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Most commonly used of the productivity
application software |
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Can support nearly any kind of task or teaching
activity |
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WYSIWYG--"What you see is what you
get" |
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Features |
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Storing documents for later use |
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Erasing and inserting text |
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Search and replace |
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Moving and copying text |
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Word wrap |
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Change style and appearance easily |
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Justification |
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Automatic headers, footers, pagination |
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Inserting text prepared on other word processors |
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Checking and correcting spelling |
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Suggesting words |
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Reviewing style and grammer |
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Allowing insertion of graphics |
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Merging text with database or spreadsheet files |
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Issues |
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When to begin word processing instruction |
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When to begin keyboarding instruction |
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Effects on handwritting |
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Impact on assessment |
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Benefits |
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Improve writing and attitudes only if used in the context of
good writing instruction |
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Only effective if student has time to learn word processing
procedures before writing instruction begins |
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Word processing alone cannot improve the quality of writing
but helps with corrections and motivation to write more |
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Students who use word processing tend to write more, revise
more, make fewer errors and have better attitudes toward writing |
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Common Problems |
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Forgetting to move the cursor before typing |
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Forgetting to highlight before changing format |
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Losing part of a document |
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Forgetting automatic word wrap |
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Problems with naming and saving files |
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Spacing problems (top and bottom of document and blank lines
within the document) |
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Problems with find and replace |
Fly