This article describes a short-term longitudinal study conducted in low-performing rural primary schools in South Africa. The authors were involved in developing a two-year multimedia reading programme for rural South African children in grades 1-3, and sought to assess key learning outcomes in existing school computer laboratories. The programme…

This dissertation uses data from the evaluation of a Striving Readers project to examine the associations between levels of implementation of different components of Scholastic's "READ 180" and student achievement as measured on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading assessment. The approach was hierarchical linear modeling using…

The "Read Naturally[R]" program is a supplemental reading program that aims to improve reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension of elementary and middle school students using a combination of texts, audio CDs, and computer software. The program uses one of four products that share a common fluency-building strategy: "Read…

Contains articles on software products targeted at girls, the use of technology for the transformation of schooling, and tips on teaming up with software developers. Regular features include dispatches from the school-technology frontier, information about school boards' uses of "groupware," a review of software reading programs, and Internet…

This qualitative work analyzes what parents, teachers, and children say about reading when Accelerated Reader and Reading Renaissance are used for reading instruction. Critical discourse analysis offered a glimpse at beliefs about reading and how power relations were embedded in what teachers, parents, and children said about AR and reading.…

Discusses three different types of databases: utility database programs, add-on databases, and stand-alone databases. Describes how databases motivate students' reading and writing. (MM)

265 kindergarten children from a high-risk community participated in an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Waterford Early Reading Program, a software program designed to facilitate early literacy development. 151 students in eight experimental classrooms used the program for approximately 15 minutes per day. 114 students in seven…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Testing Goes to Preschool: Will State and Federal Testing Programs Advance the Goal of School Readiness for All Children? (Robert Rothman); (2)…

Intended as a reference for researchers, teachers, and administrators, this book chronicles research, programs, and uses of computers in reading. Chapter 1 provides a broad view of computer applications in education, while Chapter 2 provides annotated references for computer based reading and language arts programs for children and adults in…

Background: The Waterford Early Reading Program (WERP), a technology-based program for early elementary grades, was provided through Arizona all day kindergarten funds to kindergarten students in 15 Title I elementary schools in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) in the 2005-06 school year. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the…