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and an aid to studentswith writing blocks. If anentire classroom can be equipped, then carefulplanning iscalledfor since the dynamics of aclassroom changewhen computers come in. Inaddition to a text on the large class monitor, eachstudent might have the text on-screen, and work.independently to revise or edit, sharing the resultsvia the classroom monitor. In addition, studentscouldwork in groups or alone, using the classroom asa writing room where peersand teacher are availablefor adviceor audience reaction.

Some classroom layouts are more lik.ely to promoteinteraction than others. Careful thought must be'given to the activities desireab1e for a writing class,and machines must be arrangedto accommodatethem. Onesuccessful arrangement has four tables(arrangedin two rows) each containing six machines.Three studentssit on each row, facing each other.The teacher can address studentsfrom the areabetween the tables; studentscan move chairs to thiscentral point,and monitors can be swiveled so thatothers can seewhat a student is doing.

The session on choosing hardware pointed out thatplanners must consider howsoon particularcomputet configurations may become obsolete. Forexample, the tiny computers referred to as notebooksare socompletely portable that students might welldo their primary writing on them (inside or outsideclass), then feed their texts into a larger computerfor text analysis. In that case, fewer large expensivecomputers wouldbe needed than if everystudentneeded access to a large machine for all writingphases. A more traditional classroom can, thus, beconverted to a computerclassroom by providingelectrical outlets for student machines and one largemachine (which mightactually be amicrc-computerf for networking or instructionalpurposes.

My reaction to the conference is that it was veryhelpful for people with cyberphobia and skepticism.However, people looking for new waysto usecomputers for composition weredisappointed.Perhaps if we had been aware of some new software(THEIDEA PROCESSER for IBM PC and APPLEWORKS for Apple lIe and IIe), we might havebegun thinking about some of the truly creativeaspects of writing with a computer. Word processersare being merged with file programs (data basemanagers) and other data organizers which allowwriten to gain access to storedmaterials in newways, allowing even more flexible cut-and-paste

practices. When combined with a graphics program(such as SYMPHONY for the IBM PC), the computercan be used for discovering, organizing, and jottingdownideas using mind maps and other non-linearmethods. The challenge is for writing instructors todiscover these new writing strategies and to passthem on to their students.

If seeing immediately how suggestions changea textand sharing writing can help teach people how towrite, then computers can help teach writing in away that a pen cannot. The consensus of theconference seems to be that computers will neverreplace teachers; they may, however, replace some ofthe mechanical work of the teacher (and the writerh,freeing both for the more creative aspects ofteaching and writing.***********************************************

Beyond the Classroom With Computers

Robert Allen PapinchakBoise State UniversityDepartment of English1910 University Avenue

Boise, Idaho 83725

When I decided to teach English 401, AdvancedWriting,I alsodecided to commit myself to anadvanced composition course that wouldhave valuebeyond the classroom. I wanted my students toencounter practical exercises that they would likelymeet after college, to write papersthat wouldinterest them after they left £-401. Much of thisdecision waspredicatedon the fact that the course isdesigned for the upper division student as the mostadvanced non-fiction writing course in our Englishcurriculum. Of the four papersdesigned for thecourse (totallingat least 8000 words) one was to bebased on market surveys and query letters, anotherwas to be a critical essay, a. third wasa personalexperience/personal perspective essay, and a fourthwas to be a computer-generated manuscript.

Of the 14 students enrolled, 10 were seniors, one wasa junior,and three sophomores were taking thecourse for upper division credit. Among those 14students, six were English majors, two wereanthropology majors, one was a secondary educationmajor,and one an art major.

I had no expectations as to what the result of thisassignment would be. I might have to be satisfiedwith students who could just get into and use the

pFS WRITE software on our computer lab's IBM PCsperhaps writea HELLO or maybe even a I HATETHIS ASSIGNMENT AND COMPUTERSALTOGETHER. My real hope, of course, was thateveryone would be able to generate a completemanuscript.

setting aside a two-week unit for thispart of thecourse, I divided the class into two groups--users andnon-users. As luck would have it, 7 of the 14hadprevious computer experience. That experienceranged from on-line activities withan Apple, anIBM PC, a DecMate, a TI,a Commodore 64, andaHewlett-Packard 3000. Among those 7 students,only 3hadany previous experience with wordprocessing software which included WordStar,Spellbinder, andWord Pro 3 Plus. Theother 7students had never laida fingeron a computerkeyboard.

I matched up persons with similar interests, writingskills, and communication levels. One user who hadtlready done a market survey on OMNI magazinewas matched up witha non-user who had aninterest in science fiction writing; twonon-traditional re-entry students felt comfortablewith each other; twoothers were neighbors andcould schedule on-line time with little difficulty.

The assignment asked each studentto write a paperrelated to their major field of study. Thosenon-users with nofamiliarity with computers wouldhave less fear and stress knowing that they wereworking on a subject they werefamiliar with eventlJough their hardware and software mightbeunfamiliar.

Over the two weeks assigned for the exercise, I metwith students individually at the University'scomputer labin the education building. Classtimewas on-lineactivity. Mysyllabus hadalreadyindicated that those 6 houn would probably not beenough for some of the students andeach would beexpected to sign up for more computer time whentheyneeded it The longest period of frustration forlearning WBJ 4Sminutes, the shortest, 1S; this wasfor users and non-users alike, those whohad to adaptto new hardware or learn new software.

