1 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Amanda Berwanger and Ashley Mazen
Loyola University of Maryland

In partial fulfillment for

AD 776.601/ED 776.601
Instructor: Gordon Michaloski, Ph D.
December 8, 2016
2 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Abstract

Background- Being part of the Digital Technology in Education cohort, we thought it was

beneficial for us to research the effects technology has on communication and writing.

Technology is constantly growing and becoming more prevalent. With many school systems

getting one-on-one devices, how is it going to effect the future of our students learning?

Objective- The purpose of this study was to determine how technology has an effect on students’

ability to communicate through talking and writing.

Methods- We reviewed twelve articles about different studies done on how technology effects

students’ writing skills and how they use technology to communicate.

3 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Results- Technology is positively effecting the written skills of students in most cases. It is also

linked to positively accommodating students with social and communication needs. Although

there are more positive outcomes for students that have special needs, there is also a correlation

between the amount of time on social networks or non-educational games and higher rates in

depression, anxiety, loneliness, and other psycho-social disorders.

Conclusion- Technology has a positive outcome on education when used properly and safely.

Students gain writing and communication skills, especially for special education skills. However,

when technology is used in abundance for things such as social media and video games, it can

cause students to underperform in school and possibly lead to social issues.

Introduction

Children in this generation are wrapped up in using technology on a daily basis. Whether

it is in an educational setting or used for communication through social media, typically children

are spending a portion of their day in front of a screen. There are many positive aspects of using

technology in education or for communication. However, how is it effecting a child’s writing and

communication skills? The following research was collected in order to determine the positive

and negative effects of these skills from using technology in the classroom and outside of school.

Before collecting the information and research, we predicted that technology would be a
4 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

hindrance to their writing and communication skills. We thought that students would use it to

take the easy way out of finding information or using auto correct to fix their spelling and

grammar. This usage of auto correct would create students that have difficulty spelling and

constructing well-written pieces. We also believed that too much social media communication

outside of the classroom would create students that no longer know how to communicate face-to-

face. We felt that using educational programs too often, such as Padlet, would also effect

student’s face-to-face communication skills. This research is crucial to the future as we are

unaware of what type of students we are entering into society. Will the usage of technology

negatively affect their writing and communication skills to the point that they cannot function in

the world without using social media or the internet? Is technology impeding on the development

of social skills and the way they will work together in their adult lives? These children are our

future and while technology is very powerful and helpful in many instances, what are the long-

term effects in the way they converse and write? The following information includes a multitude

of research found to answer these questions.

Key Terms:

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of

complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic

patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and interaction.

EBD: Emotional and Behavioral disability

Connectivism: the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity

and self- organization theories.

5 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Learning Disabilities: a condition giving rise to difficulties in acquiring knowledge and

skills to the level expected of those of the same age, especially when not associated with

a physical handicap.

Review of the Literature

The Impacts of Web-Enhanced Versus Traditional Writing Instruction

“The Impacts of Web-Enhanced Versus Traditional Writing Instruction” article answers many

questions about technology being used for writing instruction and how it effects writing skills.

The data in the article was collected quantitatively through a survey and qualitatively

through focus group discussions. First, researchers surveyed eleventh grade public school

English teachers. This was a questionnaire answered on a scale of one through five, ranging from

disagree to agree. Next, students took the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. This

assessment was a one question persuasive essay that responded to a prompt. There was a thirty

five minute time limit. The assessment was graded on a six point scale. A score of six meant

their answer was outstanding while a score of one meant their answer was deficient. They used

the scores from this test from fifteen twelfth graders. The teachers and students in the focus

groups were based on the amount of technology used in their writing practice and their level of
6 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

ability (standard class or honors class). Finally, researchers met with the students that took the

assessment to explore their perspective on technology enhanced instruction and how it effects

their writing.

The data showed many conclusions that lean towards a positive feeling and result

towards using technology in their writing instruction, practice, and testing. As far as the testing

went, students in both standard and honors classes who used a high frequency level of

technology scored significantly higher than students who used a low frequency level of

technology. The data also showed that no matter the perception of technology in general by a

teacher, it did not affect how often they used it in their instruction. Finally, the data from the

focus group of the students showed a range of ideas about using technology in their writing.

