Slashdot Mirror

There's a pretty good body of research, going back quite a few years, that suggests that kids who use word processors for writing assignments turn out to be better writers.

Here's a pretty decent overview (ca. 1999) from the first Google result on the subject.

From this research (Table 1) they conclude that in general:

        students who use word processing software in the context of writing instruction programs tend to write more, revise more (at least at a surface level), make fewer errors, and have better attitudes toward their writing than students who do not use word processing software (1997, 131).

However, they caution that:

        Teachers who use word processing software with their students should not expect writing quality to improve automatically. Improvements of that kind depend largely on other factors such as the type of writing instruction. But the potential value of word processing has been established, making it one of the most validated uses of technology in education (1997, 131).


One of the results I'm most fond of is the bit about experimentation - how word processors allow words and the organization of a block of ideas to be rearranged wholesale, played with, and tested.

New writers become good writers though practice. The malleability of word processed words (as compared to typed- or hand-written words - both of which are pretty high stakes by comparison) equates to a lot more practice in the same amount of time.

I was fortunate to work at a newspaper and with word processor-equipped computers when word processing was not the norm. As a result of all that practice, though it may not show here on Slashdot, my writing improved markedly.

This discovery is big news around here because it involves several UNE (University of New England, Australia) staff, and this is a very small and rather provincial university. So here's the press release on our own site... http://www.une.edu.au/news/

And in the years directly following that law, numbers of people cycling decreased.

To know its a fake.

Why does this image have jpeg compression errors and why is it so fuzzy when its a gif?

And what's the weird jpeg ringing noise around the spaceship in this gif image?

Simple answer: I think they stole some promo screenshots and used MS-Paint with a bmp to gif convertor to fake their site.

These guys might want to be careful, I hear the Vanuatuian government doesn't look kindly upon scammers.

If anyone here speaks Bislama, can you tell me if there's a hidden meaning to the word Linar?

Yeah, the Daemon's definitely cuter, but I think this little fellow takes the cuteness prize :)

Christianity (ie: believing in Christ) is all about freedom -- freedom from the 'rules' that really lead to insanity and freedom from the crap that can bog you down in life.

The Church on the other hand is our attempt of trying to put this into practice. It just so happens that when we want to put something into place we have this need to make rules about it (a nice example would be programming - how on earth do you program freedom when programming is all about rules?). When we make it into a set of rules it fails and we find ourselves in the same, if not a worse state that when we started. It seems to me that if the Church doesn't reinvent itself often enough it gets stuck into the same old rituals and traditions and thought patterns that lets people on the outside blame 'Christians' of being the 'moral guardians of society' when all Christians can say is that there is a better way. "Don't look at me to find it because I'm as imperfect as the rest of those on the planet".

Have a think about this for a moment:

God looked down on the earth and saw us all, he loved us so much, and wanted to be with us so much that he would do anything. The only problem was that we are full of that stuff thats causing the world to fall apart - hate (murder, war etc.), lust (family breakdown etc.), lying, theft, etc. etc. etc. You know what I'm talking about, we can all see it crumbling.. How could he, who was utterly perfect have a relationship with humans who had hearts that only seem to want to do what is opposite to him? So he came up with a solution, he sent his on and only Son, a human form of God onto the earth to tell us about him and finally to die to take the punishment for all the stuff we do wrong that we just cant help. That was done 2K years ago and we are living in times when God is chasing after each of us with a choice. On one hand he is saying "Come to me, I made it possible and I want to spend eternity with you, I love you so much that I would do anything to be with you!" and on the other "I really don't want to let you go, but if you can't except what I have done for you then you will have to take the punishment for yourself".

It's not about conformity, its about the uncomprehendable Love of a God who just wants to be in a relationship with you, thats all, thats what Jesus was all about. The deal is that we have free will, he gave that to us -- we can choose which way to go. And now, people look at the church and you see a bunch of 'do gooders' who just want to tell you what to do, yet it all started with Jesus coming and raising the stakes, showing us exactly how perfect God is and how imperfect we are and giving us the option of being able to be made perfect by him taking the rap for our imperfection. It's not about rules, it's aboue pure Love that doesn't ask for anything in return - and guess what, he's going to love you no matter what way you choose, he's just going to cry when he sees that you won't accept something so simple and free.

Thats exactly how it is for me. I was on a downward spiral of suicidal depression, I had nothing to love for (do you?), there was no point in prolonging the pain of living on this planet, I sucked, the world sucked, there was no hope. I had no love, I was just another outcast Geek who may as well have done the "Killing Spree Thing"(tm) when I was in school. But God found me and confronted me with the shocking truth - there is hope, there is love, there is something to live for and all I have to do is say "ok, I'll have it", and I did, and now I have hope, now I have love and now I have something to live for and whats more, I'm enjoying living! What more could I ask for?

So be careful when you look at the church and make blanket statement about Christians and Christ. I challenge you to pick up a new testament and tell me that Christanity if about something other than what I've just presented. If you don't have one to read, email me and I'll be more than happy to send you one.

Roddy

rvagg@grug.une.edu.au: Feel free to flame me, but if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.