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- Computer based study strategies describe software and strategies that support students as they read to learn, take notes in class, write papers, prepare for tests, and organize for school.
- Technology should focus on strategies employed to support students as they read to learn
- Inspiration is a software program used to organize information by creating and modifying concept maps, webs and other graphical organizers, and outlines.
- Research shows that students with disabilities often fail to use their prior knowledge to help themselves understand what they read or hear in class. Inspiration helps them capture this information.
- Students with reading and learning difficulties experience difficulty discerning relationships between key ideas and supporting details. Inspiration creates an electronic skeleton for students to fill in supporting details under each topic.
- The design of the software or electronic book affects performance through which information is presented on or off the computer.
- The key advantage of electronic books is to enhance text which may have a positive impact on students' motivation and performance.
- Digitized speech permits electronic books to be read by voices that are engaging and individual words can be highlighted.
- For young readers, repeated experiences with electronic storybooks may help develop an understanding of the purposes of reading and increase knowledge of print conventions, vocabulary, and story schema.
- Access to information and enhanced motivation to read are especially critical for students with reading and learning disabilities.
- Simultaneous oral and visual presentation of text in a computer-based system leads to improved comprehension primarily with slower readers who have difficulty comprehending text but who have strong oral language skills and are able to integrate visual and auditory information
- Hearing words read by the computer can improve students' phonological analysis, word identification, and text comprehension skills but gains reported in some studies are based on substantial periods of interaction with the computer system.
- Multimedia technology makes it possible to enhance books with animation, sound effects, and music that could increase comprehension by providing multiple representations of a concept or by offering a means to illustrate difficult ideas independent of challenging language.
- In some cases, enhancements may prove distracting when stories have extensive animation.
- Text can be electronically enhanced to help students overcome obstacles such as new vocabulary and complex concepts through teachers technological intervention.
- At-risk readers systematic and purposeful use of timelines and graphic overviews was correlated with their comprehension of stories. However, some students were observed to make infrequent use of the electronic resources or were "resource junkies,"
- Text-to-speech programs and devices have been touted as essential tools for individuals who have poor word recognition skills or visual impairments.
- Screen reading programs are specialized software programs or hardware and software packages that also convert electronic text to speech.
- Electronic reference books often contain alternative representations of information including pictures, movies, and audio clips to support difficult concepts by linking to definitions or explanations.
- Electronic study tools are powerful tools for making information more accessible and help prompt and develop students' literacy skills. They will be most effective when used in conjunction with good instruction.
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