A few months ago, I was walking down the kindergarten wing of a local elementary school when I happened to notice that a new computer, complete with Internet connection and printer, was being installed in one of the classrooms. Many districts provide primary grades only with older computers handed down from middle or high schools (Leu & Leu, 1999), so I was excited to see this happening in a kindergarten class. I stopped in the doorway to congratulate the teacher on her new acquisition. She replied, “Yes, but kindergartners can only use computers to play a few games. I don't know why they are connecting us to the Internet.”

This didn't surprise me -- I have heard similar comments from other primary grade teachers -- but I believe that all children can be supported and empowered by the use of computers and other technology during their early literacy development. For example, computers loaded with appropriate software can enable young children to turn their thoughts into print, which they can then read, rethink, and revise (Casey, 1997). The computer can also provide opportunities for children to interact socially as they help one another in the process of writing or revising, researching and completing projects, figuring out how to use computer programs, or navigating the Internet. On a broader scope, children around the world can interact by sharing their projects via e-mail and the World Wide Web. Since we know that young children learn to listen, speak, write, read, and think by having opportunities to do these things in the context of purposeful social activity (Wells, 1986), such exchanges provide a significant learning opportunity. Furthermore, most children today see their parents or other adults modeling literacy activities while using computer technology for business and pleasure. And, as we all know, computers are here to stay, and our students must learn to use them in order to become successful and productive citizens.

Susan Silverman, a second grade teacher at Clinton Avenue Elementary School in Port Jefferson Station, New York, USA, and a computer resource teacher for other schools in the district, has done an outstanding job of providing her students with opportunities to learn from one another as they use the computer to write and publish. For example, in a post to the RTeacher listserv, Susan described a project in which volunteers from her previous year's class mentor her new students:

The beginning of the school year can be very overwhelming even for a “veteran” teacher like myself. Most of my new second graders come to class in early September with limited skills in reading, writing, math, and technology. A few students have no idea how to use a computer mouse, and most do not know where the letters and numerals are on the keyboard. But after only six weeks these children are sending e-mail, creating pages in KidPix Studio [to access a review of this software, click here] writing journals in The Amazing Writing Machine, working on math problems, using a computer calculator, and navigating Web sites.

You may wonder how one instructor can teach all these skills to a class of twenty-four students. To tell you the truth, this educator can't! So, how does this magic occur? The answer is student mentors! My student mentors are smart, patient, dedicated, and my former students. These students volunteer to come back to their old classroom and work as mentors during their recess time. Every day of the week six or seven mentors come to work individually with my students. They spend a half-hour in my classroom and usually work with two students per session. These sessions are planned in advance and the mentors are given an assignment when they arrive.

As one of the first assignments this year, the mentors showed my new second graders Web sites they worked on last year in my class. My students navigated while the mentors helped them read the words. It was such a joy to watch these older students proudly share their published poetry, graphics, and stories from second grade. They told me that it brought back such nice memories of their time with me. This motivates my new students to work hard on this year's Web site. Another benefit of this activity is that it meets some of the New York State learning standards.

My technology mentors are currently teaching KidPix Studio to my students. Recently they helped students type their names and find picture stamps that began with the first letter of their names. Once all the students had finished, the mentors compiled their image files into a slide show. The whole class enjoyed this multimedia presentation -- as did their parents when they saw it on parents' night! This turned out to be an excellent collaborative learning activity for the children, and also fell within the guidelines of the New York State standards.

Some of my children are gifted math students. My mentors are able to provide enrichment activities by working with these students on advanced math CD-ROMs. They also visit math-related Web sites. The mentors also provide extra help to children who struggle with math. I provide these students with different learning activities appropriate to their abilities. My mentors are very patient and encouraging. I guess they can still remember what it was like when they first learned to use a keyboard or to multiply.

Mentors are always learning new skills while working on their activities. This week I will teach my mentors how to copy and paste material into a new document. My students will read other students' poems from our collaborative project “Pumpkin Patch”, and they will choose their favorite poems. The mentors will copy, paste, and print the poems for them. The children will illustrate the poems, which we will then snail mail to the student authors as a surprise. What an exciting way to support the New York State language arts learning standards!

During this time of student mentoring, my role in the classroom is that of a facilitator. I am there to help out, and to share the exciting discoveries that occur in my classroom. Some of the future student/mentor activities will be participating in Internet scavenger hunts, e-mailing experts, and conducting online research. My students understand that I don't know the answers to many of their questions and that I, too, am a learner. The beauty of this experience is that we all help one another and learn from each other. My students are fully aware of the fact that their mentors are giving up their recess time to work on computers and are inspired by their enthusiasm. Today's students will be next year's mentors. In this way, they will continue discovering and exploring all the wonderful things that technology has to offer.

As you can see, Susan has integrated technology into her ensemble of instructional strategies in a way that is developmentally appropriate for young children. She has been recognized for her work with awards such as the Long Island Teacher of the Month, and in 1999 she was a regional winner of the International Reading Association's Presidential Award for Reading and Technology.

Susan's students view the computer as a tool for learning. She has created a classroom Web site to which she posts information about herself, the school, and her class. She also has a link to the “Teacher's Journal” she keeps each year. In the 1998-99 journal, for example, Susan describes themes and activities the students are involved in, and how she incorporates literature, field trips, appropriate Web sites, computer programs, and collaborative Internet projects into these themes. Some entries include student artwork and writing; pictures from field trips; information, photos, and presentations from conferences she has attended; articles she has written; and, as an added bonus, photos of her family and from her extensive travels. After reading her journal, I felt as if I had really visited Susan and her classroom.

Also included at the Web site are descriptions of Internet projects created by other teachers in which her classes have participated or will undertake this year. These projects provide Susan's students with opportunities to collaborate with children from around the world in sharing literature, writing, and information about their school and region. In addition, Susan has developed several of her own collaborative Internet projects. All the Internet projects fit within the New York State learning standards, and in her projects, Susan incorporates the National Education Technology Standards for pre-K to 2.

To go to descriptions of some of Susan's projects -- including a summary, list of objectives, and suggestions for follow-up activities -- click on the link below. But in order to fully appreciate the potential of each project, please visit Susan's site. The page for each project (links are provided in the project descriptions) highlights student writing, artwork, poetry, and various other activities. You're in for a real delight!

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Johnson (e-mail denisej@mail.uca.edu), a former elementary classroom teacher and middle school reading specialist, is an assistant professor of reading education and volunteers as a Reading Recovery teacher. Her research interests focus on the integration of technology into preservice and inservice education courses and elementary classrooms.
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