Teaching word processing is a valuable skill in modern society. As more technology is developed and students are expected to understand the basics of typing and using word processing programs, teachers will need to provide basic education in the use of different programs and options.
Start With Basics
Due to modern advances in technology, many students will have some basic knowledge of using computers for purposes other than word processing. Students might play games or engage in web browsing on a family computer at home. Since some students might not have any knowledge of word processing systems, teachers need to start at the beginning with basic skills.
According to Education World, it is important to start teaching word processing with opening the program, saving files and printing documents. Typing is only one part of word processing, but it should follow learning the basics about using the program for its intended purpose.
Even if students have a foundation in the basic usage of computers for games, online tools and other programs, they might not have a solid understanding of the educational purposes. By beginning from the basics, teachers are preventing students from feeling confused. It also ensures students with limited computer knowledge are not falling behind more computer literate peers.
Keep Typing Simple
Although students will eventually need to know effective typing skills, they do not need to start out with complicated lessons in typing. Instead, teachers should show different word processing tools with simple words and limited written aspects.
Only after students are prepared to use the system effectively are they ready to focus on the typing side of word processing. They will need to know all of the basics, methods of adjusting the fonts and steps to obtain different results before focusing on composing.
According to Eastern Michigan University, composing at a computer is a unique activity that many students will need time to master. Since students are not using a pen and paper to type, they will need time to focus on that part of word processing. By allowing students to learn the basics of the program and system without a major focus on writing skills and typing, teachers are allowing some time for adjustments to the new activity.
Ask Questions
The best way to get students to think is through questions. Take time to ask the class questions related to the lessons they are learning. According to Education World, teachers should not simply tell the students their lessons. By asking questions about different tools, items and functions, a teacher is getting students to explore and think.
When students are thinking about the answers to questions, they are focusing on learning and trying different ideas. By focusing on learning, the students are able to master the programs at a faster rate. They will naturally explore to find the answers rather than following the directions of teachers without any comprehension of the results.
Provide Time and Activities for Practice
Practice is a vital part of learning any new skill, including word processing. According to Education World, students should have as much time and opportunity to practice word processing skills as possible during the first steps of lessons. When students are able to master the basics, they are ready to move onto more advanced skills. Without practice, it takes longer for the lessons to sink in and students are likely to make more mistakes.
By providing several opportunities to practice and work on word processing skills, teachers are encouraging the students to explore and keep trying. It also allows time for the lessons to sink in and for students to get used to the basic tools.
Although students need time to practice, teachers should provide opportunities to ask questions as well. When students are struggling with the word processing program, teachers can give hints and reminders that help improve student achievement.
Teaching word processing does not necessarily mean reviewing skills the class already knows. In many cases, students do not know the basics of word processing because they use computers and electronic devices for different purposes. By starting at the beginning and working toward more advanced skills, teachers are giving students the opportunity to succeed.
Word processing is the writing, manipulating, and storing of textual material in a com- puterized medium, and it is a tool that has become a vital everyday function in class- rooms, offices, and homes. Advanced software features now allow users to move beyond these simple operations to interact with other software, to embed multimedia elements into documents, and to easily save files in web-ready format. (See Table 2.2.)
Word Processing in Education
Word processing is often the first use of computers in classrooms because its capabili- ties can quickly improve efficiency of PreK–12 students and teachers alike. Word proces- sors in the classroom can expand the horizons of learning in ways not possible before this technology was available. Users can produce professional-quality documents with the limitless ability to edit, change layouts, and reformat. As students and teachers create documents, the word processor prompts them to consider how the material will appear on the printed page, including choices about margins, spacing, and fonts.
Spelling and vocabulary are other areas
in which students are provided with instant feedback. By using the spell check feature, students can tell whether a word is spelled incorrectly and often can select the correct spelling. The thesaurus feature provides a list of words with similar meanings, allowing students to vary word choice and to aug- ment their written vocabulary. Grammar check features highlight any problematic sen- tence structure, encouraging students to consider options for rewording. The immediacy of these individualized help options promotes continuous learning, prevents students from repeating errors, and extends the teacher’s capabilities by offering another dimension of assistance to students.
By using a word processor’s many func- tions, students can produce better first drafts that are eye-pleasing and easy for the teacher to read and grade. Students are able to see their work as valued, and are more able and likely to make revisions, retrieving the original and making the necessary changes, without having to reproduce the whole text. Composing text on the screen is a new skill made possible by word processors (see Figure 2.1).
