Perhaps their work will stay explorative, learning along with their students. English teachers are writers first and programmers second, not the other way around as has been the case with most program designers. As writers they bring a special expertise in rhetoric and economy to the design of screens and on-line documentation. English teachers are subject-matter experts as well as programmers. They must decide what content is appropriate for computers to teach and what is best taught by warm human beings.
English teachers keep up with research sources.
Perhaps their programs will have built-in research capabilities. The characteristics described above suggest the brightness in a future dimmed only by the fact that composition software design is on the frontiers of technology. As I think I have shown, with careful planning the designers of instructional software can affect our role as teachers by building in an appropriate teacher involvement. The designer can also help us envision the facilities in which we will use computers. If that designer is an English teacher, so much the better.