Difficulties in implementing effective instruction for at-risk students arise from two challenges: the transfer of evidence-based knowledge and the lack of economic resources. Computer-assisted programmes offer a suitable solution, providing quality instruction using low-cost resources. Thirty-two first-grade students with early learning…

"READ 180®" is a reading program designed for struggling readers who are reading 2 or more years below grade level. It combines online and direct instruction, student assessment, and teacher professional development. "READ 180®" is delivered in 90-minute sessions that include whole-group instruction, three small-group…

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…

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 K-6 were included…

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 K-6 were included…

Reading comprehension is a crucial skill for academic success of all students. Very often, students with learning disabilities struggle with reading skills and since students learn new information in school by reading; these difficulties often increase the academic struggles students with learning disabilities face. The current study examined…

This article reviews research on the achievement outcomes of alternative approaches for struggling readers ages 5-10 (US grades K-5): One-to-one tutoring, small-group tutorials, classroom instructional process approaches, and computer-assisted instruction. Study inclusion criteria included use of randomized or well-matched control groups, study…

In 2005, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a request for proposals (RFP) for programs to improve adolescent literacy. The Department's stated goal was to improve the performance of struggling adolescent readers and help build a strong scientific research base around specific strategies to help…

As part of a diagnosis and tutoring project in an elementary education reading course, a pre-service teacher was encouraged to use an iPad as the vehicle for intervention strategies with a fifth grade struggling reader with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The device not only helped the student focus attention, it facilitated his becoming…

The relative effectiveness of two computer-assisted instructional programs designed to provide instruction and practice in foundational reading skills was examined. First-grade students at risk for reading disabilities received approximately 80 h of small-group instruction in four 50-min sessions per week from October through May. Approximately…

"Voyager Passport"[TM] is a supplemental reading intervention system for students in grades K-5. "Voyager Passport Reading Journeys"[TM] is a reading intervention program designed for adolescents who struggle with reading. The "Voyager Universal Literacy System"[R] is a K-3 reading program that includes a core reading…

Which elementary reading approaches have been proven to help struggling readers to succeed? To find out, this review summarizes evidence on six types of programs designed to improve the reading achievement of children having difficulty in learning to read: (1) One-to-One Tutoring by Teachers (TT) such as "Reading Recovery," "Auditory…

The effectiveness of a reading intervention using the whole-word multimedia software "Oxford Reading Tree (ORT) for Clicker" was compared to a reading intervention using traditional ORT Big Books. Developing literacy skills and attitudes towards learning to read were assessed in a group of 17 struggling beginner readers aged 5-6 years. Each child…

This article describes an independent assessment of the Fast ForWord Language computer-based training program developed by Scientific Learning Corporation. Previous laboratory research involving children with language-based learning impairments showed strong effects on their abilities to recognize brief and fast sequences of nonspeech and speech…

Expository hypertexts may contain specific types of signals such as navigable topical overviews and hyperlinks that map conceptual relationships between text contents. Two experiments with German university students (N = 130, 75% female, mean age 25 years) were conducted to test the hypothesis that hypertext-specific signals particularly support…