Technology is integral to education, and
it is particularly important to writing.
Two examples of useful writing technologies include word processors and
the Internet. While virtually all
students in the United States have at least passing knowledge about these
technologies, most do not know many of their features and capabilities.
Word
Processors
A word processor is one of the most
basic, yet integral technologies for education and writing. While there are several different types, Microsoft
Word is the most widely used. Most
people do not know that there is a free word processor called OpenOffice, and
it is virtually identical to Microsoft Word and some of its features may even
be easier to use. Thesaurus, spell-check,
auto correct, find and replace, and word completion are a few of the features
that are very useful for writers (Baldwin, 2002).
Thesaurus
Unlike traditional thesauruses, the ones
build into the word processor can be utilized in far less time. As opposed to thumbing through pages of the
book, users can simply click on a word they want to substitute for another of
similar or identical meaning and then hold down the control button while
pressing F7. A list of several synonyms will appear. Once the user has decided
on the best substitute, he or she needs only to click it and then click the ok
button. The word will automatically be
substituted for the original. It is important to note that only the basic forms
of the word appear – not plurals – so it will be necessary to make sure to
substitute the correct form based on the specific context of its usage
(Microsoft, 2008).
MS
Word Charts and Graphs
Microsoft word is also capable of
creating charts and graphs. These charts and graphs can be used for a variety
of reasons. They can illustrate the
author’s most important points. There
are many cases where a graph or chart is simply more efficient than
writing. For example, graphs and charts
are ideal to illustrate visually the differences between various data. Below are a few examples of charts and graphs
that can be created in Microsoft Word.
Spell check is another excellent feature and
it can be setup so that whenever there is a misspelling, a red line appears
below the word. By clicking on the
incorrectly spelled word and then right clicking, a list of possible choices
will appear. Simply click on the correct
choice and it will substitute the misspelling.
This is far faster than using a traditional dictionary. Another option for words that are not
programmed in the word processor is to type the word into Google's search
engine. It's complex algorithm quickly analyzes past searches with available
results and makes a suggestion. If it is misspelled, the words “Did you mean”
will appear before the word suggestion.
This is a great feature for more complex words and particularly people's
last names or titles of books. By typing the spelling as good as one knows in
addition to other key words, Google almost always knows the correct spelling.
For instance, a title of a book and a misspelling of the author will return the
correct spelling. Other search engines are not as powerful. More of Google's
features will be discussed later in the research section (Microsoft, 2008).
Auto
Correct
Auto correct is a feature with many
usages and, as the name suggests, it automatically corrects words and
misspellings. Many common misspellings are already programmed into MS Word's
Auto Correct (Lawler & Dry, 1998)..
For example, if someone types their it will automatically be changed to
their. The list of words can also be
customized. In MS Word 2007, simply
click the “Office Button” at the top left of the page. Next, click options,
then proofing, and lastly auto correct.
Now that auto correct is open, there will be two boxes in which text can
be typed and one word can be automatically changed to another. Make sure to click ok to save the changes. In older versions of MS Word, auto correct
can be found by clicking the tools button and then auto correct. Auto correct can also be used to abbreviate
words and even phrases. For example, I
programmed mine so that when I type fe the words “for example” appear. I even
added the comma because a comma usually follows it.
I did this for hundreds of words. Rather than manually typing in each entry, I
created a document with the word and its abbreviation or misspelling. Then, I downloaded MacroPro, a macro program
that can mimic each of my keystrokes, mouse movements, and clicks. By cutting
each word from the list and pasting it into auto correct, the next word on the
list appeared at the top of the document. Consequently, I was able to record
one entry and then have the program repeat it hundreds of times after until the
list was complete. Lastly, I did not save the changes to the document so I
would still have a copy. An additional copy was also saved just in case
(MacroPro, 2008).