Original_To:  BITNET%"mbu-l@ttuvm1"
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.mbu-l
Date:         Sun, 24 Jan 1993 21:09:00 CDT
From:         Fred Kemp <YKFOK@TTACS.BITNET>
Subject:      things on stand-alone PCs

Nancy, I used to do several things with stand-alone PCs.

1.  Invisible writing.  Have them freewrite, but turn down
the monitor so they can't see what they're writing.  This
used to be a feature with WHANDA (HBJ Writer), (it was
called "invisible writing) but can be done on any word
processor.  It's  kind of fun and I think helps writer's
block.  After ten or twenty minutes you have the students
turn up the monitor and see what they've produced.

2.  Pair writing.  The computer screen provides an
invaluable "opening up" of the text allowing two writers to
either compose together or solve critiquing problems
together.  For example, you are pushing three levels of
subordination within a paragraph.  You give the students a
paragraph with just one level of hierarchy (all ideas are
coordinate, none subordinate) and tell them to expand it by
adding details etc. to two or three levels of subordination.

3. Decombining.  Have the students write a paragraph and
then break up the paragraph by sentences or (if you're
really brave) by clauses.  That means, a separate line for
each sentence or clause.  Then give them some means of
evaluating the decombined text.  the simplest is to compare
sentence length and try for variety (that becomes very
obvious with decombined text).  Or check for repetitive
sentence openers, or lack of variety in sentence type, or
lack of qualifiers, etc.  A lot of things become visible
with decombined text that aren't visible when the text is in
a paragraph block.  Once they done their review, then they
can easily recombine the text into a paragraph, essay, etc.
I use decombining in my writing conferences; it opens up the
text, and you can break out troublesome phrases or words,
highlight parts, type in suggestions in all caps to be
overwritten by the student, and on and on.

4.  Seek and find.  Have them write a passage and then have
them go look for some textual element and bold it, say,
passive verbs or transition terms or certain kinds of
modifiers or errors (if you're into that bag) or "master
terms" (words that carry a heavy lexical weight in the
passage) or whatever you think it is important for students
to be able to identify in their own text.  Then have
everybody "rotate" around the room like a volleyball game,
and sit at the next computer and see if the writer was able
to locate what you wanted her to locate properly.  Tis a
simple thing but engenders (1) close critical reading and
(2) collaboration and text-sharing.  It's easier to do this
sort of thing on networks, but it can be done pretty easily
on stand-alone micros.

5. Rearrange.  This is old and slightly mickey mouse but it
does good, I think.  Take a passage and scramble its
sentence order and give it to the students and ask them to
rearrange it.  This gives the student (1) practice in
arrangement, (2) practice using block moves on the
processor, and (3) it's a sort of contest that can be
"judged" with an overhead at the end of the class.  The
danger here is of emphasizing, incorrectly, that there is
some kind of static, "perfect" arrangement in a paragraph
and all the student has to do is find it, but if the
instructor is careful that can be avoided.

Hope this helps.  I have others, so if you want more
suggestions, let me know.  By the way, Helen Schwartz has a
book (about six years old) just full of these kinds of tips.
I've forgotten the name, but I bet other megabyters know it.
And Bill Wresch has a new book out with many of these kinds
of things generated by midwestern teachers.  That title also
escapes me (getting old).
Good luck.  Fred Kemp, ykfok@ttacs