Reports an interview with Joel Fried, founder of Pelican Software Incorporated. Describes several developments in writing software for elementary level students. (MM)

Discusses using software along with a "textset" of two books related by theme and topic. Describes two examples that use the software's topic or theme to introduce students to a pair of books. Shows how connections between the software and the books become the impetus for off-line and on-line writing activities. (PRA)

Describes and evaluates three software programs for elementary level language arts: (1) "The Princess and the Pea," which connects the fairy tale with the modern world; (2) "PreWrite, Level 1," which helps students identify and develop writing topics; and (3) "Dinosaur Days," a creative graphics and publishing program with speech capabilities. (MM)

Twelve elementary children with reading and writing difficulties substantially improved their reading and writing skills and strategies through a microcomputer project. Four software factors in successful applications were noted, including the use of microcomputers to lower risks encountered in making errors. (CL)

Describes the parallels between writing in English and LOGO in planning, audience awareness, and revision and gives guidelines for making students aware of these useful ideas. (CRH)

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)

Describes computer programs that effectively teach keyboarding skills to elementary school students. (MM)

Describes an exercise in which students write Diamante poems using prompts from the FrEdWriter word-processing program. (MM)

Designed for use by South Carolina school districts planning to include microcomputer language arts software for grades one through eight in teaching the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) objectives in grades one through eight, this booklet presents titles of software programs given a favorable review by review services, and correlates them…

Discusses use of multimedia software in a Mt. Pleasant, Texas, elementary school, and asserts that the key to writing success is "postwriting", which means publication of the work in some form. Suggests online forums for the publication of children's writing, and provides brief descriptions of four online student publishers, including…

Having students create personalized stationery is a good way to promote student writing. Children of all ages can design computer-generated stationery in just a few steps using predrawn or original graphics and a variety of typefaces. The article describes three programs that enable students to create stationery. (SM)

Examines two language arts computer innovations that are based on the process view of reading and writing rather than on the "reductionist" or individual skills view. The first is a software program called "Puzzler," the second is the application of word processing in composition. (HTH)

This publication describes Monsters Make Believe, a computer-based, teacher-developed program for enhancing reading and writing instruction in the elementary grades. Motivation to read and write is provided by the creation of monsters. The software can even offer a vehicle that is able to write a descriptive paragraph. An overview describes a…

Examines a number of language activities in educational software, noting that most focus on surface structure and conventions, thus closing off students' options rather than expanding them. Discusses how, by improvising with word processors, teachers can tailor activities to help students explore and reflect on their reading and writing…

Speculates that computer-based multimedia packages possess the potential to change children's symbol-weaving processes (storytelling in which children treat talk, pictures, and words as equals). Discusses how normal classroom practice can be affected by multimedia composing tools, and how teachers can take advantage of the positive aspects of the…