A survey measuring perceptions of tenth grade English students at Thomas Jefferson High School toward the use of computers in writing for applied oral communications

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to measure the perceptions of tenth grade English students at Thomas Jefferson High School who use computers in writing for applied oral communications. Does the use of technology provide measurable results on tenth grade English students who use computers in writing for oral communications? The study used approximately 100 (four sections, computer-assigned) tenth grade Language arts, untracked students which were scheduled for a one semester class (18 weeks). Students were assigned to one teacher. The four sections were taught applied oral communications using computer assisted instruction and computers to produce the final written documents. Measurement and documentation were taken from all groups in the form of a pre test survey which described students’ perceptions at the beginning of an eight week period towards computer applications in the areas of essay composting, research, speech writing, and editing for a final draft. A post test survey was given to measure the changes in students’ perceptions after eight weeks of computer assisted instruction in the areas of essay composing, research, speech writing and editing for a final draft document. Teacher observations through journaling (by the teacher) generated documentation which cultivated underlying useful data. The hypothesis investigated was; technology does affect students’ perceptions which can extend learning experiences and opportunities. The change in perceptions provided conditions which enabled students to formulate and construct their own understanding from observable facts to clear concise conclusions which could be interactively (computer generated) communication through the written composition and speech