Date of Award
1-1-1991
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Dr. Georgianna Lowen
Keywords
Computer in the Classroom, Language Arts Activities, Whole Language, Second Grade Activities, Process Writing, One Computer, Cooperative Learning, Global Awareness, Narrative, Creative Stories, Letter Writing, Word Processing.
Abstract
This practicum aimed at increasing children’s abilities to use the computer through word processing activities. Most of the activities involved the children working in cooperative groups. Another objective of the practicum activities was to incorporate the computer into the language arts area. The third objective was to effectively use a single computer beyond drill and practice with the entire class. Activities involved writing narratives and friendly letters which were done on an individual basis. Other activities included writing global reports as well as creative stories, which were done in groups of two and three. The children evaluated each of the activities and gave constructive feedback as to how to expand or improve upon them. Children received training in booting up, saving, retrieving and printing files. outcomes of this practical were very positive in that each of the twenty four children became proficient at word processing and working with files. The activities were successfully completed by all of the children and word processing projects were planned for the remainder of the year. The practicum demonstrated that a computer can successfully be incorporated to generate language arts activities in a computer class.