While most students felt positively about using technology, not all students were proponents of

using it to write. About half of the students thought that the technology helps them focus and

type quickly, the other half found that it caused distractions and hindered their writing speed.

Students agreed that technology is engaging and fun to use. They also agreed that the programs

used in their English courses were effective in preparing for the assessment and improving their

writing skills. This is due to a very fast response time to the programs finding and correcting

their mistakes.

To conclude, the researchers of this article found that using technology more often in

writing instruction benefits the students’ writing abilities. The students enjoy using the

technology in most aspects and it is effective to help them with revisions and editing.
7 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Evaluation- As an evaluation of this article, we were very impressed. It seems as if the

researchers thought of all of the parts of a science-based question and fulfilled each part. The

variables were controlled except for the manipulated variable. Just as other articles had done,

data was collected both through survey and discussion. In our opinion as an educator that is

curious about the topic, the best part of the data collected was that most of the information came

from a standardized test. The test in which they used was not created by the researcher and it was

not based on opinion. The information was collected based on ability and the results of using or

not using technology to learn and practice writing skills. The only hesitation about the data was

the small group of students that they used in the research. Only fifteen students were used in the

discussion. This was due to the low number of students who brought back a signed permission

form to be a part of the discussion. This article taught us a lot about the results of using

technology and traditional styles of writing instruction.

Using Assistive Technology Adaptations to Include Students with Learning Disabilities in

Cooperative Learning Activities

The article “Using Assistive Technology Adaptations to Include Students with Learning

Disabilities in Cooperative Learning Activities,” states that students benefit from using assistive

technology tools within cooperative learning group work. The author states that data from

Cooperation in the Classroom (Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec 1994) has shown that

cooperative learning activities are very beneficial to a classroom. These cooperative learning
8 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

tasks are built to “complete activities that teach and reinforce academic skills, and apply

interpersonal skills in a group setting,” (Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec, 1994). However,

cooperative groups can be difficult for students with learning disabilities. While data shows that

students with learning disabilities gain social advantages, they may not be able to do their part of

the work. This is where the assistive technology tools come in. These tools are used as

accommodations in order for students with learning disabilities to keep the same pace as the rest

of their group. These pieces of technology are any tool that enhances the student’s difficulty area

(reading, writing, handwriting, motor skills, etc.).

The data found in this article is qualitative data found from other studies. The author

found that the assistive technology comes as an advantage to students writing and social skills.

This is because with the accommodation from the technology, students are able to contribute

their knowledge to the overall task and also improve their social skills.

Evaluation- We think this article does a good job of collecting information from other sources to

gather their information. They used many different sources of research to create their final

revelations. On the other hand, this topic seems to be opinionated based on the idea that

cooperative learning is good for student learning. This article does a good job of answering their

research question about using technology as an accommodation for learning disabilities. The

article also lists ways in which technology can be integrated for cooperative learning for students

with handicaps or learning disabilities. While these are fantastic ideas, they also seem to be

opinionated with little research to back up these approaches.

9 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

’That’s online writing, not boring school writing": Writing with blogs and the Talkback

Project

The data collected in this article is qualitative data. The article shared information based

on what the author learned from doing his own experiment incorporating technology while

teaching literacy. He collected his data based on reflections from participants of the program he

created, The Talkback Project.

The Talkback Project is an online two-way journal that paired a middle school student

with a teacher from another county or state. The idea came from a student who would not

complete her written assignments during class, however, was creating many essays and poems

on an online blog in her spare time. She stated that many of her classmates were on this blog and

also shared their writing. The author took this information and created The Talkback Project for

students to use an online audience and connect to a teacher in order to improve their writing

skills and also become more advanced in the digital world. The students were given prompts or

topics to write about based on the text they were reading in class. The teacher that was paired up

with the students also read the text and responded to their answers as if it were a two-way

journal.
10 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Once the program was integrated into his teaching of literacy, the author learned a lot

from his research. One of the most important lessons that he learned was that using technology to

write is a large form of motivation and excitement for students. The author claimed that students

were dedicated to their work and making insightful conversations and many text connections.

