Emerging technology for writing instruction: New directions for teachers
by
Alex C. Pan and John M. Zbikowski
Introduction
Computer-based enhancements to the writing process are changing as rapidly as any other aspect of technology. New technologies can enhance the writing process in ways that were hard to imagine just a few years ago. Whether these new technologies can positively affect students' writing, however, depends on many factors. In this study, we explore teachers' perceptions about computer use in writing instruction and highlight several suggestions and teaching methods by which teachers can make the best use of the newest technologies.
Two new computer technologies in particular, telecommunications and hypermedia, have the greatest potential to enhance writing instruction. Local networks, intranets, and the Internet, along with the growing availability of hypertext authoring tools, increase teachers' ability to employ the "environmental" mode of instruction found to be most effective in helping students learn to write (Hillocks, 1986). Two features of the environmental mode, engaging students with each other in specific writing processes, and promoting a high level of peer interaction, are easier to obtain with new communication technologies. Hypertext, on the other hand, changes the way people think of reading, writing, and authorship (Snyder, 1996; Meyrowitz, 1996). In combination, telecommunications and hypermedia create novel conditions for learning in a technology-enhanced writing classroom. Additional new technologies, such as sophisticated outlining, mapping, speech-synthesizing, and text-analyzing software, further enhance the process.
Making the most of these technologies requires integration--integration of technology and the various phases of the writing process, integration of information from many sources, and integration of writing itself with the overall school curriculum. With a clear understanding of their goals and the potential of available technological tools, teachers can facilitate learning with writing and technology as never before. A recent survey of teachers in one U.S. region suggests that teachers are eager to learn about the latest technologies, but face obstacles in using them to their best advantage (Pan and Zbikowski, 1996).
The value of emerging computer technologies for writing instruction
Now, because of the continued, rapid expansion of the purchase of technology, teachers have an opportunity for the first time to think of integrating computer use throughout the entire writing process, and no longer just as a way of facilitating revision and editing. At the idea-generation stage, for example, student writers can use outlining and concept mapping software for brainstorming and drafting. Once they have started to write, students can exchange their ideas via network technologies and receive realistic feedback from their peers as well as from teachers and from other knowledgeable adults outside the classroom. Multimedia applications and artificial speech technology make writing more appealing to students, who now can incorporate sounds, drawing, video, and pictures into their compositions. Synthetic speech in particular can be a way of simulating a kind of dialogue between writer and audience that can reduce inhibitions about starting to write. Software specifically for writing instruction now incorporates speech modules reminiscent of MIT's Eliza program to build interest and excitement about expressing ideas in writing. Moreover, by composing with media other than text, students learn to become more critical users of the media in their everyday lives.
Through careful use of text analysis programs, teachers can help students learn the conventions of their language, and not just help them produce finished pieces of writing with a polished appearance. Text analysis programs that are interactive and that allow writers to make choices are excellent environments in which to foster thinking about such concerns as sentence style and diction as well as about the rules of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. In order to have a positive effect on students' learning, however, teachers need to integrate these programs with the writing process, and not just use them as a final touch. For example, student writers can run a spell check or a grammar check and then justify the choices they made, or perform a check on suggestions the computer makes.
Desktop publishing, and the latest programs that simplify the creation of hypertext markup language (HTML) documents, provide easy access to forms of publishing of student work that formerly were possible only with expensive and difficult-to-use AV production and editing facilities. Authoring programs facilitate the creation of slide shows and other multimedia presentations. For example, students now use programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint to create multimedia book reports for class. Around the country, students from elementary school through college, often with the assistance of older students or more knowledgeable peers, are creating their own home pages for the World Wide Web. In doing so, students can explore not only the rhetorical potential of sound and graphics, but can learn first hand about integrating limitless information by means of hypertext links.
When combined with access to the Internet, these multimedia and hypertext-based tools provide instant online publishing opportunities. Simply imagining an audience as vast as the one made possible by the Internet, and the many possible ways to interest such an audience and communicate clearly with its diverse members, ought to provide a significant learning opportunity for students. The possibility of seeing one's work "in print," but now for an audience around the world, can be used by teachers to enhance students' attention to detail and conventions in their work, and can be used as a motivator. Conversely, students connected to the Internet will have access to far more models--both of writing by peers and of writing combined with graphics, sounds, and links to information--than they ever had in the pre-technological classroom.
