When I think of technology, I usually don’t think of the basic suite. In fact, if I was asked, before thinking about this post, to create a list of the top 5 most useful types of technology, I’d bet that I would not have even thought of including the basic suite on my list. Maybe this just goes to show how fully the basic suite has integrated into my daily life. At home, it’s a given. On the go, it’s a given. For school and at work, it’s a necessity. In education, the basic suite is one of the most important sets of software tools for both students and instructors. Although its word-processing, spreadsheet, and presentation functions are all useful in general, in the ESL courses, writing courses in specific, certain capabilities are more effectively leveraged than others.
Word Processing Software
ESL writing students can benefit from word processing in a variety of ways. In summarizing several studies on the effect of word processing on student writing, Robyler (2016) points out that word processing, among other benefits, increases the overall quality of writing, reduces surface errors, and fosters a positive attitude toward writing. Software such as Microsoft Word and Openoffice can be used most basically for completion of homework assignments and longer writing assignments. They can play a major role in all parts of the writing process from invention (blank-screen freewriting) to editing a final draft. Additionally, programs such as Google Docs allow shared documents which can foster collaboration in pairs, groups, or even whole classes. For example, an instructor could assign each student to complete a vocabulary entry on a shared Google Docs so that every student could have access to a common vocabulary journal. This would hold each student accountable for their share of the class’s learning and would allow the instructor to grade one online document rather than 25-35 paper vocabulary journals.
Instructors can use word processing to create basic grammar/vocabulary exercises and quizzes/tests as well as more complex materials utilizing graphic and visual functions. Traditional reading comprehension discussion questions, for instance, could be supplemented with visual representations of concepts presented in a difficult academic reading. This would allow the instructor to attend to students who learn effectively from reading and those who learn better by visualizing ideas rather reading words. In addition to the variety of formats that instructors can use to present material, the commenting function of word processing programs allows instructors to comment on student writing through comment boxes that can target a specific area in a sentence or paragraph. In a quantitative study of computer-mediated corrective feedback in the writing of English as a foreign language (EFL) students, AbuSeileek (2013) found that students at an intermediate level of English proficiency who used the commenting function in conjunction with the ‘track changes’ feature of a word-processing program effectively reduced the number of both global and local linguistic errors. This further supports the use of word processing as a support software.
Spreadsheet Software
Although it is true that the utility of a spreadsheet is more obvious in fields such as mathematics or the natural sciences in which numbers must be manipulated and visual representations must be efficiently generated, spreadsheets can have some less obvious but nonetheless relevant uses in the ESL writing class. In content-based writing courses, students might be able to use spreadsheets in the way they were originally intended to be used, for collecting data and creating graphs and/or charts of data. Students could then use these visuals as springboard for practicing the linguistic and rhetorical features of a results section of a research paper. A less obvious way for students to utilize spreadsheets in a writing class is in the creation of vocabulary journals or grid notes.
Spreadsheets also have use in classroom management, administrative, lesson planning, research, and curriculum related tasks. Instructors can utilize spreadsheets for maintaining attendance records, tracking student progress, and assigning small groups. Instructors who engage in research can use spreadsheets to college quantitative and qualitative data. Many ESL writing programs, for example, have compiled English learner writing corpuses using spreadsheets. In addition, departments can use spreadsheets to collect data that could inform future curricular adjustments.
Presentation Software
After word processing, presentation software is probably the most relevant to content-driven communicative ESL writing classes. With presentation programs such as Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides, and Prezi students can collaborate in the creation of content-related oral presentations. Collaborative groups could each be assigned academic readings revolving around a central theme. Each group could then create a presentation using presentation software to explicate the material in the readings for the rest of the class. The information presented by each group might then be used in a culminating writing assignment.
Instructors can also leverage presentation software in a variety of ways. The most common use of presentation software is as a basic visual aide to supplement grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing lectures. However, instructors can use presentation software in other ways such as projecting the day’s objectives, collaborative group name lists, and written directions for group activities. Programs such as Microsoft Powerpoint offer users the ability to embed images, Youtube videos, Poll Everywhere surveys, and a host of other features into their presentations opening up the possibility for a highly interactive use of presentation software in the classroom.
References
AbuSeileek, A.F. (2013). Using track changes and word processor to provide corrective
feedback to learners in writing. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(4), pp.
319-333.
Robyler, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
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