A composition instructor became interested in the playfulness of electronic discourse and how it might reshape student composition. He noticed that playfulness sets many hypertexts off from their better-behaved print ancestors, suspecting that the playful elements of student hypertexts were more than mere "play," that they opened writers…

In response to the concern that the reading needs of students at Mt. San Antonio College (California) were not being met, this study reviewed the research on reading in three areas: (1) the connection between instruction of both reading and writing; (2) the preferred instrument for the assessment of reading for placement; and (3) the recommended…

Essays for the Graduate Management Admissions Test must be written with a word processor (except in some foreign countries). The test sponsors, the Graduate Management Admissions Council, believed that this is fair because some word processing skill is a prerequisite for advanced management education. Furthermore, it might also be unfair to…

This book is a collection of ideas submitted to the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) by elementary and middle school principals of 1996-1997 Blue-Ribbon Schools selected by the United States Department of Education. Each of the ideas presented offers a way for the teachers to raise students' reading levels and give them…

This study examined the effectiveness of the first year of a project designed to support the use of computers to improve the writing skills of middle level students. Subjects, 2,285 students from all of the 16 school districts in Delaware, engaged in daily writing activities on computers using the process approach to writing. One teacher from each…

The Lifelong Learning Center (LLC) of the Buffalo and Erie County, New York, Public Library is described with emphasis on objectives and programming developed for a grant project. The objectives included the following: conduct monthly support services for literacy tutors; sponsor training and information sessions for tutors; provide assistance to…

The practicum described in this report was designed to make a significant difference in increasing students' language expression by assisting teachers with the appropriate techniques to incorporate effectively the writing process in an integrated language arts curriculum. The target group consisted of 150 fourth-grade students and the 5…

A project to improve the literacy skills of workers in a clothing manufacturing company is reported. The goal of the project was to teach practical workplace reading and writing skills using materials and requirements of the employees, the employer, and their union. The project integrated a skills approach with a creative writing approach. The…

In an attempt to improve its students' writing abilities, as well as their critical thinking skills, Lord Fairfax Community College, in Virginia, developed a program called "Thinking through Writing." The project designers believed that concept formation, classification, memory enhancement, and other learning/thinking skills could be…

Based on a teacher's 14 years of experience in teaching writing, this manual was developed to help General Educational Development (GED) teachers to guide adults to improve their writing ability in preparation for the GED test. The manual is organized in four sections. The first section is a discussion of frequent concerns and problems that…

A study examined the effect of a computer network which was designed to create a functional learning environment to engage students in writing as a communicative act with a real audience. Subjects, 44 seventh-grade Israeli students, wrote an essay as part of their regular midterm examination and, a week later, wrote another essay for their peers,…

A summer intensive English language course is described that is offered by the Chulalongkorn University Language Institute (CULI) in Thailand to university instructors and government officials. A writing program, which constitutes one-fourth of the entire course, consists of 10 units incorporating main functions and topics of English use found in…

A course in Commercial Spanish at West Chester University in Pennsylvania is described that incorporates computer networking and a writing emphasis. Students use word processing and electronic mail to facilitate writing assignments, with the E-Mail function managed through the university's computing center. The 20 students in the class included…

A practicum was developed to improve process writing skills of seventh grade at-risk students by increasing interest through the use of the microcomputer, word processing software, and telecommunications technology. Sixteen students wrote a series of eight "basic" hand-written essays as part of the regular language arts class. Students then…

Using the newspaper to provide opportunities for students to learn current events and further develop writing skills is described. Seven activities outline how to use cooperative learning to teach current events. Four types of assignments based on newspapers develop various types of writing skills: (1) personal writing; (2) descriptive writing;…