Finally, all of these tools are easier to learn than writing tools have been in the past. As graphical user interfaces such as Microsoft Windows and the Mac OS have become pervasive, the conventions of "talking" with a computer have become more standardized from program to program, and learning to use new computer tools has become easier and faster than ever for both students and their teachers. Now new users can concentrate more on learning meaningful content than on the mechanical processes of computer operation.
Evolution of software for writing instruction
Computers have come a long way toward becoming powerful tools for enhancing writing instruction. Ever since computers were introduced into the writing curriculum, writing teachers have tended to assume that the major purpose of technology has been to simplify the process of revision. Now, however, it is becoming possible to take a broader view of technology in writing instruction--not just to facilitate revision and editing, or to make "rewriting" easier, but to help students generate ideas for writing, gain control over their writing processes and, ultimately, improve the quality of their written work.
The stages of development in the technology of writing instruction can be defined in terms of the purposes being served. At each successive stage, the computer has been identified as a simple editor, a word processor, a desktop publishing tool, a multimedia-enriched writing tool, and a globally-connected communication tool.
Simple editor
The first computer programs for writing were command-driven, with each separate editorial action such as deleting or moving lines requiring the writer to type directions for the program (e.g., "DEL 5" to delete). Commands had to be entered on a special line on screen, and the writer was forced to work line-by-line and to refer to the target text by line number. With this limited capability, writing with computers seemed an awkward simulation of using an electric typewriter.
Word processor
Computer word processing programs, starting with popular programs such as WordStar and Volkswriter, enabled writers to revise their work in full-screen mode, store copies of work easily, and apply integrated text-analysis tools such as spell checkers and thesauri. Writers could now format their texts and select from a wide variety of typefaces, including boldface, underlined, and italic. Word processing, unlike traditional pencil and paper writing, allowed students to focus more of their attention on organizing ideas, and less on the mechanical aspects of writing (Jones, 1994). When writing, students often try to generate ideas, monitor their spelling, correct punctuation, and change the wording simultaneously, resulting in what has been referred to as "cognitive overload" (Gombert, 1992, cited in Jones, 1994). Jones (1994) suggests that delegating some of those activities to the word processor may reduce students' cognitive overload and, in turn, make it easier for them to think of ideas. According to this hypothesis, students using word processors would produce longer texts with more idea units.
Word processors have reached a high degree of refinement. More functions than ever are now automated, including spelling correction and paragraph formatting. Many word processors are now more closely integrated in "suites" with other programs such as databases, spreadsheets, drawing programs, organizers, and mail facilities to take the fullest advantage of related technologies.
Desktop publishing tool
Desktop publishing refers to the use of computer programs to incorporate text, graphics, styles, and different typefaces to produce professional documents with a high-quality laser printer. Students ought to hold a strong sense of ownership of their work when their output has a polished, professional quality. They also can learn how to use elements of graphic design to enhance their ability to communicate.
Multimedia and hypermedia-enriched presentation tool
Multimedia allows users to incorporate audio and video elements into computerized documents. Paintings, drawings, photographs, animation, sound recordings, movies, and speech can now be part of a finished document. With multimedia publication of student work, young authors can engage their readers through their senses. They can develop their awareness of the importance of time, logical sequence, attention span, and selectivity in communicating effectively. Also, they can make a more dramatic impact with colorful visual and auditory displays of their work than they ever could do with paper and pencil.
Hypermedia, on the other hand, allows users to present information in a non-linear manner, interactively. This has the potential to help students develop a greater sense of the immediate interconnectedness of many different kinds of information. It can also help them learn to organize highly complex information in many media, from many different sources, according to some central theme. Combined with telecommunications and networking, the number of hypermedia links to or from any given piece of information is virtually limitless.
Both multimedia and hypermedia are useful in at least two ways. Students learn by using computer programs incorporating interactive links and diverse audio, visual images, and animation. Some computer programs such as Prentice-Hall's The Writer's Solution incorporate multimedia and hypermedia specifically as aids to learning how to write. Students also learn, however, by creating documents that incorporate multimedia and hypermedia. Just as putting one's thoughts in writing has inherent advantages for learning content in various subjects because it requires linearity, commitment, and logic (Langer and Applebee, 1987; Emig, 1977), presenting one's thoughts with hypertext and multimedia can foster dynamic, interrelated thinking.