Students felt as if the technology gave them a voice in their writing and that their writing

mattered. Another lesson learned from the integration of technology is that the audience matters.

When the program first developed, students were unhappy with their online partner because they

felt as if they were being talked down to. This just felt like having another teacher grade their

work instead of having an open form of communication to write and converse. Once the problem

was fixed the following year, students were more motivated to complete the assignments. One

negative lesson that the author learned is that with all technology comes the risk of security. At

one point, the project was cancelled because a student gave the journal partner the street name

that he lived on. Although this teacher was safe with this information, the district realized that

this could lead to students becoming victims to online predators. The project was then cancelled

but with the fight from many community members, students, and teachers, was continued with

adjustments to the network used. Overall, the author learned that integrating technology into his

literacy teaching strengthened the students writing abilities while improving their technology

literacy for the future.

Evaluation- Our evaluation of this article is solely based on the small experiment size. This

research and information that came from the article is only about one experiment done with

using technology in teaching writing. This is just one individual’s experience with a project that

had only gone on for a very short time. Although we did learn a lot from this article and it is
11 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

something to consider, we do not think the results would be exactly repeated if many schools

tried the same project. The timing and roadblocks that the author ran into also played a role in

the results of his information. The program was actually shut down due to privacy and safety

issues. This did lead to other findings but it also does not create accurate information from the

program and research. We do think the article is worth reading, however, the information seems

to be skewed.

Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

This article is an explanation of the theory of Connectivism and how learning has shifted

due to technology advances. The theory states that “learning (defined as actionable knowledge)

can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting

specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important

than our current state of knowing,” (Siemens, 2013).

The article is written in terms of qualitative information. The theorist used knowledge

and information of prior theories to compare them to a new modern learning theory. He explored

and compared the ideas of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Siemens then explained

how Connectivism matches today’s learning and life experience due to the amount of

technology, resources, and connections available due to the advanced technology.

12 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

The theorist found that “technology is altering our brains. The tools we use define and

shape our thinking,” (Siemens, 2013). He explained that many pedagogies of teaching are now

supported by technology sources. Connectivism is important to learning because it is the idea

that learning is not only gaining information through content but is a “result of experiences and

interactions with content or other people, (Siemens, 2013). Those connections are made easier

today because of technology.

Technology allows students to communicate with others that they would typically not

ever run into or come in contact with. This leads to more possibilities for the future and more

knowledge of their trade. Siemens thinks of technology as a major benefit to our society.

Evaluation- This article was very different from other articles. There was not any data collected,

but research used instead to form a new theory that goes against the research he found. We

thought that this theory was well thought out and made many fine points. The idea that the older

pedagogies are no longer completely in use at this time because of the major advances we have

made as a society makes a lot of sense. The author did not try to prove his theory and convince

his reader of it but rather stated the reasons why his theory made sense. He did this without

putting his opinion in his work and used facts and common knowledge. This article was

beneficial to our research question, as well. It spoke to the idea of technology being a positive for

the youth to learn communication skills. This article was well-written and researched.
13 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in School

“The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in School”

is about the results of research done to identify the advantages and disadvantages technology

places on teaching, learning and using the writing process. The types of technology discussed

varies from texting on cell phones, using social media, using internet search engines, educational

programs and platforms, word processors and many more. The topics that were studied were also

very broad. Teachers and students were asked about plagiarism, organizational skills in writing,

the ease of teaching writing with technology, writing skills, engagement and effort in student

writing, and the type of writing that is being taught and practiced.

