The Impact of Computer Use on Middle School Student Writing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether middle school students’ writing would improve with computer use. A teacher-devised writing rubric was used to measure the writing outcome. There was one group of students that took two post tests within a six-week period. The first post test was a descriptive writing essay that required students to write three paragraphs using a pen and paper. The second post test was a descriptive writing essay with a similar prompt that required the students to use a computer to respond. There was no statistically significant difference in the means of the achievement scores. Thus,the null hypothesis was retained. Future research should continue as technology is increasingly becoming present in classrooms and it is critical to be able to measure its effectiveness. Studies that include different types of writing software and more diverse subjects are suggested.