p.9) says in her guide, "we are told we live in the Age of Technology, so we better have computers in our schools." Are these computers just the latest fad or trendy gadget, or can they substantially increase student achievement?

Computers and Writing Skills

Language arts teachers are frequently using computers as a part of the writing process, not just for publishing, but also now for editing. It has been observed that with paper and pencil, students balk at having to revise and write papers. Shields (1991, p.8) found that students did not care for this approach "because so much time and effort needs to be spent rewriting and editing before the final draft is completed." Students feel they are "being penalized" by having to recopy after doing revisions. The computers make recopying no longer necessary since all changes are made on the screen. This makes students more accepting of revisions and changes (Moor, 1989).

It was also found that student’s did not mind other students or the teacher critiquing their writing as much when it was still on the computer screen--they felt it was still "in flux" or a work in progress (Holt, 1992). Potter (1989) and Riel (1983) perceived that middle school students were far more willing to revise and re-edit their writing when it was going to be printed out on the computer printer for others to read. Potter (1989) found that students produced more writing on computers than their peers who did not use computers.

Riel (1983) discovered that by pairing students in groups of two on the computer, students do far better when writing and revising since they can give each other immediate feedback. Students are more likely to respond to peers and they will challenge each other on spelling and correct word choice. Students in pairs learn about the process of writing by talking to each other as they are writing (Shields, 1991). Riel (1983) observed that pairs of students at computers were able to help each other with composition when confronted with the blank screen. They also helped each other in that the partner who was typing would usually be concerned with word choice or spelling; the other student would be reading the text for meaning and sequence. This helped the pair of students who were writing together keep from losing the overall plan of their writing—a difficult task if it were a single student trying to compose and type at the same time.

Holt (1992) also found pairing beneficial especially with lower-functioning students. Spelling and other errors were more easily spotted and corrected, leading to a sort of perfection not commonly seen in this group of students.

Holt (1992) observed that since the computer had the beneficial affect of always being legible, this would let a student with poor handwriting write a paper that looked as good as his peers' papers. This increased legibility lead to a further increase in student production of writing. Ashton (1997) observed that the lower skilled students usually took advantage of the spell checker, and spelling was the area that showed the most growth. She also found that synthesized speech was another help in editing for these students.

Computers and Attitudes toward Writing

Numerous studies show that students enjoy writing more when they are able to use a computer (Beyer, 1992; Elder, 1992; Matray, 1992; Potter, 1989; Smith & Sassi, 1992). Potter (1989) and Riel (1983) both found that students who wrote on computer were so enthusiastic with their writing that they regularly showed their work to teachers and parents. Matray (1992) saw students were more motivated to write when using a computer. It was also observed that students whose skills increased from computer use also gained an increase in confidence in their writing (Lerew, 1997; Matray, 1992; Potter, 1989).

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