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The Writing Machine
The Writing Machine was a text-to-speech word processor for the Macintosh computer written in 1992 by Chris Moggia using Hypercard. The program was distributed as part of the Language Development Program for African American Students, a writing initiative of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Between 1993 and 1998, over 3,000 copies of the program were distributed to teachers throughout the LAUSD district as part of the teacher training component of L.D.P.A.A.S. through a series of Saturday workshops led by Anthony Jackson and Chris Moggia at 99th Street Accelerated school in Watts. The program was used to great success as it was simpler to use than Microsoft Word because the user interface was designed to meet the developmental needs of young students.
The development of the text-to-speech word processor The Writing Machine demonstrates the Intellectual Virtue #3 - Intellectual Autonomy. Chris Moggia, the developer, sought to replace an insufficient Microsoft Word product that was difficult for his students to use effectively. So he invested time to explore the possibility of using Hypercard to create a replacement that would improve the student's ability to use a word processor as part of the writing process. He had the freedom to explore options and find a replacement that could be distributed for free to teachers. The program was copied only 1,000 3.5 inch "floppy disks" and distributed to teachers participating in Saturday training sessions. Students used the program with great success as part of the Writing Process.
The development of the text-to-speech word processor The Writing Machine demonstrates the Intellectual Virtue #8 - Intellectual Courage. Dr. Moggia identified a problem (A) The Microsoft Word product was not working for his students due to a bad interface. So he created the Writing Machine with a very simplified interface (see pic!) which focused students on typing their hand written work, editing it, and printing it out. Thousands of LAUSD students benefitted.