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)

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)

This publication is a collection of eight articles and ten software reviews written by the author for "Micro Missive" since 1984. "Micro Missive" is a quarterly newsletter that has regularly informed International Reading Association members of new developments in computer-based instruction and reading/language arts through articles, software…

Offers suggestions for using classroom computers for individualized instruction in spelling and tips for choosing spelling software. (FL)

Presents the first year's results of a continuing project to monitor the availability of software of relevance for literacy education purposes. Concludes there is an enormous amount of software available for use by teachers of reading and literacy--whereas drill-and-practice software is the largest category of software available, large numbers of…

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)

Intended for reading and language arts teachers at all educational levels, this guide presents information to be used by teachers in constructing their own computer assisted educational software using the BASIC programming language and Apple computers. Part 1 provides an overview of the components of traditional tutorial and drill-and-practice…

Notes two trends in the development of basal-related software and describes the Scott, Foresman Reading Courseware and the Ginn Reading Software. (JC)

Discusses how computers can "converse" with students for teaching purposes, demonstrates how these interactions are becoming more complex, and explains how the computer's role is becoming more "human" in giving intelligent responses to students. (HOD)

The expert systems are designed to imitate the reasoning of a human expert in a content area field. Designed to be advisors, these software systems combine the content area knowledge and decision-making ability of an expert with the user's understanding and knowledge of particular circumstances. The reading diagnosis system, the RD2P System…

Holistic approaches to the teaching of reading and writing, most notably the Whole Language movement, reject the philosophy that language skills can be taught. Instead, holistic teachers emphasize process, and they structure the students' classroom activities to be rich in language experience. Computers can be used as tools for whole language…

This article provides data and discussion of multicultural theme-related issues arising from analysis of a detailed database of commercial software products targeted to reading and literacy education. The database consisted of 1152 titles, representing the offerings of 104 publishers and distributors. Of the titles, 62 were identified as having…

A three-year project carried out by the Microcomputers and Reading Committee of the New Jersey Reading Association involved the collection, improvement, and distribution of free microcomputer software (public domain programs) designed to deal with reading and writing skills. Acknowledging that this free software is not without limitations (poor…

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)