The research was done by the Pew Research Center. The process took days to complete

and months to analyze. This data was quantitative and qualitative due to the dual parts of the

collection. The research was done in two parts. Part one used three groups of teachers and two

groups of high school students. One group of teachers was in a focus group in person while the

other two groups were documented online. These teachers were middle and high school teachers

in the northeastern part of the United States. The students used in the research were also part of
14 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

the same location. Within part one, teachers and students were a part of a ninety minute

discussion about how technology effects their writing and teaching. Teachers in the online group

were able to post answers and comment on other teachers’ answers to questions. The Pew

Research Center than analyzed the discussion boards to look for similar key terms used. They

used these key terms and results to create part two of their data collection. In part two, 2,462

teachers were selected from a lottery system to complete a thirty minute survey about the impact

technology has on their teaching and the student’s ability to write.

There were many findings based on the results of both parts of the data collected. The

vast majority of the teachers stated that technology is allowing students to become more engaged

in their writing. This meaning that they are more creative in their work and personal. They are

also more willing to share to a broader audience due to social media. Students are working more

collaboratively in their writing process and are writing in a larger number of different formats

than in the past before the digital age. However, many responses showed the negative aspects

technology has on writing. Many teachers agreed that the students are writing with informal style

and language. On the other hand, teachers had mixed reviews on spelling and grammar. Some

stated that technology enhances spelling and grammar while other teachers stated that it left

students to put less effort into their conventions. Most teachers agreed that students are not

willing or able to write longer pieces that require critical thinking on the topic.

Although teachers are including lessons on plagiarism, formal writing pieces, spelling

and grammar and more, relaxed usage of technology is leading many students to put those
15 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

lessons to the side. Students are doing written pieces such as research papers, creative writing

(poetry, plays, etc.), and multi-media projects. They are also completing daily, smaller written

assignments such as journals, short essays, science labs, and mathematical explanations. Data

proves that teachers believe that proper writing skills are important for future endeavors. They

believe that longer written pieces are more important now than ever because of the amount of

informal writing students are doing. These types of longer writing assignments are on

standardized testing and require more organizational skills and critical thinking. Both of these

aspects were seen as a negative result that they see their students experiencing in their writing

due to the digital age. Teachers are especially let down because students have an extremely wide

range of resources to acquire information for formal, longer written reports. Yet students are not

willing to think critically and use the resources available online to find the information.

Overall, the results of the data collected shows that teachers find many pros and cons of

students having an abundant amount of technology and its effects on their writing skills and

abilities.

Evaluation- In our opinion, the Pew Research Center did a great job collecting data and turning

it into useful information. First, the large sample group of teachers participating in the survey

and focus group discussions creates a better mean of the data and is more reliable. Although the

article states that it is not a probability of every teacher’s thoughts, the sample size is large

enough to collect thoughts from all perspectives. Our only hesitation is the small number of

students that were involved in the research. Only nineteen students participated. We also thought
16 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

the compilation of using a survey and discussion group was an effective way to collect data. This

gives statistical information but also allows teachers and students to explain their thoughts fully.

In fact, the idea of using the information from the focus group discussion to create the survey

used in part two was helpful. The data found in the research is a clear indication of the thoughts

of the teachers and students.

The Role of Communication Technology in Adolescent Relationships and Identity

Development

This article discusses the short term and possible long term effects that technology has on

the social development of adolescents. With the amount of technology used for communication

among teens, the researchers and authors Cyr, Berman, and Smith wanted to know how it is

effecting development psychologically.

The research was quantitative based on the statistics gathered from a survey. Two

hundred sixty eight high school students, ranging from ninth to twelfth grade, took a survey in

school. The survey was based on a one to five scale. The survey had questions based on

preference of why the technology is used, how much time technology is used, and questions

about their self-awareness.

17 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Results showed that the amount of time spent on technology does not interfere with teens

developing an identity. However, it does increase the amount of anxiety and stress about

developing their identity. It also negatively effects anxiety about their relationships and peer

aggression. Text messaging, email, social networking, and instant messaging for communication

reasons causes issues with these categories because there is a “lack of in-person communication

which allows for cues such as facial expressions, tone and prosody of voice as well as immediate

reprisal or dismissal to become unavailable,” (Cyr, Berman, and Smith 2015). This leads to

emotional conversations being misinterpreted, exaggerated or escalated. Students remarked that

they had created false identities on social media pages, as well, to avoid confrontation.

