All the readings that focus on the use of computers as the panacea to the educational woes and ills of the last millenium reminded me of a personal journey that I had in terms of the use of computers, specifically to write assignments (as an undergraduate) and papers (as a post-grad an beyond).
My first year undergraduate essays were (when done diligently) works of organised chaos. I had hand written outlines, i had photocopies, I had yellow stick-its and highlighter markers seemingly thrown over all this material. All strewn across every surface (including the floor) in a 2m circumference around my writing desk. I'd hand write a draft, and then add that to the highlighted notes around me before I wrote my final draft. I didn't get 100% (or even close) for these assignments but at least I was on top of the writing process.
And then I was introduced to the word processor in a computer along with associated dot-matrix printer. We had labs of BBC Acorn computers. I did the same process as above but at the stage of my final copy I'd type my assignment up. I immediately found that my grades when up between 5-10% - I swear simply because it was typed and not hand written. I know this sounds bizzare today but the majority of assignments were hand written. When I became a postgraduate student, and had my own tutorial classes, I used to implore my tutees to have their assignments (for the lecturer not me) typed up just to pick up 5-10% 'free' marks. Many did and commented that I was right about the power of the presented work.
Meanwhile my own writing process had by now progressed to be able to type up my outline on a computer and then my notes, and then I didn't even have to bother with the highlighter marker because I could simply cut and paste paragraphs to different locations in my text - marvellous! Finally i was at the stage where I was writing the whole document from scratch on the computer with only one document, that would be edited on the screen - by this time I had borrowed an king's ransom (for the day) to purchase my very own computer - a MacSE, complete with an over the top storage capacity of 40MB hard drive (little did I know).
Curiously though I found that my writing seemed to suffer. I could not understand why, I was writing 'more' and spending more time on my text. I was saving trees and highlighter pens and mess on my floor and yet I knew that I was not on top of my writing.
A few years passed and I was writing a paper in haste, abroad and without my beloved computer (by now a top of the line Mac Performa 5215), and I was forced to pick up my pen, buy some more highlighter markers, and visit the local Kinkos in order to print off copies notes, and photocopy various printed articles. I found myself at 2am in the same situation as I started with: a 2m radius of notes and hand written outlines and drafts complete with highlighter marker pen marks strewn across these notes. My first draft was with my trusted fountain pen (travelled with me since secondary school days). Of course I had to submit my final draft in typed format.
And my writing improved dramatically - at least I felt in control and on top of it.
Here's what I think happened, or happens. Computers and the software cannot emulate the ease at which I can manipulate text by hand, either with a marker pen, or by literally tearing off the relevant segment of text and paper clip or stapling it to another piece of paper. And when I write by hand, I cannot write as fast. That's a good thing because it means I have more time to compose and construct my text. Since I can type quite fast, my system of typing straight away is really mental diarrhoea. I spend so much time editing out my rubbish, but somehow I was never loathe to throw out my first bit of writing and start again. When you're writing by hand it's so much easier because you cannot 'cut'n'paste' in the same way, so you know already that you're writing afresh.
So even though I'm a technophile and love the computers I use – when I want/must write a quality piece of writing - I start with my humble pen and a pad of paper, my highlighter marker pen is ready and I get ready to have my desk strewn with bits of paper spread all around me.