Reading: Guidelines for Computer Assisted Reading Instruction
By Mimi Rothschild
Discussions concerning computer use in education have rapidly passed through a number of phases. The first phase centered on the need for "computer literacy," generally defined as computer awareness and computer programming. At the height of the computer literacy debate, emphasis shifted to the role of the computer as a tool, and as a method for teaching problem solving. Most recently, attention among educators has turned to yet a third phase. This third phase addresses issues related to computer applications in support of the curriculum.
Research studies (Reinking, 1988) indicate clearly that computer instruction is effective for a wide variety of reading skill and concept areas. The level of popularity of computer-based instruction in reading may vary, but few will dispute the fact that computers have won a permanent place in most classrooms. The most common concerns of educators now have to do with the effectiveness of computer-based education, and with the appropriateness of the many possible roles computers can play in language arts instruction.
The emphasis should not be on using computers to increase reading and writing achievement, but rather on whether teachers use computers for meaningful reading and writing instruction, or are locked into computer-based drill and practice software. This digest will focus on how teachers can integrate computers into reading/writing instruction.
The following guidelines may also be used as a checklist to help teachers of the language arts match their use of computers with what is known about the reading/writing process. We hope that the checklist will be used in a context where students are given opportunities to work in all the various computer modes: tool, tutor, and tutee.
Guidelines For Computers and Reading
1. Computer instruction in reading should focus on meaning and stress reading comprehension.
- Learners should have opportunities to work with whole, meaningful texts. Programs that offer learners a chance to process large chunks of related text, rather than bits and pieces of unrelated language fragments, allow students to use and extend what they know about reading comprehension.
- Learners should have opportunities to work with word-recognition programs that stress the use of word meanings in conjunction with phonics and structural analysis. Care must be taken to make sure that, when programs feature the study of individual words and phrases, they are offered within a contextual framework that help them make sense to the learner. Assessment programs for teachers should also be provided in meaningful context.
- Learners should have the opportunities to apply the skills being taught in some meaningful way. Programs that deny the learner an opportunity to make use of what is being "taught" are merely assessment tools and do little to further the learner's growth.
- Learners should have the opportunity to work with computer materials that use content and language that are within the range of their conceptual development. Tasks should be challenging but not frustrating. Student interests, previous experiences, and purpose play a role in determining whether or not a computer task is comprehensible and worthwhile.
2. Computer instruction in reading should foster active involvement and stimulate thinking. - Learners should have opportunities to discuss the purpose of the computer task or program as well as its nature. They should be aware not only of what they are supposed to do but also of why doing it is important.
- Learners should have opportunities to make decisions that control or influence the computer task. Programs that build in opportunities for students to make choices and test predictions help them learn to think and act on their own rather than merely react to someone else's thinking.
- Learners should have opportunities to monitor their own learning. Tasks that offer students opportunities to self-check and correct their own errors support the development of independent learners
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.
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