Depending on the age and abilities of students and the type of work being done, the steps of handwriting a rough draft and then typing a final version can be bypassed. On-screen composition requires different organizational and mental skills, which likely will be necessary for future employment. Teachers also might prefer to evaluate text on screen rather than from a printed copy. The editing feature enables collaborative writing processes between teach- ers and students as well as among peer teams. One piece of writing can be edited by multiple people, thereby encompassing a variety of expertise and viewpoints. The time saved for both student and teacher is one of the positive aspects of word processing.
Content areas such as history, social studies, English, foreign languages, science, and the arts also benefit from the use of word processing. On any level, teachers can prepare lesson plans, examinations, and other classroom materials using a word processor (see Chapters 8–10). The material can be updated from year to year as nec- essary without having to recreate the whole body of information. In addition, teachers can administer and grade exams and quizzes using a word processor (see Chapter 15). Word processing can assist educators to meet professional and administrative needs, including writing manuscripts, research reports, grant proposals, and public relations materials (see Chapter 12).
- Teach students peer editing by using the editing features in word processing software. Have one student distribute a piece of writing electronically to a series of partners. The Track Changes feature automatically saves each editor’s contributions in a different color. If students have the ability to change their user information, each student’s com- ments will also appear with the author’s initials.
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Experiment with different fonts and text formatting as a design study. Have students discuss how the perception of a piece of text changes when formatted in various ways.
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Tables are simple ways to format student work pages, from fill-in-the-blanks to lab reports to flash cards. Either print for students to work with on paper, or protect the document as a form so students can fill in on screen.
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Design templates for reuse in a range of assignments, such as a template for a picture story book or report in which students can enter their text and insert clip art or photos. Teach students to open templates from an easy-to-find folder and Save As to their own directory or disk.
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Use the Auto Style formatting to demonstrate the organization of a paper with multi- ple heading levels. Students can quickly see whether their headings are organized by viewing the paper in Outline view.
Many characteristics are common to most word processing software, so that once learned, users can typically transfer similar skills among different programs.
Break A break is a mark inserted to manually separate pages, columns, or sections so that text can be segmented or formatting can be customized.
Bullet An individual character that marks the items in a list is a bullet.
Columns It is often desirable to present text in multiple vertical sections on one page, similar to newspaper text. Text in columns can continue from one column to another on the same page and onto subsequent pages, with the word wrap function keeping the text within the defined column width.
Grammar The Grammar Check command identifies grammatical mistakes in the document and
Check suggests alternate wording.
Insert The insert feature allows the user to add items to the text of a document, such as pictures, other files, objects, comments, and symbols.
Justify The word processor can easily produce text with even, or justified, right and left margins.
Merge The merge function allows information from two or more documents to be combined. The classroom teacher can use the merge function to combine a form letter with a document containing student and parent names and addresses so that the letters appear to be individualized for each family.
Spacing Spacing refers to how many blank line spaces there are between lines of text. The usual defaults are single spacing and double spacing, although there are capabilities for half-line spacing options as well.
Spell Check Spell checking features use a preloaded dictionary of common words. The spell checker will highlight words that are spelled incorrectly or that are not recognized, when activated either manually or automatically as words are typed. The user may then select the correct word from a list of choices or type the correct spelling. Some common words can be corrected automatically as they are typed.
Tab Similar to a typewriter tab, the cursor moves a predetermined number of spaces to the right each time the tab key is pressed.
Tables Tables consist of individual cells arranged in any configuration of rows and columns, limited only by the width of the document itself. Table columns and rows can be manipulated in much the same way as other text, such as inserted, deleted, moved, and copied. When revising a document, each column is treated as a separate block of text or media elements and can be changed without affecting other columns.
Thesaurus The thesaurus will, on command, produce a list of words of similar meaning that may be substituted for a given word. If the list contains a more appropriate word, the user may then instruct the computer to exchange a word for the given word.
Track This feature allows multiple writers to edit a single document, marking insertions and
Changes deletions in different colors for each user.
