16. Problems with spell checkers

Although spell checkers are very useful they are not infallible and should not be relied on as the only method of proof reading.

Here are some of the problems with spell checkers:

• They may not recognise proper place names for example Harbury.

• They won't recognise many technical terms or abbreviations, although if you use these regularly, you can add them to the custom dictionary.

• If you have used the correct word but the incorrect spelling, they will not find this mistake for example, "here" instead of "hear", or "their" instead of "there".

• Teachers are concerned that students are not learning to spell things correctly themselves and rely too heavily on the spell checker to correct mistakes.