Wordrider (Mordechai "Morty" Schiller)
One critique of the finding with the article presented by Robert Stover is that there was a change in venue (e.g. home versus classroom) as well as method of writing (e.g. handwriting versus word processing). I suspect lower scores from writings at home could be due to a multitude of distractions that come from being at home rather than in a controlled environment, such as the classroom. The only way to truly compare handwriting and word processing would be to do them side by side in the same venue.
Valid point. But I'm not focusing on the scientific study so much as the personal experience of writers. My real question is have we become servants to our tools?
Morty:
Years ago when I was a high school computer teacher, I read a book about computer education in schools. I remember two interesting quotations.
One was from a professional graphic designer. She said whenever she looked through an applicant's portfolio, she could tell if they learned design on a computer or in an art studio.
The other was from a long-time English teacher who said from experience she could tell reading a printed report if it had ever been written out longhand.
Tools are no more talented than the people using them.....
— AZ
Aryeh Zev,
The real question is, do word processors, blogs, IM, and text messaging encourage lousy writing?
I started using WordPerfect (version 4.1 for DOS!) because of how easy it was to edit. But now people send stuff out without caring if it's correct, let alone edited! Do the tools encourage sloppiness? (Disclosure: I spell-checked this before posting!)
Morty
Commenting by HaloScan
