February 2, 1995: Vol26n15: Capitalize on pupils' facination with television to energize reading 
By LISA WILEY
News Bureau Staff
Elementary-school teachers -- whose classes are filled with pupils
accustomed to television, Nintendo and radio -- should capitalize on
their students' audiovisual skills when teaching reading lessons, a UB
educator suggests.
	Multimedia programs can provide meaningful support for reading
development at almost any level, says Peggy Healy Stearns, adjunct
lecturer in the UB Graduate School of Education. Although Stearns
laments the media's influence, she says that educators "might as well
use the power of the media to their advantage."
	Teachers should use multimedia programs -- including
videodiscs and CD-ROMs -- not because they are "glitzy," but because
they may enhance and support curricular goals, says Stearns, who has
worked with kindergartners through college graduates for more than 20
years. She frequently reviews new software for manufacturers and
educational journals.
	The multimedia approach to reading instruction maintains
distinct advantages over traditional methods alone, she says, noting
that it motivates, visually reinforces and empowers students to become
active learners.
	Videodiscs represent a relatively easy way to incorporate
multimedia material into the classroom, she says. The videodisc player
is hooked up to the television and may be used with a barcode reader
or attached to a computer. Disc players like these cost between $600
and $700, with discs costing about $195 each.
	CD-ROM programs are the most popular form of multimedia
reading programs used in classrooms, Stearns notes, providing writing
and drawing tools, and offering more opportunity for interaction than
the videodiscs. Programs like "WiggleWorks" may include
teacher-management programs that allow teachers to create individual
portfolios to store pupils' work. CD-ROM programs average $50. An
entire curriculum package costs as much as $1,750.
	Budgets, however, are not the only factor in deciding which
programs to introduce in the classroom. "A lot of teachers simply
aren't aware of what's available," Stearns says. In addition,
technology carries an "intimidation factor," for many
teachers. "There's a tremendous need for teacher training," she adds.