Educational Problems the Use of Word Processing Aims to Solve....

There are many obvious advantages to using a word processor over the traditional means of handwriting. As previously mentioned, children are exposed to a system or device they will most likely need to use often in higher grades, secondary education, or as adults. In other words, it prepares them for the future. It allows for more legible work, which in turn is easier for a teacher or peer to edit. Other advantages are as follows:

 Children like to use the keyboard and computer. It is motivating for them as it is often seen as different or fun...

 Work can be produced faster as some children can type well but struggle greatly with printing or cursive handwriting. An article titled LITERACY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION: Writing Without Handwriting by David Coniam Chinese University of Hong Kong feels strongly and states,
“Technology will reduce the agonies of "handwriting" and "penmanship", and composing will not be associated with punishment as often. "Writing" will include noise and pictures; fewer imaginations will be wounded; many youngsters will look forward to playing with the keyboard and screen. Also, no one person will be able to recall having learned both penmanship exclusively and keyboarding exclusively, so only historians will be able to speculate about the precise effects of the change in the way young people are conditioned to undertake "writing." But the changes are occurring, and the difference will be there, and our grandchildren's children won't realize that writing once was a psycho-motor struggle as well as a mental challenge. Scientific research has shown that some people are more verbal/text-oriented (left-brain thinkers) and some people are more visually-oriented (right-brain thinkers). Chances are, your audience will be composed of a mix of both types.”....

 Work can be edited easier without wasting time erasing, crossing out or starting over. In an article titled Word Processing and its Effect on the Writing Process by Katie Herrick, she states,
“Writing with the word processor enhanced the writing process by allowing 4th grade students to edit without using the laborious method of using pen and paper. Students became more independent and felt more confident in their ability to change their original stories.”...

 When using a WP, work is easier to store and copy or save and access...

 The option to cut, copy and paste allow for easy quoting or citing if research is found on line or on a CD ROM...

 The format is basically standard and recognized worldwide where English is spoken...

 The spell check, grammar, thesaurus, on-line or dictionary programs and other functions help to save time and hassle of looking up words, as well as to correct as a child works. This immediate feedback is beneficial.
In an ACOT (Apple of Tomorrow) report, students preferred word processing over writing by hand. Their work was longer, they used more topic sentences, and they made fewer errors in tense. Students also made fewer mistakes in mechanics such as spelling, capitalization, and subject-verb agreement. Even the overall content improved...

 The less paper used in the writing stages, the better it is on the environment...

 Many programs, such as “The Children’s Writing and Publishing Center” help in the process of creative writing. They can be flexible and hit many levels, allowing the student to select the type and amount of help or prompting they need. This is one on one time that a teacher may not be able to give to the children otherwise. Some programs turn dot-jot notes into full sentences, while others help with “story mapping” and organizing of ideas...

 Work done on the computer can be converted to another language easily with the proper software...

 The keyboard may be easier to work on or simply provide another option for children with special needs...

 Typing as opposed to handwriting is said to decrease writer’s blog...

 Word processing may allow for more student/student and student/teacher
collaboration....

There are many other advantages that may not be stated here, but these are some of the obvious ones.