"Because We Are Shy and Fear Mistaking": Computer Mediated Communication with EFL Writers

I conducted teacher research in a basic writing computer classroom to discover what two basic writers brought to the computer classroom that could complicate their interactions with technology and their ability to write with computers during our class.My discussion is twofold: First, I explore the writers' differing attitudes towards computers, writing, and writing with computers and the effects of these attitudes on my pedagogy.Second, in the guise of presenting opportunity, the computers accentuated the differences in the students' past technological opportunities.The computers empowered the two students by giving them access to the technology for their writing, yet the students were at a disadvantage when compared to their classmates who were more experienced in using computers.I conclude by discussing the effects that these case studies and the issues that emerged from them have had on my pedagogy.It's Monday, 10:10 a.m., and our basic writing class begins.The twenty students start their daily ten-minute freewrite-or freetype-on the personal computers in front of them while I roam around the room, making sure that all of the computers are working.Some students already have two paragraphs typed as I walk by, and with fingers flying, are on their way to a onepage journal entry.But a few students have barely managed three sentences and sit, typing slowly and looking intently at the keyboard.I give the class an extra five minutes to write because some seem to have just started, but I know that this will only allow the slower students to type a few more sentences, while others will produce another half of a page.I wonder how I should account for students' different abilities with and knowledge of computers.Most of the research on computer use in basic writing classrooms does not acknowledge scenarios such as this.