Summary chapter 2

Chapter 2, Word processors in the classroom, provides unique ideas for those teachers with limited expertise in teaching with technology so they can begin progressively to incorporate computer activities with texts and pictures but, in any case, in a productive and elaborate way.

The word processor was one of the first applications to appear on early PCs, displaying words as they were tapped out on the keyboard. Today's word processors are far more advanced and stylish, but the underlying principle remains the same: These applications are used to input and output large amounts of text, with some processing and editing along the way, if required.

Word Processor Programs

WordPad is a basic word processor included with Microsoft Windows, while the industry standard Microsoft Word is available as part of the Microsoft Office Suite. Alternative freeware office suites include LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice. A number of online browser-based word processors are available as well, including Google Document, the word processor offered as part of Google Drive. Desktop publishing (DTP) applications offer more flexibility in terms of layouts, and are more suitable for working with newsletters, magazines, flyers, posters and other similar documents beyond the reach of the standard word processor.