Prepared from taped transcripts, this report summarizes presentations and panel sessions from a conference at Syracuse (New York) University that investigated the power that computers deliver to teachers and students of writing and editing, and the challenge of making the transition from typewriters to computers in the classroom. Titles of the chapters of the report are as follows: (1) "Buying Hardware: Hard Choices and Second Thoughts"; (2) "Choosing Software: First Pick Your Word Processor"; (3) "Networking in a Writing Lab"; (4) "How Different Is It? Making the Transition from Typewriters to Computers"; (5) "Evaluating Educational Software"; (6) "The Computer as an Audio-Visual Tool"; (7) "The Computer as a Reporting Tool; How 'Newsday' Uses Data Bases"; (8) "Coaching from the Sidelines: Using Style and Spelling Checkers"; (9) "To Check or Not to Check: How Much of a Role Should Style and Spelling Checkers Play in Writing Classes?" An afterword on the transitional nature of the conference topic concludes the report. (SKC)