Word Processing

Your children may come into contact with computers in their individual classrooms, a computer center in their school, in their school library, or in their neighborhood public library.

Select a question below to learn more about word processing. Use the navigation to the left to learn about other general technology uses.

1. What does Word Processing mean?
2. Are there different kinds of word processing programs my children will use?
3. What skills do my children need to word process?
4. Will my child be required to do assignments by word processing?
5. Where can I learn word processing for myself?

Will my child be required to do assignments by word processing?

It depends on the school your child attends. Some schools across the United States are beginning to require that students at certain grade levels turn in only word-processed assignments. Other schools are strongly encouraging students to use word processing to complete their assignments.

This question raises very serious concerns about students' access to technology. A policy that requires homework assignments to be completed using word processing and/or other technologies may not be fair to students who do not have regular access to computers. A term often used to describe this problem is the "Digital Divide.' If you would like to learn more about this important problem, you might want to visit :

Digital Divide Network
http://www.digitaldivide.net/

PBS Digital Divide
http://www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/

return to top