Undergraduate nursing students often find essay writing challenging, and feel underprepared, yet the impact of using online feedback to support essay writing has been underexplored. First-year nursing students from a regional university were involved in a project that encouraged them to access an online tutoring service, as part of their…

Left-handers comprise about 10% of the Australian population. In Australia and elsewhere, there has been a history of discrimination against left-handedness, expressed in a variety of ways. Although negative attitudes to left-handedness have become less common in recent times, researchers have not investigated the extent to which left-handedness…

Young children shift meanings across multiple modes long before they have mastered formal writing skills. In a digital age, children are socialised into a wide range of new digital media conventions in the home, at school, and in community-based settings. This article draws on longitudinal classroom research with a culturally diverse cohort of…

It is imperative to identify the impact of technological advancements on the quality of student learning. This article reports first-year undergraduate students' perceptions of and experiences with a Web-based writing support program. Two research questions guided the study: (1) What is the nature of first-year students' interactions with…

The book offers practical information for classroom teachers and teacher educators on effectively incorporating computer technology in the classroom. The book focuses on the change associated with the growing presence in educational institutions of the new communication and information processing technologies, which is most significant for…

This paper describes the activities and outcomes of LATCH-ON (Literacy and Technology-Hands On), a literacy program for young adults with Down Syndrome based at the University of Queensland in Australia. The program's aims are to support literacy as a desirable and valued aspect in the students' quality of life through developing communication in…

Explains how computers can be used to support the basic conditions for language learning and the teaching strategies for a process orientation to writing instruction that are identified by the Early Literacy Inservice Course (ELIC) in Australia. Recommends using computers to match children with books, and for group learning. (SKC)

Describes the Computer Pals across the World Project, which provides an opportunity for students to write letters, poetry, reports, and newspaper articles for fellow students around the globe. Argues that it provides a real context for developing reading and writing abilities, cultural awareness, motivation, and keyboarding skills. (RS)

Reports on a study about the influence of different writing tools and classroom environments on students' writing processes and achievement. Finds that using computers rather than pen-and-paper writing was less teacher dominated and more student independent. Discusses implications of the study. (CFR)

These conference proceedings comprise 19 papers and the plenary session presented at the Early Years Schooling Conference held in Melbourne, Australia. The plenary session was "A Developmental Approach to Teaching Young Children" conducted by Lilian Katz. The keynote addresses and breakout sessions were: (1) "Developmental Learning:…

These two issues include articles under the following headings: themes in education, curriculum and instruction, and theories, practicals, and experiences. The first issue includes: "Parent Participation: The Implications of a Complaint Case" (Ping Man Wong and Antony Yuk Cheung Chan); "Education for New Arrivals and Multicultural…

The eight issues of the newsletter of the National Association for Bilingual Education contain articles on these topics in relation to bilingual education: federal policy and policy formation; teacher qualifications; the English-only movement; parent involvement; reading instruction; the effect of foreign-language schools on children's…