Personalization of word problems in mathematics has been used to increase student motivation and comprehension. Similar techniques may be effective in other disciplines. In the present study computer techniques allowed integration into stories of personalized referents from an inventory of student interests. Stories were produced at three levels…

A practicum was designed to provide opportunities for second-grade students from low socioeconomic school communities to use computer technology in the writing process. Staff development training was designed and conducted to increase teachers' knowledge, experience, and attitudes toward using the computer as a tool for writing. Providing…

In 1989 the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools conducted a Direct Writing Assessment of approximately 6,000 students. A voluntary portion included 103 ninth graders who wrote essays on the same topic. The papers were scored twice: once in each student's handwriting and once in word-processed form. Papers were separated into short and long categories…

A practicum was designed to improve reading comprehension in 50 third-graders over an 8-month period. The practicum's peripheral goal was to improve the efficient use of the microcomputer as a tool to supplement reading comprehension. The program included computer lab experiences to teach keyboarding skills, language arts software use, and the use…

The Fox Valley Technical Institute's approach to teaching adults about computers is based on three underlying premises: there is a widespread need for adult education related to desktop computers; the needs are not the same for everyone; and to be effective, a program that addresses these needs must be flexible, pertinent, and current. (Desktop is…

The tools of writing have changed as technology has become more advanced. In fact, the contributions of the microcomputer are already beginning to make print and paper technology appear primitive. The book is at a disadvantage since it stores and displays the information, whereas the microchip stores while the computer displays. Because of this…

The use of computers in the writing classroom changes the actual activities used in class, adapting some present activities and creating new paradigm activities, and also changes the arrangement of the classroom, forcing a radical rethinking of spatial design. The computer classroom is not a passive room, one where information goes out from the…

An effort to implement a schoolwide innovation concerning computer applications begun in the English Department of the Hauppauge Middle School on Long Island, New York, is described. The program was proposed and implemented through a series of meetings, discussions, workshops, and orientations for teachers and administrators. English teachers, who…

Recognizing the rapid establishment of the computer as a routine instrument of instruction, this guide demonstrates with lesson outlines and materials the many ways in which English and/or computer literacy teachers can use microcomputers to teach RCT (Regents Competency Test) English Writing Practice topics. Front matter consists of a foreword,…

Intended for teachers and supervisors, this guide offers a working knowledge of current approaches to the direct application of the computer to the classroom. The guide demonstrates the many ways in which English departments can use microcomputers to assist teachers in teaching middle school English critical thinking skills topics. The guide is…

Computer-assisted learning in numeracy for adults is far less developed than computer-assisted learning in literacy. Although a great many software programs exist, few are suitable for adults and many offer only drill and practice exercises instead of teaching genuine computer skills. One approach instructors can take is to have their students use…

In response to critics' charges that use of the word processor may have a detrimental effect on writing, this study identified and analyzed 20 published studies that used experimental and control groups to compare conventional writing instruction (using handwriting) with instruction using the word processor. Five types of outcomes were analyzed:…

A case study investigated how journalism and mass communication faculty members diffused and used computing technology in teaching. Subjects, 21 tenured and tenure-track faculty members in a mid-sized journalism and mass communication department, completed an indepth questionnaire designed to measure the general attitude of the faculty towards…

Word processors can enhance the reading and writing skills of underprepared college students in a special course combining reading and writing. Word processors may serve such a course in many ways: (1) storing and retrieving students' own unpublished resource materials; (2) moving large blocks of writing at the flick of a finger; (3) serving as…

The purpose of this notebook is to assist educators who are designing and implementing inservice education programs to facilitate the effective use of computer integrated instruction (CII) in schools. It is divided into the following five sections: (1) Effective Inservice (a brief summary of inservice literature focused on inservice dimensions and…