Evaluation- There is an overwhelming amount of information that has come from this article

and research. We think this information is extremely important to our research question. This

article focuses on technology used for social purposes outside of the classroom environment. The

way students talk to one another due to technology usage is just as important to their future as the

way technology effects their education. This article made it very apparent that there are many

negative consequences to using technology so often to be social with other teens. The author did

a nice job of explaining where they found the types of questions to put on the questionnaire. The

author also successfully included a questionnaire that helps answer questions about multiple

different psychological effects. The author also used a large sample size to collect his data. The

large sample size gives us a better understanding of how most teens are effected by social media

communication. We were highly impressed by the way the author collected multiple forms of

research to create the tool used for their data. This article provided great amounts of important

research and data that supports our question.

18 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders

In the article Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders researchers studied the different

types of technologies used in an educational setting for students with autism and how effective

the technologies were. The main focus of this article was to see how different types of

technologies could be used to help teach social skills to students with autism.

This research was done using the meta- analysis methodology. The authors used

quantitative research to obtain qualitative conclusions. In order to conduct the research they first

read journal articles with key words such as autism, software, internet, technology, behavioral,

electronic, social initiation, multimedia, social skills, video modeling, video-based instruction,

electronic sensing technology, computer architecture, auto recorder, and video recorder. In the

forty articles they researched, they found that nearly one-third of the studies involved an

intervention for social skills. Next, they identified a multitude of technologies used to teach

social skills to students with autism. The technologies they used were video/DVD, audio script,

computer program, tactile prompt, and a combination of different technologies. After they

narrowed down the technologies, they determined which technologies were used most often for

each social skill and each experimental setting. In the study 161 children were observed and

technology was used as a social skill intervention.

19 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

The research finds that technology is a good intervention for children that struggle

socially due to autism. They concluded that video/DVD and audio were achieved the best

outcome because they can be easily modified to the individual learner. This method is also more

cost effective than using a human aid.

Evaluation- One thing we really liked about this article was that there was a ton of data to

support what different technologies supported students with Autism. However, the article did not

mention how old the students were, what grades the students were in, and where the studies took

place.

Clinical Report- The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families

In the article The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families they

studied how social media effects adolescents and teenagers. They researched everything from

bulling on social media to sexting.

The article looked at other research that conducted quantitative studies to draw

conclusions about how social media effects young children. They found that in the last five years

the number of adolescents using social media sites has increased dramatically (O’Keeffe and

Clarke-Pearson, 2011, Pg. 800). They found that in a recent poll 22% of teenagers log on to their
20 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

favorite social media site more than 10 times a day, and more than half of adolescents log on to

social media more than once a day. 75% of teenagers now own cell phones, and 25% use them

for social media, 54% use them for texting, and 24% use them for instant messaging (O’Keeffe

and Clarke-Pearson, 2011, Pg. 800). The article states that “because young adolescents have

limited capacity for self- regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure some are at risk as they

navigate and experiment with social media,” (O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, 2011, Pg. 800).

While O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson (2011) found that current data suggests that offline

harassment is still more prevalent than online harassment there is still a spike in cyberbullying,

which can cause profound psychosocial outcomes that can include depression, anxiety and

sometimes suicide (O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, 2011, Pg. 801). O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson

(2011), suggest that parents should talk to pediatricians about social media to discuss healthy

ways adolescents and children can use social media (O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, 2011, Pg.

803).

Evaluation- This article looked at how social media impacts students and families. After

reviewing this article we realized it did not focus on how technology effects students learning. It

looked at how technology effects social and emotional aspects of students but they did not

connect it to learning. The article also did not mention anything about the social-economic status

of the students, specific ages, or how long the students spent on the computer. It was more of a

snap shot of the growing epidemic of online harassment and how to prevent it.
21 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Using Technology to Create Motivating Social Skills Lessons

The article Using Technology to Create Motivating Social Skills Lessons looks at a

multitude of other research articles to determine how technology benefits students with

emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBDs). The article even goes as far as to explain

differences between traditional social lessons and lessons modified with technology.

