The Printout: Communications Received: An International ViewAuthor(s): George MasonSource: The Reading Teacher, Vol. 38, No. 7 (Mar., 1985), pp. 713-715Published by: Wiley on behalf of the International Reading AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20198911 .

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directly to Dr. George Mason, University of Georgia, 309 Aderhold Building, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.

The Printout

Communications received: An international view George Mason, University of Georgia, Athens

Most of The Printout columns have dealt with computer use for reading instruc tion in the United States and Canada. However, computer-use mania is not lim ited to schools in these two countries. Franz Biglmaier of the Free University of

West Berlin and Mogens Jansen of the Danish Institute of Educational Research both informed me during recent visits that there is great interest in their nations.

I have also received communications from Ossi Ahvenainen of the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland) and C. Margot Sims of Macquarie University (Australia)

describing activities in their respective'countries. Sims points out that in Austra lia the Commonwealth Schools Commission is moving to establish guidelines for computer implementation, even though each state and territory is responsi ble for establishing its own policies on computer use in education. A Computer Education Group (CEG) is active, and it has sponsored two national confer ences. The current thrust of computer education in Australia has changed from

computer literacy to job-oriented computer skills. Ahvenainen writes to describe the application of the DIDATA teaching com

puter to the elementary teaching of Finnish. Using a speech synthesizer, Synte 2, the DIDATA computer can present letters, syllables, and words to pupils both

visually and aurally. DIDATA programs can be used to individualize instruction because they can convey instructions in a natural "teacher-like" manner to stu

dents who are not yet literate or who are very poor readers. Ten different reading program "skeletons" are being produced. These "skele

tons" might be called "teacher utilities" or "shell programs" by many computer using educators because they are designed so that the letters, syllables and words to be spoken, typed, or read can be changed easily by the teachers using them. Thus, these programs are clearly intended for use by the classroom teacher rather than as a substitute for the teacher's instruction.

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Eight writing "skeletons" are being developed. In one program, as a child

completes writing each syllable (as Finnish is usually taught) the Synte 2 pro gram pronounces it. Another program uses the computer to give dictation to the child and then react to his or her typed response.

Preliminary results of studies reported by Ahvenainen and Korkalainen (1982, 1983) indicate that computer-use in language instruction in Finland gets results similar to those reported in other countries:

(1) The programs seem suitable and effective for promoting reading and writ

ing of elementary Finnish.

(2) Twenty minute instructional sessions at the computer seem appropriate for most first and second grade students.

(3) Half the pupils want to spend some of their free time at the computer. (4) Reform school pupils prefer the computer to live teachers.

Another communication came from Michael N. Milone, Jr. He wrote to de scribe an informal study of Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) in reading and included a copy of a paper he presented with Walter Barbe at the World Con

gress on Reading in Hong Kong (1984). The informal study, conducted by Horace Gordon and Dave Roberts, tested the effect of CAI on reading achieve ment of pupils in the Jefferson County (Alabama) Schools. The findings indi cated that the skill taught (word recognition) did increase slightly during the course of the study. However, comprehension skills actually diminished during the same time period. The investigators concluded "that students learn what they are taught, whether the method is computer based or traditional."

The paper by Barbe and Milone is a good one. Early on, the authors state that "Common sense and the instincts teachers have developed over years of profes sional practice are the best means of evaluating instructional software and deter

mining the manner in which it should be used. If you consider the same factors in using a computer that you would in using other reading materials, you will

find a relatively clear path through the computer labyrinth." Barbe and Milone point out the software selected should fit the methods and

goals of the teacher and school, and that the computer screen is relatively diffi cult to read. Further cautions are that the computer seldom offers students the

opportunity to process extensive (book length) passages of prose and that it may diminish their interaction (about text) with teachers and other students. Their final cautions are that (1) computer programs often attempt to teach skills which students need in order to learn from the program, (2) game-like programs may elicit responses which are counter-productive to reading success, and (3) com

puters may increase the gap between good and poor readers. For further information about the status of educational computing in Austra

lia, write Mrs. Toni Downes, President/CEG, P.O. Box 148, Broadway, N.S.W.

2007, Australia. For further information about studies on the use of the DIDATA computer for

written language instruction, write Dr. Ossi Ahvenainen, Assistant Professor, Institute of Special Education, University of Jyvaskyla, 40100 Jyvaskyla 10, Finland.

For further information about the evaluation of CAI in reading in Jefferson

County Schools, write Dr. Horace Gordon, Jefferson County Board of Educa

tion, 400 A Courthouse Building, Birmingham, Alabama 35263, USA. And for copies of the World Congress (Hong Kong) paper presented by Barbe

and Milone, write Dr. Michael N. Milone, Jr., Editor, Skillcorp Publishers, Inc., 203 8th Street, Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431, USA.

714 The Reading Teacher March 1985

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References

Ahvenainen, Ossi, and Jukka Korkalainen. The Application of Computer Assisted Instruc

tion in General and Special Education in Comprehensive School. Theoretical Points of Departure and Research. Jyvaskyla, Finland: University of Jyvaskyla, 1982.

Ahvenainen, Ossi, and Jukka Korkalainen. The Application of the DIDATATeaching Com puter to Elementary Teaching of Finnish. An Examination of Programming and Software.

Jyvaskyla, Finland: University of Jyvaskyla, 1983. Barbe, Walter B., and Michael N. Milone. "Computers, Common Sense, and Reading."

Paper presented at the International Reading Association World Congress, Hong Kong,

July 1984.

Real life learning Someone asked a new student in school, a third grader who had come from

another country, whether he had learned any English words during his first

week in school. He immediately replied, "Sit down."

Cooperate

Only for boring tasks does competition lead to better performance. Coopera tive classroom activities tend to be more varied, more interesting, and stimu

late more creativity.

Notable children's trade books

in the field of social studies Originally published in the May '84 issue of Social Education, this annual an

notated bibliography is now available from the Children's Book Council. Books for the list were selected and reviewed by the Book Review Subcommittee of the National Council for the Social Studies-Children's Book Council Joint

Committee. In general, books selected for the bibliography are written primar

ily for children in grades K-8, emphasize human relations, present an original theme or fresh slant on a traditional topic, are highly readable, and when ap

propriate, contain maps or illustrations. All titles were published in the U.S. in

1983.

Single copies are available free for a stamped (3 oz.), self-addressed #10

envelope from the Children's Book Council (67 Irving Place, New York, New York 10003, USA). For 2-5 copies, include payment of US$0.75 each; 6-10

copies US$0.70 each; 11-20 copies US$0.65 each; over 20 copies US$0.60 each.

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