The wealth of information available on the Web affords teachers and learners access to language learning resources like never before. Online journals, listservs, newspapers, and magazines provide authentic material for language learners, while teachers can find lesson plans and ideas, exercises, assessment tools, and other materials for use in…

Intended for administrators and policy makers as well as teachers, this digest identifies for prospective purchasers various sources that offer reviews of educational computer software for English and the language arts. Following an introduction, the first section of the digest discusses content-specific as well as general educational computing…

Intended for administrators and policy makers as well as teachers, this digest offers selection strategies for consumers of English/language arts computer software. Following the introduction, the digest discusses initial considerations when evaluating software, including examining both the accompanying documentation and the actual program. It…

After providing an overview of Internet, this Digest outlines information and services that Internet can make available. Specific focus is on the following: (1) electronic mail; (2) remote access to library and other databases; (3) subscription to lists and other electronic fora; (4) subscription to electronic journals; and (5) file transfer. A…

With the focus on language, culture, and communication in the national standards for foreign language learning, foreign language teachers are continually searching for better ways of accessing authentic materials and providing experiences that will improve their students knowledge and skills in these target areas. This digest highlights a number…

For many years, foreign language teachers have used the computer to provide supplemental exercises in the instruction of foreign languages. In recent years, advances in computer technology have motivated teachers to reassess the computer and consider it a valuable part of daily foreign language learning. Innovative software programs, authoring…

Focusing on how teachers can integrate computers into reading/writing instruction, this ERIC digest presents guidelines for helping language arts teachers match their use of computers with what is known about the reading/writing process. The guidelines for computers and reading presented in the digest point out that computer instruction in reading…

Foreign language teachers are continually searching for better ways of accessing authentic materials and providing experiences that will improve their students' knowledge and skills. The Internet has transformed communication around the world and can play a major role in the foreign language classroom. This digest illustrates how Internet software…

Word processing and the LOGO programing language are two microcomputer applications that are beginning to show benefits as learning tools in elementary school classrooms. Word processing packages are especially useful with beginning writers, whose lack of motor coordination often slows down their acquisition of competence in written communication.…

Noting that the merging of various types of media with the computer has presented the field of education with a hybrid technology called interactive multimedia (also referred to as hypermedia), this digest begins by defining this technology as "the integration of text, audio, graphics, still image, and moving pictures into a single,…

Interactive videodisc (IVD) offers a combination of media with practical applications in vocational education. IVD is superior to videotapes and other media in quality, applicability, and effectiveness. IVD can be used in different settings and for a variety of instructional applications. Although not appropriate for every learning situation, IVD…

Writing instruction reflects a growing appreciation of the value of talk. By implementing peer writing groups, teachers encourage students to give, seek, and react to oral feedback among themselves as they write, in addition to reacting to the teacher's traditional comments on finished papers. Collaboration in writing groups provides writers with…

This digest focuses on the importance of learning assistance centers (LACs) to academic success and student retention. LACs differ from learning resource centers, which mainly provide and disseminate educational information. They also differ from development education offices, which give emphasis to teaching basic skills and preparing students for…

Two factors contributing to the change in writing instruction have been (1) the research investigating the way writing is taught and (2) the computer. Proponents of the various writing models endorse writing as an ongoing, multi-stage process, with equal emphasis given to each of the stages. Educational computing has undergone a change of focus…

This digest discusses two specific computer-aided instruction systems used in two-year colleges in the United States and Canada, and addresses critical points regarding system implementation in remedial education programs. As developed in the Nova Scotia Community College System in Canada, the INVEST computer system provides literacy-based…