The article looked at other qualitative and quantitative research to see how technology

could benefit students with EBD. Cumming (2010) states “There is limited research available

regarding the use of technology to teach social skills to students with EBDs (Fitzgerald 2005).

The studies that do exist suggest that using technology to teach social skills instruction in the

classroom results in more prosocial behavior,” (Cumming et al., 2008; Ripple Effects, 1998-

2003; Roona, Ochshorn, Ray, & Berg 2003). Some of the technologies that have shown promise

in this area are video modeling, video self-modeling, and multimedia student-generated projects

(Cumming, 2010, pg. 243)

While the research found that video modeling, video self-modeling, and multimedia

student-generated projects were beneficial to students with EBDs, there were some challenges

with schools having sufficient access to the technology needed. They also saw that some teachers

were not technology savvy, had a hard time with classroom management because of the

technology, and did not have proper training (Cumming, 2010, Pgs. 247-249). Cummings (2010)

states that “as the teachers and students become accustomed to the routine of the lessons, the

time required to prepare the lessons will decrease to a level consistent with that of other subjects
22 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

taught during the school day. The positive outcomes of this intervention, such as increased

student motivation and involvement, outweigh the challenges. With preparation and planning,

the challenges can be overcome and technology- enhanced social skills instruction can become

an effective classroom intervention,” (Cumming, 2010, Pg. 249).

Evaluation- This research article was written very nicely. It talked about how technology is

beneficial for students who have emotional and behavioral disabilities. They talked about how

you can take traditional lessons and turn them into lessons that incorporate technology for

students who have social disabilities. They mentioned the challenges schools may face with

incorporating technology. Even though the article was well written, there was not a lot of data to

support their research.

Identifying the Pitfalls for Social Interaction in Computer- Supported Collaborative

Learning Environments: A Review of the Research

The article, identifying the pitfalls for social interaction in computer- supported

collaborative learning environments: a review of the research, looks at a number of different

qualitative research on how social interaction is being negatively affected due to the nature of

computer- supported collaborative learning environments.

23 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

While looking at other qualitative research Kreijns, Kirschner, & Jochems (2003) put a

quote in their article that states “ having the majority of assignments in the public forums with

the entire class posting at a given time, and with numerous prompts and encouragement from the

instructor, it was hoped that interaction among students would occur naturally. This was not what

took place,” (Hallett & Cummings, 1997, pg.105). Kreijns, Kirschner, & Jochems (2003) states

there are two major pitfalls for social interaction while using computers: “The first thing taking

for granted is that social interaction automatically takes place just because an environment makes

it technologically possible. The second is the tendency to restrict social interaction to educational

interventions aimed at cognitive processes while social (psychological) interventions aimed at

social- emotional processes are ignored, neglected or forgotten,”( Kreijns, Kirschner, & Jochems,

2003, pg. 336).

While looking at other research, Kreijns, Kirschner, & Jochems (2003) found that

collaborative learning seems to be the best way to learn social skills. Kreijns, Kirschner, &

Jochems (2003) put a quote from another article that states “collaborative learning leads to

deeper level learning, critical thinking, shared understanding, and long term retention of the

learned material,” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001; Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Kreijns,

Kirschner, & Jochems (2003) go on to mention how you can enhance collaborative learning in

schools.
24 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Evaluation- This article did seem to be a little biased. It was more of the author’s opinion with

quotes from other authors than a research paper. While the article did quote other researchers,

there was not really any data to back up what they were saying.

The Impact of Computer use on children’s and adolescents’ development

The article The Impact of Computer use on children’s and adolescents’ development

looks at a longitudinal study done in the Pittsburgh area called the HomeNet project. The point

of the study was to look at how the role of the internet impacted the lives of adolescents. For the

purpose of this project, I am just going to focus on the parts of the article that talk about how

home computer use effects academic performance and how computer use effects social

developments and relationships.

