An individualized education program is a legal document that details information regarding the special education program of a student with a disability. For parents to determine whether they agree with the individualized education program that is proposed by the school, they must first be able to read and comprehend the document. This study aimed…

"The Complete Learning Disabilities Resource Guide" (formerly "The Complete Learning Disabilities Directory") has been a comprehensive and sought-after resource for professionals, families and individuals with learning disabilities since 1992. This twenty-first edition is the most comprehensive and current source of resources…

Adolescent literacy achievement across the United States is in crisis. More than eight million students in grades 4 to 12 are identified as struggling readers. These students, who perform below grade level in reading and writing, are at high risk for failure in all content subjects and ultimately for dropping out of school. Professionals in the…

Describes the establishment of English computer labs in five high schools in Canada. Writing skills were taught using software for word processing, spell checking, and grammar checking. Benefits to students and teachers are enumerated. Students progressed from stages of frustration with the new technology to productivity and psychological comfort.…

Educators at elementary, middle, and high school levels will find that integrating digital tools and resources--many commonly used by students in their "out of school" lives--can be a springboard to creativity and new skills. In this article, the author describes how word processors, presentation software and hardware, mind-mapping applications,…

Explains the use of experimental poetry forms for decoding practice to help develop reading skills in elementary school students. The use of computers for word processing capabilities is discussed; seven forms of poetry are described; and results are examined in terms of motivation and the development of literacy. (four references) (LRW)

Asserts that, although computers pose no threat to reading and writing as modes of learning, knowing, and telling, they represent an attack on the Western tradition of textuality. Argues that instructors are needed whose literacy connects them with the orality of the past and bridges their present experience to the textuality of the future. (PRA)

To provide students with the literacy strategies necessary to function successfully in a technologically supported society, teachers must realize how the multilayered grammars of computers continue to affect their definition of literacy. Computer-supported writing centers are an excellent site for teachers to share ideas about this changing…

Computerized writing (the digitized word) may affect the utility and meaning of reading and writing in coming generations. The digitized word poses no threat to the technology of literacy; it merely entrenches literacy further into Western culture by making certain operations faster, easier, repeatable, etc. One significant, positive by-product of…

Suggests the growing use of computers to process information in today's world increases the human need for an interactive competency in writing and reading. The integration of instruction in reading and writing, particularly through use of word processors, is discussed as a way to strengthen this interaction. (MBR)

Background: The aim of the present study was to examine the literacy achievement of 10- to 12-year-old native and non-native children with intellectual disabilities (ID) living in the Netherlands. An intriguing question within this context was whether the second language learning non-native children with ID would show a double disadvantage when…

Considers the motives for schools acquiring computers, three different ways in which computers may be relevant to instruction, and the extent to which they address broadly shared ideals for children's education. Also discusses the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction in drills and tutorials and the development of writing skills. (RDN)

In response to national concern over declining standards in students' writing abilities, an increasing number of schools have adopted the use of word processors in an effort to increase literacy skills. The instructional effectiveness of word processors in 20 second-grade students was analyzed and it was found that computers facilitate improvement…

In order to evaluate an experimental writing program involving word processors as tools, a study examined the use of cloze techniques as a method for indicating reading progress as it relates to writing. Subjects, 87 Canadian primary school children, were involved in a three-year longitudinal study of the effects of this experimental writing…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a 3-year project that studied the effectiveness of word processing tools in improving the literacy skills of students with learning disabilities in grades 4-12. In Year 1 (1994-95), four text entry strategies were compared in 132 students with learning disabilities: keyboarding instruction, alternative…