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Presentation on theme: «Chapter Two Word processors in the classroom. 1. Why use word processors? 2. Word processors for teachers: creating materials 2.1 Inserting images and.»— Presentation transcript:
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Chapter Two Word processors in the classroom
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1. Why use word processors? 2. Word processors for teachers: creating materials 2.1 Inserting images and links 2.2 Creating forms 2.3 Using Track Changes 3. Word processing activities for learners 3.1 Tips 3.2 Creative writing 3.3 Language practice 3.4 Further activities 4. Using word processors: considerations
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1. Why use word processors? For Teachers: Teachers can prepare, create and share materials. For Learners: Learners can practice writing skills, grammar and other language points as well as to present their works.
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2.1 Inserting images and links Steps from your computer: Insert → Picture → From file… Steps from the Internet: right click on the picture → Copy(Ctrl+c) → Paste on the page(Ctrl+v) Text wrapping steps: Toolbar → Picture → Web link steps: Copy the address → Paste onto the page Example Steps textExampleStepstext
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2.2 Creating forms Sample Steps in Word 2003: View→ Toolbar→ Form Steps in Word 2007 Text box Check box Drop-down menu
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2.3 Using Track Changes Sample Steps in Word 2003: Tools→ TrackChanges Steps in Word 2007
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3.1 Tips Consistency Memory stick Backup Computing terminology
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3.2 Creative writing Thesaurus Spell Check ExampleExample Advantages: model texts, share texts, produce them collaboratively and engage in peer and teacher editing
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3.3 Language practice Advantages: – 1. guide learners – 2. less time-consuming – 3. increasing awareness Sample listening activity Sample grammar activity
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3.4 Further activities Dictation Noticing activity Collaborative writing activity Presenting work
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4. Using word processors: considerations Anxiety Frustration Speedy teaching Malfunction
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Conclusion For teachers: 1.Advantages 2.Material creation 3.Tools For learners: 1.Creating Writing 2.Presentation of work 3.Considering activities
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Task File: Chapter 2 Six good reasons: 1.Easy editing and correcting without rewriting 2.Encourages learners to take pride in their work 3.Activates noticing skills 4.Encourages learners to play with the language 5.Teaches basic ICT skills 6.Facilitates peer and teacher correction Three potential problems: 7.Lack of basic computer skills 8.Lack of document handling skills 9.Over-reliance over grammar or spell-checker
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Task File: Chapter 2 I canYesNo … open, save, retrieve and print documents … select text using the keyboard … select text using the mouse … cut, copy and paste … drag and drop … search and replace … use Track Changes … use forms Assess your own word processing skills. What do you know?
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Task File: Chapter 2 Order for covering word processing skills: 1.Opening, saving, retrieving and printing documents 2.Selecting text 3.Cutting, copying and pasting 4.Undo and redo changes made 5.Dragging and dropping 6.Search and replace 7.Track Changes
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Thanks for listening.
Word processors are a valuable part of the technology now available for educators in schools. Students and teachers both receive many benefits when doing classwork on the computer. Many of the headaches of paperwork are eliminated.
Explore this article
- Spelling
- Security
- Legibility
- Publishing
- Mobility
1 Spelling
Word processors contain an electronic spell checker. The student writer has immediate feedback about misspelled words. Student must discern which of the computer-generated spellings is correct for the context. Teachers no longer have to red-ink spelling errors. They can focus on the few exceptions the spellchecker does not catch.
2 Security
Teachers and students gain a sense of security about losing assignments. When the student saves her work, she avoids the possibility of the assignment being lost or misplaced. If an assignment is ever misplaced, a replacement can be easily printed.
3 Legibility
Teachers benefit by receiving a readable copy that is easy to grade. Students with poor handwriting can increase their scores with better looking papers. Students should be instructed to turn in copies of work in a readable font.
4 Publishing
Work done on a word processor can easily published on a bulletin board. Teachers can create electronic anthologies of their students’ writings. Each student can receive an electronic copy of published works with no printing costs.
5 Mobility
Work done on a word processor and saved on the Internet is highly portable and accessible from any computer with Internet access. Dogs do not eat papers in cyberspace. «I forgot it at home» is irrelevant. Just log onto the nearest computer and your work appears on the screen.
About the Author
Stephen Saylor is a bilingual educator and translator who has been writing since 2005. He has contributed articles to websites such as rockeros.net and XtremeMusic. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Michigan State University and a Master of Arts in education from San Diego State University.