The Hechinger Report – Jill Barshay
“Can elementary-school children show off their best writing on a computer? The research arm of the U.S. Department of Education was curious to learn just that. In 2012 it handed out laptop computers to more than 10,000 fourth-graders and asked them to complete two 30-minute writing assignments. Initial results from the study were positive: most of the young students were able complete the writing assignments and use the editing tools. Soon after, states began rolling out new Common Core-aligned tests that included online writing components. Last year, more than half of U.S. states gave computer-based writing tests to children as young as third-graders. Some wrote their paragraphs with a pencil and paper; the majority used a computer.”(more)