Globally-connected communication tool
With the ability to send text, voice, and pictures in digital form to other people both far and near, the world is getting smaller. All kinds of information and resources can be made immediately accessible to almost anybody in the world. Some popular examples of newer communication technologies are local area network (LAN's) that allow computer users within a classroom, building, or organization to share resources; the Internet, which facilitates instant communication with people around the world; satellite network for distance learning that extend education to people at remote sites via real-time video and audio; and the World Wide Web, on which people can browse through linked information in graphical form.
Old versus new technological features to support writing instruction
The number of technological features available to aid writing instruction has grown tremendously in recent years. Table 1 indicates which technologies have been available in schools for some time, and which ones have become readily available--and affordable--to schools only within the past three years:
Table 1
Old versus new technological features for writing instruction
| Old | New | |
| (pre-1993) | (Since 1993) | |
| Entering text through keyboard | R | F |
| Scanning text from a digitizer/ scanner | R | F |
| On-screen concept mapping | R | F |
| Automatic conversion of outlines and maps to text | NA | F |
| Audio and video writing prompts | NA | F |
| Structured prewriting/drafting activities | R | F |
| Spelling check | R | F |
| Word count | R | F |
| Checking for synonyms or antonyms | R | F |
| Checking for grammatical errors | R | F |
| Context-sensitive feedback for accidental misspelling | NA | F |
| Automatic grammar and spelling feedback | R | F |
| Definitions of words in document | NA | F |
| Word search based on semantic clues | NA | F |
| Generation of synthetic speech based on selected text | R | F |
| Inclusion of color graphics in document | R | F |
| Inclusion of audio and video in document | NA | F |
| Graphical user interface (GUI) | R | F |
| Intelligent editing tools | NA | F |
| Document comparison with redlining | R | F |
| Copy and paste | R | F |
| Copy and paste across documents and programs | NA | F |
| Flexible desktop editing with drag and drop | NA | F |
| Ability to save documents in various formats | R | F |
| Online reference handbook for searching and learning | R | F |
| Sharing programs and documents over a LAN | R | F |
| Immediate document sharing to promote group collaboration | R | F |
| Remote group discussion using email | R | F |
| Peer editing | R | F |
| Comment inclusion with annotations of sound, text, and graphics | R | F |
| Sharing text or graphics resources with publishing/subscribing;or Dynamic data exchange functions | NA | F |
| Desktop publishing | R | F |
| Writer as a reader, with computers reading the draft | R | F |
| Interactive audio/video clips | NA | F |
| Multimedia authoring/ presentation/ publishing | NA | F |
| On-line publishing with the WWW on the Internet | NA | F |
| Global communications with email on the Internet | NA | F |
| Global on-line searching and browsing on the Internet | NA | F |
| Computer features to support all phases of process of writing | NA | F |
| Teachers as facilitators | NA | F |
| Learner constructing their own knowledge through exploration | NA | F |
Key:
NA = Not available
R = Available, but only in rudimentary form
F = Fully functional
Teachers' perceptions about computers in writing instruction
The writing teachers we surveyed (Pan & Zbikowski, 1996), as well as teachers with whom we worked in two summer workshops, overwhelmingly believed in the usefulness of computers for enhancing writing instruction. About half of the teachers overall, and better than two thirds of teachers who had actually used multimedia, were also convinced of the special value of multimedia enhancements to writing instruction. But even in the majority of schools with the hardware to support at least some of the newest technologies, teachers reported that lack of administrative support and training prevented them from making the most of some of the tools for writing instruction described here. There is clearly a need for intensive staff development to go along with the rapid infusion of new technologies into the schools before teachers can realistically begin to integrate the new technologies when their students learn how to write, or when they use writing to learn their school subjects.
Surprisingly, given the prevalence of computers in these schools, only 49% of survey respondents indicated that they had even "moderate" experience teaching writing with computers. Fifty-one percent indicated that they had "minimal" experience using computers to teach writing, and some indicated that their level of experience was "none." Although most schools surveyed are equipped with computers to support writing instruction, most surveyed teachers commented that their computer resources were insufficient and inadequate. Therefore, it is important to think of the unique needs of writing teachers when acquiring new hardware and software.
