The program also highlights mistakes the student does not see. Select programs which teach students to make corrections rather than programs which make automatic corrections. Separate questions of style from questions of style from questions of correctness. Avoid programs which use grammatical terminology to explain why something is wrong. Students, for example, usually don't know what the past perfect is, and telling them doesn't help them correct their mistakes.
Microcomputers are no panacea.
In some ways computers make the teaching of writing harder, not easier. Teachers need to learn how to use microcomputers, select software, train students, plan for writers not using microcomputers, and teach writers to respect one another's privacy. And not a single bit of research tells us yet that writing quality improves when word processing is used for instruction purposes. These points are worth some serious thought and further research. They teach in SUNY-Buffalo.