Data was gathered by families taking a survey in their home before getting Internet

access and then one year after they received internet access. For computer use and how it

affected academic performance Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross (2001) state that

HomeNet found that “surveys indicated that parents generally believe computers to be an

educational resource. According to Turow (1999), 70% of the parents in households with

computers said that children can discover fascinating and useful things on the Internet and 60%

said that children without access to the computer were at a disadvantage compared to their peers

who had Internet access,” (Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross, 2001, pgs. 15-16).

“Parents in the HomeNet study said they appreciated the new educational resources that the
25 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Internet provided their children, but at the same time worried about the erosion of standards and

about the credibility of online information,” (Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross, 2001,

pg. 16). Rocheleau (1995) looked at responses form students in grades 7th-12th and did find

higher overall grades in math and English for students with computers verses students without

computers,” (Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross, 2001, pg. 16). Even though these

results were found another study found that “5 to 12 year old students deemed generally

academically “successful” and “unsuccessful” found that unsuccessful boys spent most of their

time watching television and playing video games than their academically high-achieving peers

(Madden, Bruekma, & Littlejohn, 1997). (Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross, 2001,

pg. 16).

Another aspect the HomeNet project looked at was how computers had an impact on

friendships and family relationships. The study found that “one-fifth of all children between the

ages of 8-18 reported having a computer in their bedroom (Robert et al., 1999) indicates that the

computer may often be used in solitude; indeed, Roberts et al. found that, among junior high and

high school students, over 60% of all computer time is spent alone. (Subrahmanyam, Greenfield,

Kraut, & Gross, 2001, pg. 15). Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross (2001) states that

“further research is needed to assess the impact that such role reversals may have on family

dynamics and interactions,” (Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross, 2001, pg. 18). Even

though more data is needed the HomeNet study found that “during respondents’ first year or two,

the more hours they were using the Internet per week, the more their psychological and social

well-being declined. Subsequently it was associated with loneliness,” (Subrahmanyam,

Greenfield, Kraut, & Gross, 2001, pg. 21).

26 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

The researchers found that when the computer was used for school related activities

students achieved higher scores in math and English. When technology such as television and

video games were used frequently these children tended to underachieve in school. It was also

found that when children spend a lot of time on the computer by themselves their social well-

being declined. They associated this with loneliness.

Evaluation- After reviewing this article we think this study was done very well. It was a

longitudinal study that took place over many years. They examined the short term and long term

effects of using technology. They found when using technology in moderation and for

educational purposes technology, it had a positive effect on students. However, they also found

that when using technology for purposes such as video games and social media for long hours at

a time there was a negative effect on students. The only negative aspect about the research is that

it was restricted to a certain area in Pittsburgh. They did not do the study in different areas with

that could provide different population demographics.

The Effect of Computers on Student Writing: A Meta-analysis of studies from 1992 to 2002
27 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

In the article, The Effect of Computers on Student Writing: A Meta-analysis of studies

from 1992 to 2002, they looked at different studies to determine if computers improved student

writing. The article was a meta-analysis of multiple studies done between the years of 1992-

2002. In order for a study to be included in this article there were stringent criteria that each

study needed to meet. Goldburg, Russel, & Cook (2003) identified that criteria that needed to be

met in order for them to use the research.

 “Each study needed to be a quantitative study done between the years of 1992-

2002, in with results reported in a way that would allow an effect size calculation,

have a research design that employed a measure of word processing’s impact on

writing over time, or be a direct comparison between paper-and- pencil writing

and computerized writing,

 Have ‘quality of student writing’ and/or ‘quantity of student writing’ and/or

‘revision of student writing’ as its outcome measures,

 Not specifically focus on the effects of grammar and spell-checkers or heavily

multimedia-enhanced word processing software,

 Not examine differences in writing within the context of a test administration (i.e,

focused on the mode of test administration rather than the mode of learning), and

 Focus on students in grades k-12,” (Goldburg, Russel, & Cook, 2003, Pg. 6).

Goldburg, Russel, & Cook (2003) ended up dropping a lot of studies they were going to

use because they ended up not meeting all of their criteria.

