Activity 3: The word processor as a learning resource

As stated in my previous post, the word processor is very useful in the administrative and lesson preparation roles of the teacher.  It can also prove very useful as a learning resource.

As a teacher integrates ICT into the learning process, word processing skills can be developed.  For instance, students can use the word processor in their language class for typing and formatting essays.  They can also use them for producing statistical data in graphical form after doing research projects in classes like Geography or Mathematics - graphs, piecharts, and so on.  Students can also use this resource for note taking especially where they have writing challenges.

Further, documents produced by word processors work well for collaborative brainstorming.  Learners can add their ideas to a document and circulate it for classmates to add their own ideas.  Online storage services like Dropbox facilitates such sharing of documents quite easily.  In this way, even outside of the classroom, students can continue to share ideas (whether it be for a full class assignment or a group project).