Learning Complicated by Technology

Along with the cognitive and emotional load of learning, writers must also deal with the technology of writing and the way it sometimes hinders "normal" processes. A good example of this is one of our students who composed on the central VAX system--in VAXmail and without an editor--because she didn't know and didn't want to or couldn't invest the mental effort to discover how to send text from her PC via e-mail. With more operations to think about, and more tasks to accomplish, students frequently cannot give enough attention to writerly processes. Often, the negative emotions that build on frustrating technical barriers can cloud and discourage composition.