Time for computer-enhanced writing activities
Writing requires practice. The "laboratory" model in which students spend only a limited time during a week or a quarter using the computer to work on drafts (editing and revising) is inadequate when technology is integrated in every phase of the writing process. Adequate access to computers for students in writing classes, always important, is now more crucial than ever. Over one third of the teachers in our survey reported spending more than two hours per week in writing activities, and more than half believed their students needed to spend more time writing. They also were concerned about their own work load as teachers, and how computers might help them manage the burden of reading and commenting on many papers.
Most-needed items in writing instruction
These teachers selected and rank ordered the three items they thought their students needed most in their writing class. Their ranking was as follows: 1) correct usage such as punctuation, usage, etc.; 2) examples/ prose models; and 3) feedback from teacher.
Most crucial obstacles
According to these surveyed teachers, the three top obstacles hindering teachers from using computers for writing instruction were 1) insufficient time to implement computer-enhanced writing activities; 2) inadequate hardware equipment for teaching; and 3) lack of needed technical knowledge and skill.
Features of ideal computer programs for writing instruction
Respondents who used computers for writing instruction demanded more power and flexibility in writing programs. The following are some of the features in computer programs that writing teachers considered important:
Issues in implementing technology for writing instruction
Tools versus Electronic Textbooks
Experience and discussion in the summer workshops led to a distinction that was difficult to gauge with the survey. Software for writing instruction seems to fall into two broad categories. One type might be called tools to support writing. Examples of this type would include Writer's Helper by Conduit and Inspiration by Inspiration Software. Both of these programs are designed to help writers in specific ways at specific points in the writing process. The other type, represented by Prentice-Hall's The Writer's Solution, resembles textbooks in its comprehensive presentation of information, structured learning activities, and versions for specific grade levels, but goes beyond a textbook with electronic enhancements. A textbook-like program is clearly designed to be used in school for instructional purposes, whereas Inspiration and most word-processing programs now used in schools were not designed specifically for instructional purposes.
Management issues
Some of the most animated discussions of the summer workshops were about how to organize students' computer use. Teachers were concerned about monitoring students' progress--they wanted to know whether students in the lab were doing homework, writing their own papers, or playing games, copying others' papers, etc. Vandalism was also a serious concern. Some schools have resorted to restrictive measures to protect machines, creating a sterile, laboratory atmosphere and, in one case, even denying students access to electronic mail on their local network because some had sent abusive messages. However, such measures may not be the only alternative. One workshop teacher suggested that by letting students personalize their computers and treating the computer area as a comfortable, friendly place, teachers at his school gave the students a sense of ownership that led them to take greater responsibility for the machines.
More basic management issues included how to make computers accessible to students. In many schools, the total number of machines is still limited, and computers are placed not in classrooms but in some central location such as a lab, library, or learning center. In the workshops, we demonstrated the use of an LCD panel to make multimedia displays accessible to the whole class. We also showed how pairs of students could work at single machines and how students could rotate among basic and more advanced work stations depending on the work they had to do.
The teacher's role
Many teachers have noted in the past how adopting a process-oriented form of writing instruction, with its emphasis on peer sharing and choice, requires a greater delegation of authority to students than they might be accustomed to. This is even truer when writing is combined with computer use. Much of the learning that takes place in this model of the writing process requires independent activity by students. In our workshops, teachers often could decide among themselves which projects to work on at a given time, or how to organize their collaboration. We anticipated that their students, too, would need some of the same kind of freedom in order to make the best use of technology in their own individual writing processes.
Teachers may also experience a need to negotiate their authority in relationship to the computer programs, and not just in relation to the students. This is particularly true when using the comprehensive, textbook-like programs. For example, several of the teachers in the first summer workshop were confused about the role of the multimedia prototype program they were testing because it was difficult to determine where the teacher fit in. Though perhaps willing to take an indirect role in students' writing processes, teachers had a hard time relinquishing their whole curriculum to a hypermedia program, no matter how advanced. Teachers were eager to be able to customize or modify the software so that it fit better with their curricula or their style of teaching. For example, teachers wanted to be able to include their own pictures and model essays in the program.
