Because computers fascinate young learners, they can be powerful teaching tools. Drawing on research conducted simultaneously by researchers in France, Spain, and the United States, this book shows how to use technology--specifically a word processor with voice synthesizer--to build literacy and encourage learning in elementary school students. The chapters are: (1) "The New Literacy," on what we know about how children learn to speak, read, write, and function in their culture; (2) "Birth of the Language Machine"; (3) "The Discovery of Written Language in the Computer Age," on Dr. Rachel Cohen's innovative work with computers and young children in France; (4) "A Computer Corner for Three-Year-Old Children," on the work of Spanish Researchers Dr. Gloria Medrano and Maria Luisa Herrero Nevela; (5) "Computers and Special Needs Students"; (6) "Writing to Read," on the implementation and effects of the Writing to Read Program; (7) "Software for Early Literacy," (8) "Integration of Computers into the Classroom"; (9) "Technology Program Evaluation"; (10) "The Problem of Change in the Culture of School," on why computer technology has been accepted into the school culture only so far as it supports existing practice; and (11) "Future Directions," on technology's continued impact on learning in and out of the classroom. The book's eight appendices include criteria for scoring writing samples, a list of software programs for early literacy, a teacher's checklist for integrating technology in the classroom, and a list of review sources on-line. Contains references. (HTH)