After all the studies were looked at Goldburg, Russel, & Cook (2003) found that

computers had a positive impact on student’s quantity of writing and their quality of writing. In
28 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

the article it states that “early research consistently found large effects of computer-based writing

on the length of passages and less consistently reported small effects on the quality of student

writing. In contrast, although our meta-analyses of research conducted since 1992 found a larger

overall effect size for the quantity of writing produced on computer, the relationship between

computers and quality of writing appears to have strengthened considerably,” (Goldburg, Russel,

& Cook, 2003, Pg. 19). “ When aggregated across all studies, the mean effect size indicated that,

on average, students who develop their writing skills while using the computer produce written

work that is .4 standard deviations higher in quality than those students who learn to write on

paper,” (Goldburg, Russel, & Cook, 2003, Pg. 19). Goldburg, Russel, & Cook (2003) did state

that researchers found that using computers for writing did positively affect middle and high

school students more than elementary school students. They also stated that “students who

develop their writing skills while using a computer produce written work that is .4 standard

deviations higher in quality than those students who learn to write on paper,” (Goldburg, Russel,

& Cook, 2003, Pg. 19).

Over all the research paper found a positive correlation between computers and writing

skills.

Evaluation- Over all, this meta-analysis study was done pretty well. The authors had high

expectations when choosing different studies to use. They even dropped a lot of studies because

they did not meet their expectations. Something not considered when completing this research

paper was the amount of computers accessible to teachers and students, especially during the

earlier years. Nowadays a lot of schools have one-to- one devices but in 1992 there may have

been 1 computer for every 15 students, which can make writing a paper challenging. The paper
29 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

also did not keep in mind the demographics of the students or the differences between teachers.

Both of these could have had a big impact on the study.

Analysis and Synthesis

After reviewing the twelve articles, many had similar findings on how technology plays a

positive role in students’ ability to communicate through talking and writing.

For writing they found that students became more engaged and inspired in their work.

They put forth more effort and created a large variety of forms of written pieces. A few articles

agreed that the data proves that students achieved higher scores on standardized written portions.

Students who use technology for their writing tend to produce more work and made more

corrections in their work. However, not every article about using technology in written practices

shared that common data. One article stated that students were more careless with their writing

conventions and grammatical mistakes. They also did not prove to find any correlation about

how technology positively or negatively effects written skills.

When looking at how technology effects communication, many articles shared the

positive relationships for using technology with students with special needs. Most of the research

that was done found that technology was very beneficial for students that had a hard time

communicating because of their disability. Technology can be used easily as accommodations

for students.
30 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

Other research about that we found about using technology for communication shared

thoughts that technology is good to a point. It speaks for students that are shy or to do

educational games that contribute to a child’s understanding. On the other hand, too much time

or the preference for which it is used can alter the development of an adolescent. Data showed

lower scores on student work because of too much time on technology. A few articles also stated

that adolescents are becoming depressed, anxious, and lonely due to using technology as a

platform for communication in social situations. This is typically due to social media tools

creating issues with cyberbullying and sexting. Students are creating false identities to

communicate negatively with others.

In contradiction, one article stated that there are some pitfalls for using technology in

communication. For example, having the technology does not mean the students are actually

communicating. Another pitfall stated that social and emotional practices are ignored because

technology easily takes place for accommodations in education. The article suggests that the best

way to learn social skills is collaborative learning. While there were mainly positive feelings

towards using technology to communicate, one article stated that technology is not readily

accessible in every school and teachers may not understand how to use the technology.

Conclusion

In conclusion our original thought that technology hinders learning especially in writing and with

social skills was incorrect. While doing our research we found that technology has been very

beneficial for many. Technology has the ability to allow students who would normally

participate in a lesson to communicate. Technology also has the ability to allow students to learn
31 The Effects of Technology on Writing and Social Skills

in different ways that were not possible 20 years ago. As long as technology is used

appropriately and for learning experiences there is a positive correlation between using

technology and academic achievement. There is still much research to be done on this topic but

technology in education is sticking around and is more prevalent than ever in school systems.

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