Integration of computers, reading, and writing
The teachers' comments about computer programs that are like textbooks underscores the importance of teachers having clear curricular goals in mind when using any technology in the classroom. In writing instruction, the fullest realization of the potential of new technologies is most likely to occur when schools implement a curriculum that integrates writing as well as technology throughout. For example, intelligent use of computers for writing instruction will involve finding ways to connect the several areas of the curriculum so that the new possibilities for research and collaboration in computer programs can be realized. Educators have long recognized the value of writing across the curriculum (Kirscht, Levine, and Reiff, 1994; Gere, 1987); the value of writing to promote learning in all subjects remains and can be enhanced when the writing is done with the latest technological tools. Conversely, students will get the most use of the technology when they are able to write frequently and for many purposes and audiences.
Essentials of Technology-Enhanced Writing Instruction
To effectively integrate technology into writing instruction, the following elements need to be present:
1. Identification of software programs to complement each stage of the writing process. Tools are now available to enhance each phase of the process--brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, publishing--but not necessarily in the same package. Teachers need to assemble the best set of tools from among the many choices of organizers, databases, text editors, web browsers, and authoring programs. Even well-integrated "office suites" such as Microsoft Office may not contain all of the tools that teachers may want to use to enhance writing instruction.
2. Freedom for teachers to choose the best software for themselves. Curricular considerations--meeting the objectives teachers have set for their students based on their knowledge of students' level of skill development--must take priority in decisions about technology purchases. Initial low cost, or the simplicity of purchasing from a single vendor, if used as the overriding considerations, may not serve students best in the long run. As with any materials acquisition, the choice of software for reading and writing requires extensive consultation with the teachers who will use it.
3. Before acquiring a new office suite, word processing, or other software solution, teachers need to be able to try different products and confer with teachers at other sites who have already used the programs they are considering. Too often in the rush to acquire new technology, teachers are left out of the process, and must learn to use the software along with their students--software they may not have preferred themselves, if given the choice.
4. Active, hands-on use of technology by students. With graphical user interfaces now the norm, students can learn to use new software more quickly than ever. Teachers can confidently give students a variety of projects and let them use the technology for many different, practical kinds of writing, such as class newsletters, calendars, posters, and letters.
5. Cooperative learning--both learning to write and learning to use computers. Use of computer technologies in writing instruction makes the most sense, and has the greatest benefit, in the context of an instructional program that emphasizes the social and interactive aspects of writing and learning to write. Students have long been able to use computers to draft and edit their own work independently. Now, however, the computer also makes it easier for them to share their work with others, and to engage in authentic communication through writing. When computers are networked or connected to the Internet, creating a steady exchange of ideas and drafts becomes easy. This enables both useful feedback on individual work and the production of jointly-authored documents.
6. A networked writing environment provides yet another opportunity to learn how to collaborate. Though learning to use computers is much easier now than it once was, students still learn at different speeds. It is appropriate to encourage students to help each other run their programs, from starting up and saving work to exploiting the many textual and graphical tools available within a given program.
7. Moving toward advanced publishing as a goal. Writing in schools needs to keep up with writing in the world of business, government, entertainment, and higher education. Electronic publishing of journals and documents, multimedia publishing of information on the World Wide Web, and sophisticated graphics in magazines, advertising, and the arts is becoming more and more pervasive. The same tools that businesses are now using to make their messages better heard and understood are available to students in k-12 classrooms. Teachers can take advantage of multimedia authoring packages, from the relatively straightforward ones included in office suites to dedicated Web-page development tools that are easy for non-programmers to use.
8. A focus on the quality of writing, not just speed and efficiency. Clarity and precision can be emphasized when students receive feedback on their writing from the many diverse audiences whom they can contact via the Internet or a local network. In combination with publication for a wide audience and receiving instant electronic feedback (e.g., mark-ups, marginal notes, replies), which are newer technologies, the traditional text-processing technology that enables fast and easy revision has increased value in helping students develop a sense of communicative purpose and style.
9. Emphasizing idea generation rather than making corrections. In keeping with a process-oriented form of writing instruction, teachers who use the latest technology to teach writing need to emphasize the content of what students write and help students see how their observance of the conventions of usage and spelling serves their communicative purposes. Computer-enhanced writing environments make the days of the red pen seem more distant than ever.
10. Making sure that students understand the rules used by their automatic text-editing tools. In most cases, students can work with their spell-checking and grammar-checking programs and thesauri to review changes that a text-analysis program may recommend. Students sometimes need to be reminded to use the tools in the first place. When they develop the habit of using them, they should do so actively and thoughtfully.
