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Co:Writer Product StoryIn the early 1980s, when Paul Schwejda and Judy McDonald started making word-prediction tools, they felt that any word in the prediction list that was not appropriate was a potential waste of keystrokes. In looking for the best solution, they used grammar-based prediction, in addition to more traditional prediction methods, to make word lists more closely match their vision of perfect prediction. The original Co:Writer program was the first product to incorporate grammar when predicting words. This was the beginning of what is now Co:Writer SE®. Prediction for Struggling WritersOver the years, Co:Writer became important not only to people with physical disabilities, but also to students struggling to write. When Co:Writer was introduced, Don Johnston Incorporated was active in the United Kingdom. British educators had long used word prediction as an approach for struggling writers. Word prediction with grammar was new, however. British schools adopted Co:Writer and saw the potential. Word Prediction Affects Word ChoiceStruggling writers often do not use the word they want because they do not know how to spell it. What teachers find when they use word prediction with grammar for struggling writers is that students attempt to write with words that they want. Students are also expanding their vocabulary because they are exposed to alternative word choices that are grammatically appropriate. Research continues, but picking out a word from a list of similar words seems to have very positive effects on phonemic awareness and spelling. Sentence composition appears to improve as students work with grammar prediction. This seems to help students create more grammatical sentences.
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