Reading: Guidelines for Computer Assisted Reading Instruction: Part II
3. Computer instruction in reading should support and extend students' knowledge of text structures.
*Learners should have opportunities to encounter a wide variety of text structures upon which to apply and refine their comprehension skill. A variety of narrative and expository structures should be provided. Commercially prepared, teacher-authored, and student-authored materials should also be included. Reading instruction can take place through all kinds of computer-based materials, not merely those designated specifically for that purpose.
*Learners should have opportunities to experiment with text in creative ways to suit their purposes. When students reorganize a story or an informational piece on the computer, they are employing and strengthening what they know about the structure of texts.
4. Computer instruction in reading should make use of content from a wide range of subject areas.
*Learners should have opportunities to use the computer as a means of applying reading strategies to all areas of the curriculum. Programs related to science, social studies, and math require the use of strategies for reading comprehension.
Unless students are being helped to use what they know about reading comprehension under these circumstances, they are not progressing as competent readers.
*Learners should have opportunities to use the computer in conjunction with other modes of instruction. The computer should not operate as a separate and isolated means of learning. Its use should be integrated with that of books and other learning materials. Students need to think of the computer as one additional means of sharing and retrieving information and practicing skills in interesting and meaningful ways.
5. Computer instruction in reading should link reading and writing.
*Learners should have opportunities to create text with the computer for sharing and use by others. When students enter information into the computer for someone else to retrieve and use, they must compose with the reader in mind. This frequently involves making explicit use of what they know about what makes a text comprehensible. Revision and proofreading strategies clearly involve the combined application or reading and writing skills.
References
Balajthy, Ernest (1987). "What Does Research on Computer-Based Instruction Have to Say to the Reading Teacher?" READING RESEARCH AND INSTRUCTION, 27 (1), 54-65.
Reinking, David (1988). "Computer-Mediated Text and Comprehension Differences: The Role of Reading Time, Reader Preference, and Estimation of Learning." READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY, 23 (4), 484-98.
Strickland, Dorothy, et al. (1987). USING COMPUTERS IN THE TEACHING OF READING. New York: Teachers College Press.
For Additional Helpful Information About Computers and Reading Instruction, See:
DeGroff, Linda (1990). "Is There a Place for Computers in Whole Language Classrooms?" READING TEACHER, 43 (8), 568-72.________________________________________________________________
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.