My biggest experiences with autocorrect and autocomplete happen in the writing center. I am a writing center tutor and I deal with a lot of ESL students. The autocorrect and autocomplete on Word messes them up a lot because it will underline grammar or words that are supposedly spelled wrong or used wrong, even when they are actually spelling something right or using the correct grammar. It is really frustrating to me and it is confusing for them. I constantly have to explain that the spellcheck and grammar check on Word isn’t 100% fail proof. I think that in this case, autocorrect and autocomplete derail the process of learning correct English and grammar and ruin the confidence that these students have started to build. However, I can see that autocorrect and autocomplete also does help them learn certain words and grammar issues and might help build their confidence in their writing ability by allowing them to check their spelling and grammar before bringing their writing to the writing center.
Affordances
- Helps them learn how to spell certain words
- Helps them learn grammar issues
- Might make them feel more comfortable about their writing overall by helping them with grammar & spelling
Constraints
- Ruins confidence
- Creates confusion
- Not always correct, which derails their learning process
- Might take away from their motivation to actually learn how to spell/use correct grammar
