The Simi Star Project:
Taking Computers out of the Lab and into the Classroom

This article is a follow-up to one published in the Summer 1992
issue of Interface. 

In 1990 the California school districts of Simi Valley, Santa
Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard, Orcutt, and Hueneme joined in a
technology partnership with IBM.  From these six districts came
twenty-four K-1 classrooms who participated in The Simi Star
Project, a study of the impact of moving Writing to Read from
the computer laboratory into individual K-1 classrooms. 

Writing to Read is a language arts computer-based program
designed to foster literacy development in young children. The
computer is used to both individualize instruction so that
students can work at their own pace and also to create
opportunities for cooperative work, including collaborative
writing among students.  This program was developed to be used
in a computer lab environment where K-1 students visit the lab
for one hour a day, five days a week.  

Teachers participating in Writing to Read (WTR) in the lab had
begun to ask to have computers placed in their classrooms in
order to more readily integrate computers and writing into the
curriculum.  This raised the question, "How does WTR in the
classroom compare to WTR in the lab in regard to development of
literacy skills in K-1 students?"

The Simi Star Project was the first qualitative evaluation of
the WTR program in the classroom.  In order to determine the
effectiveness of WTR in the classroom, a two-group experimental
design was employed.  To ensure valid comparison, both
experimental and control groups were selected from the same
school districts.  Instruments for evaluation included
observations in the classroom, pre and post reading attitude
surveys, year long portfolios of writing samples, teacher and
parent questionnaires, student interviews, and teacher and
administrative journals.

Two major conclusions were made as a result of this study:

Conclusion 1:  The most successful results occurred in school
sites where the desire for integration of technology in the
classroom originated with the classroom teachers, and where the
site administrator shared their interest and desire to
participate in this program. The elements of teacher and
administrator expectation, enthusiasm, interest and support for
a program are vital elements in the success of any school
innovation.

Conclusion 2:  Over 1,000 writing portfolios were collected
from the K-1-2 students participating in the study.  These
included Spanish language classrooms, ESL classrooms, and
classrooms with learning handicapped students.

All of the students in the WTR in the classroom program
averaged at least two writing levels higher than those in the
control classrooms.  In addition, the experimental group had a
much higher positive reading attitude than the control group.  

In addition to these major conclusions, parents of the
experimental group students reported significantly higher
evidence of writing and reading behaviors demonstrated at home
than did parents of the control group students.  Two to three
times as many students from the WTR experimental group wrote
stories and notes at home, which is a much more powerful
indicator of literacy development than scores on standardized
tests. 

For further information on replication of this project or the
materials used in this newly developed implementation of
Writing to Read in the classroom, contact:

Jean M. Casey 
Associate Professor Reading/Language Arts
California State University, Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA  90840
(310) 985-5795
.