Considering questions relevant for teachers, students, researchers, and developers of educational innovations, this book centers on the words and experiences of the teachers and students who used QUILL--a system containing both computer-based tools and environments for writing. The first chapter introduces general issues on which the analysis of QUILL is based. The second chapter discusses literacy development in relation to society, culture, learning, and social contexts. The third chapter focuses on QUILL as an innovation, including the software and the activities the software and its support system. The fourth chapter describes classrooms in the Alaskan cities, town, and villages that form the social context of the study. The fifth chapter discusses the complex and important idea of "purpose" in learning and describing alternate realizations of QUILL. The sixth chapter describes how QUILL's approach to fostering revision was realized. The seventh chapter presents the evolution of a community of teachers linked by an electronic communication network. The eighth chapter presents a theoretical framework for studying innovations and change. The ninth chapter discusses what was learned as a result of the evaluation of QUILL. (Contains 164 references.) (RS)