Phonemic awareness is a key building block for later reading and spelling development. Students at risk for reading difficulties may have difficulties with phonemic awareness and need additional instruction or intervention to develop these skills. This column discusses evidence-based phonemic awareness instruction and the implementation of…

Low levels of mathematics and reading skills are associated with a range of negative outcomes in life, including reduced employment and earnings, and poor health. This review examines the impact of a broad range of school-based interventions that specifically target students with or at risk of academic difficulties in Grades K-6. The students in…

Clinical Question: For preschool and school-age children with or at risk for reading difficulties, does technology-assisted instruction lead to better phonological-awareness (PA) skills than instruction without technology? Method: Systematic Review Sources: ERIC, PsychInfo, CINAHL, and ASHA journal search Search Terms: phonological awareness,…

This review examines the effectiveness of educational technology applications in improving the reading achievement of struggling readers in elementary schools. The review applies consistent inclusion standards to focus on studies that met high methodological standards. A total of 20 studies based on about 7,000 students in grades 1-6 were included…

This literature review synthesizes the effects of computer-assisted instruction to enhance the reading comprehension of students with disabilities and struggling readers from 1985-2009. First, it addresses research investigates the impact on comprehension when students are presented with computerized versus printed reading material. Second, it…

Background: Fast ForWord is a suite of computer-based language intervention programs designed to improve children's reading and oral language skills. The programs are based on the hypothesis that oral language difficulties often arise from a rapid auditory temporal processing deficit that compromises the development of phonological…

The article reviews some recent literature pertaining to development and use of expert systems (automated consulting systems, which provide expert advice within particular domains). The design and implementation of an expert system developed to guide a teacher diagnostician through the various stages of diagnosing reading difficulities are…

This article provides examples of ways computer-assisted instruction can help children with learning disabilities (LD) learn to read more effectively. Computer programs providing training in phonological awareness, specific context-free word identification skills, and reading of connected text are described, and preliminary evidence of their…

This article reviews studies of computer-assisted reading programs, both with and without synthesized speech. It then describes a pilot study that used a reading program with computer-synthesized speech with 14 adolescent readers having severe reading disabilities. The study found no evidence that addition of synthesized speech improved word…

Computerized remedial reading instruction has become an increasingly popular technique in schools. The future holds enormous potential for additional roles to be played by the computer with regard to educational techniques for the reading-disabled--in diagnosis and prescription of reading difficulties--and in computer assisted remedial reading…

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)

Recent cognitive analyses of the reading process indicate that learning disabled children with word decoding problems will be limited in the development of higher level reading comprehension skills. Microcomputer technology affords the repetitive word recognition practice necessary for successful decoding. (JC)

Recent research in the field of learning disabilities and other sources of information which may prove useful to college-level reading instructors in teaching the college-level dyslexic are summarized in this paper. The paper identifies research on techniques of formal and informal assessment, psychological and social factors, and remediation…

Specific difficulties for the secondary student with reading difficulties are described, followed by a literature review of most promising practices, including peer tutoring that incorporates comprehension strategy instruction and elaborative strategies in history and science classes. Research using "Inspiration" software to generate spatially…

This article explores current state-of-the-art technologies available for reading, writing, and publishing, including electronic books (ebooks), electronic libraries, and electronic journals. Instructional design, best practices for improving reading skills using ebooks, and copyright issues are discussed. Vignettes offer a positive scenario for…