Suggested Learning Activities
The most recent technologies enable students to participate in many learning activities that were not possible before. These include the following:
1.Learning to find resources on-line. On-line databases, files, and information accessible via the World Wide Web or CD-ROM greatly expand the speed and immediacy with which students can conduct research. Instead of writing to a company for information about their products, for example, students can learn to access commercial web sites directly. Now, students can gather information on geographical locations for a planned trip, cultural exchange, or environmental report, including current weather information, without leaving the classroom. As part of a class project on the 1996 elections, students can contact candidates' web sites, gather data related to issues, and participate in listserv discussions of the issues that interest them most. As part of career exploration, students can experience a day in the life of people working in all kinds of fields on the World Wide Web. They can follow up their exploration with research on the educational requirements for their chosen field by contacting professional organizations, colleges, and professional schools.
2. Presenting the results of their research in a variety of interactive formats using multimedia and hypermedia programs. To enhance the traditional oral or written report, students can create graphical slide shows, or even Internet home pages, to share their knowledge and interpretations with others.
3. Establishing interpersonal exchanges, including "keypal" (electronic penpal) connections and on-line "mentoring" of students to facilitate language learning, to improve precision and clarity in writing, and to learn directly about other people and places.
4. Posting questions to solicit other people's opinions about books and other media, current events, or issues in their research projects.
5. Engaging in critical and creative thinking through simulations. Through vivid CD-ROM programs that replicate the experience of being in a place, or through interacting with others in a MUSE (a real-time, multi-user simulated environment that may be text-based or object-oriented), students can come to know about an era, a locale, a social dilemma, or a political decision in a way that was not possible without the technology (Dyrli, 1996). These virtual experiences, like actual experience, can form the basis for vivid and detailed writing and more active, engaged learning.
Practical considerations
1. Establish goals. Technology that supports writing instruction is so novel and exciting that it is easy to forget to integrate its use with curricular goals.
2. Plan ahead. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the diversity and the sheer number of resources available in the form of software and on-line information. Check out one or two topics at a time and explore them in depth. Good planning on the teacher's part can help students make the most efficient use of the resources available.
3. Get connected. Much of the potential for writing instruction described here depends on the school having a connection to the Internet. Determine whether the school is already connected to the Internet. If the connection is not available through the school, check out commercial online services such as America Online, CompuServe, etc.
4. Become thoroughly familiar with all computer-based writing tools by trying them before students do.
5. Involve students in active intellectual tasks that require making decisions and responding to messages intended for them personally. Encourage students to take initiatives in selecting materials to explore.
6. Encourage students' cooperation and sharing which will then result in active communication and potential improvement of their literacy skills. Team projects take on a new dimension when students in different classes, or even in different schools, can take part in real-time group activities via electronic communication.
7. Use tools to promote safe as well as convenient Internet use. Software exists that allows teachers to select which sites students may access. For the ultimate security in situations where there is concern about students accessing inappropriate information, use off-line browsers so that students can only visit sites that the teacher has screened and downloaded.
8. Adapt software for business productivity to the needs of the writing class. Electronic tools for concept mapping and flow charting can help students manage their research and writing projects, can help them to organize their thoughts for writing, and can actually stimulate ideas and creativity.
9. Exploit the tension between joint and individual authorship. On the one hand, computer technology makes possible a greater awareness of how meanings are shaped through social interaction and common frames of reference. On the other hand, multimedia and other tools provide a degree of individual stylistic expression--for example, in font selection, graphical ornamentation, layout, color, animation, and links to different sites within a text--that can increase individual students' pride of authorship, and therefore their motivation to write.
Conclusion
Today, in writing instruction, more teachers are using computers regardless of their years of teaching experience. They have shown confidence in the use of computers to improve students' writing performance. However, most writing teachers could use more information about recent computer technologies such as hypermedia, networking, and telecommunications, as well as practical suggestions for how to use the technologies effectively in their teaching.
New technology has made the writing process easier for writers. Users can write faster, better because they can concentrate more on what they want to say. Fostering greater awareness of the most recent technologies will be worth the effort, because teachers are optimistic about the possibilities and eager to learn. With the many new tools provided in the newest writing software, their optimism about improving the quality of students' writing will prove to be well justified.
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