Is the students spelling performance affected by keyboard response?
There is evidence that a student’s spelling performance is not affected by using keyboard input for spelling response (Beggs, Schofield, Masterson, & Apel, 2001). The accuracy of children’s spellings entered via a keyboard versus pencil and paper was compared in students in Grades 2-6. Although the pencil-and-paper spellings were slightly better for the children in Grade 2, there were no differences in the other grades, with the exception of the fourth graders, who actually performed better when using a keyboard. Of particular interest was the finding that the children’s spelling accuracy in the two modes was not influenced by keyboarding proficiency (measured as words per minute). For students with handwriting disability, spelling via computer keyboard allows students to devote more mental energy to spelling rather than having to attend simultaneously to the motor demands of spelling (Berninger et al., 1998). For these students, keyboard response may allow a more valid measure of true
