A study of the effect of a computer writing program on the writing ability of elementary school students

The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences in the creative writing of students would arise between a group of second grade students using a computer writing program and a group of second grade students using the traditional pencil and paper method of writing. The students were also given an attitude survey to determine whether or not the computer had an effect on their attitudes toward writing. Students In both the control and experimental groups were holistically rated on a pre-test writing sample. Both groups were also given an attitude pre-test. One group of students wrote stories using the computer writing program Storybook Weaver: World of Adventure, while the other group used traditional pencil and paper methods of writing. The students were given a writing post-test and an attitude post-test at the end of the study. The pre-test and post-test scores were then statistically analyzed to determine If a significant difference existed. Since no significant differences were found in the writing abilities or the attitudes of the two groups, both null hypotheses were accepted.