Each paper from thisassignment averaged around 7pages, 2-3.pages longer than they might have been ifthey had not been computer generated. The 14papers included a personal experience essay marketedfor SAIL magazine, anotherfor READER'S

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DIGEST's Life in the U,S.A., a third for PARENTSon experiences with raising twosetsof twins;communications majors defined communications as adiscipline, examined MTV as a new fieldofcommunication, developed a response to the FirstAmendment for a nationalessay competition; the artmajor dealtwith criticalperceptions of peerevaluation; the English majors wrote about thedifficulties of being a non-traditional student,summer sports, the writingprocess in general, anintroduction to a personal collection of poetry; oneanthropology major wrote aboutan archeologicaldig; and twostudents chose to respond to an essayfrom the textbook which dealt with Aristotle'sESSAY ONMAN.

At the end of tile two weeks, after the papers hadbeen handed in, I asked eachstudent to writeanadditional one or two pages in which they detailedtheir experiences with the assignment and thecomputer, being sure to indicate the total numberofhours spentand their evaluation of the assignment.

Students reported spending from 2 to 20hoursonthe assignment. Theaverage amountof timespentby each student totalled 9. Most students saidthatthey discovered the computer experience as a timesaver, an added element of efficiency, and a savingsin the writing process of draft procedures.

Frustrations, according to the students, included theinitial introduction to the computer and to thesoftware. One student complained of text"evaporating" until he learned how to save hismaterials. Thecommon complaint about themisplaced IBM shift key gave way to a patientunderstanding of the new keyboard. And, over thetwo-week period, students reported onlytwo powerfailures which wiped out parts of manuscripts.

As a result of the study, one student has drasticallychanged hiswriting process, claiming he has"learnedto compose and typeat the same time"; anotherstudent wants to learn how to incorporate herlearning into writing her Girl Scout Newsletter, evenhaving her troop work for a computer badge.Another student is still skeptical after heroff-campus experiences with the Commodore 64 andWordPro 3 Plus because of the stress on an"overheated" machine and willstick to her pen, herSmith-Corona, and her liquid Paper. Aself-prof'essed "mechanical idiot" andself-styled"technopeasant,' whorelies on high technology butcan't run the machines, looks forward to the day

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when shecan sella computer-generated manuscriptso that her computer can become a deductiblebusiness expense. Oneother student has alreadyachieved that goal by seiling his article on localsportsto a regional magazine.

Some studentscan't wait until the next semesterwhen they can return and contiriue their adventureswith technology. All of the students have beensatisfied with their experiences beyond the classroomwith computers, and the assignment hasproven itselfpedagogically sound for the purposes and needs of anadvanced composition course.***********************************************

Introducing the Word Processorin Composition Classes

Lorie RothDepartment of Languages and Literature

Armstrong State CollegeSavannah, Georgia 31419

Since the college at which I teach has only a fewmicrocomputers available for a large number ofstudents, it is impossible at present to integrate thecomputer into the composition program as fully asone might Wish. Nevertheless, being a dedicatedword processor myself, wishing at least to introducestudents to its power and potentialas a writing tool,and sensing the students' own curiosity and interestin the microcomputer, 1devote at lea.st two classperiods in my freshman composition courses toword-processing workshops in the college'smicrocomputer center. The following is adescription of my two-day workshop, includingstrategies and suggestions for instructorslike me whoare faced with limitedaccess to computers but whonevertheless wish to introduce their students to thiswriting aid.

1. At the beginning of the term, I reserve themicrocomputer laboratory for twoconsecutive classmeetings.

1. In the class meeting before the computerworkshop, I assign a writing project for whichthestudentscan begin prewriting at the word processor.Although first-time computer users are frequentlyenjoined to "play with the machine,"I've found thatfreshman writersare paralyzed by a blank screeneven more than they are by a. blank. sheet of paper.Without prompting, they feel that they have nothingto say. Thus, having an assignment in mind and a

mission to accomplish impels them more purposefullyto the keyboard.

3. On the first day of the workshop, I try to start upthe word-processing software before the studentsarrive. Whereas most software iseasy to boot,starting up twelve computers (the number in oursmallmicro lab) takes up too much valuable time.Furthermore, if the computercenter includes somemicros that aren't self-booting (as ours does), thestart-up commands seem bewildering andexasperatingly complex to a novice. Studentsaremorewilling to learn the commands AFTER they seewhat a word processor can do for them,andexplaining start-up procedures is a good way tobegin the second day of the workshop.

~. The session begins with a brief presentation inwhich1identify the components of the system, nowa few unusual features of the keyboard (especiallythe cursor keys), and define some basic terms. It'simportant to explain, for example, to first-time usersthat as text is entered, lines will SCROLL off thescreen, but they haven't disappeared for good.

5. As the students begin their prewritingat theterminals, I circulate among them and offer lots ofindividual help. When students hit the wrong keys(as they inevitably will) and something unexpectedhappens, they distrust the computerand they doubttheir ownability. An instructor whois immediatelyavailable can provide reassurance and can show thatalmost nothing is irrevocable in word processing, thatan error-e-which, if committed on a typewriter,might necessitate bottlesof white-out or evencomplete retyping of a page-r-is easily remedied withone or two keystrokes on a word processor.

6. Studentsworking at the keyboard are encouragedto think of "entering text" and "editing" as twodistinct stages. Theyquickly discover that thecomposing process is easier and faster if they willenter text as rapidly as possible and edit later, insteadof writing and correctingas they goalong. One ofthe most attractive features of the word processor isthat it, more than any other writing tool,inducesstudents to think of writing as a process. They canrecord their ideas as rapidly as their fingers willallow them,heedless of typos or mechanicalcorrectness, knowing aU the while that the wordprocessor can easily accommodate them if they makea mistake-o-cr more importantly, if they changetheir mind about the arrangement of their ideas, theshape of their sentences, or the words they want to