Response-Based Multimedia and the Culture of the Classroom: A Pilot Study of Kid's Space in Four Elementary Classrooms

Abstract

There are several reasons to believe that multimedia environments may support and enhance language arts education (see, for example, Meskill and Swan, 1995 [18]; Swan and Meskill, 1995 [17]). This project of the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement is concerned with the match, real and potential, between the attributes of multimedia technology and students' development of literary understandings in response-based learning contexts. The study set out to determine how software that is specifically designed to complement response-based approaches to reading and writing (Kid's Space) fared in four elementary classrooms. Precisely what factors influence the ways in which such software gets integrated into and used within diverse classroom contexts was the focus of our investigation. Results indicate that there is little doubt that it is a teacher's orientation to and incorporation of any technology that is paramount to its successful integration. One indication from this pilot is that technology may represent a means for promoting teacher reflection on their practice. By considering the intended role and purpose of response-based software, teachers can come to understand how discourse can impact understandings both personal and through interaction with a community of readers, writers, and responders.

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