Educators have moved on from older models of technology-based education that focused on the attributes and basic uses of the hardware and software available to them. Now they are finding the necessary creative and innovative ways to harness technology's power for school and community educational improvement. In this column, the authors tell four…

Discusses the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress 1985-86 survey of American students' computer competence, focusing on findings of interest to reading teachers who use computers. (MM)

Computer-based technologies offer promise as a means to assess students and provide teachers with better understandings of their students' achievement. This article describes recent developments in computer-based and web-based reading and literacy assessment, focusing on assessment administration, information management, and report creation. In…

Compares technology predictions from around 1989 with the technology of 2002. Discusses the place of computer-based assessment today, computer-scored testing, computer-administered formal assessment, Internet-based formal assessment, computerized adaptive tests, placement tests, informal assessment, electronic portfolios, information management,…

Discusses the impact and the potential of the Internet on education. Suggests that educators and parents need to deal with the lack of quality assurance of the Internet. Addresses readability and appropriateness for children. Notes that successful use of the Internet by children requires that teachers provide instruction in multiple sources and…

Examines and evaluates microcomputer software designed to assist in diagnosing students' reading abilities and making instructional decisions. Claims that existing software shows valuable potential when used sensibly and critically by trained reading clinicians. (MM)

Reviews software available to the classroom teacher for desktop publishing and describes specific classroom activities. Suggests using desktop publishing to produce large print texts for students with limited sight or for primary students.(NH)

Presents eight guidelines to consider when using computers for language instruction, emphasizing computer use in a social and purposeful context. Suggests computer software which adheres to these guidelines. (MM)

Offers some suggestions for using a microcomputer in class when only one work station is available. (JC)

Evaluates several voice synthesis programs for emergent readers which can be used to help make the transition from listening and speaking to reading and writing. (MM)

The article examines the potential impact of computer-based text technologies, called hypermedia, on disabled readers. Discussed are hypertext, the hypercard, and implications of metacognitive research (such as author versus user control over text manipulations), instructional implications, and instructional text engineering. (DB)

Describes the Local Area Network (LAN), a project in which students used LAN-based word processing and electronic mail software as the center of a writing process approach. Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of networking. (MM)

Discusses the need for and the problems with teaching keyboarding to elementary school students, and the types of software necessary for meaningful instruction. (JC)

Declares the need to train teachers to use computers in reading and language arts and describes a training program used with undergraduate education majors at the State University of New York at Geneseo. (SRT)

Examines questions typically asked about the effectiveness of computer-based reading instruction, suggesting that these questions must be refined to provide meaningful insight into the issues involved. Describes several critical problems with existing research and presents overviews of research on the effects of computer-based instruction on…