This study examines the uses and perceived effectiveness of technology in Iowa community college English composition instruction. A survey of those who teach English composition in Iowa community colleges and in-depth interviews with four instructors were conducted. The results show that community college English instructors use a wide variety of technologies in instruction and agree that technology use assists students during the various steps of the composing process. Instructors also said that technology can have a positive effect on some elements of the finished product, but that higher order concepts, including thesis development and creativity, are not enhanced by technology use.

Instructors also were asked about their use of four specific technologies that the New Media Consortium's Horizon Report, 2012 Higher Education Edition, suggests will come into widespread use in higher education instruction within the next three years. None of the four technologies the report identified (mobile apps, tablet computing, game-based learning, and learning analytics) were found to be commonly used for English instruction.