The more things change, the more they remain the same. Both enthusiasm for and doubts about educational technology have shown remarkable resilience over the years. Yet they still managed to communicate an optimistic view about the pace of innovation in applying technology to the teaching of reading. In the 10 years since Computer Applications in Reading was published, significant improvements have been made in the use of technology in all these areas, even if the applications of technology today are not quite as widespread as Blanchard predicted. The integration of computer technology into reading instruction has kept up with most of the new and often contentious movements in the field of reading and writing curricula.
Technology also is available for response-based approaches in the teaching of reading.
The National Center for Research on Literature Teaching and Learning, at the State University of New York, Albany, has studied commercially available multimedia and hypermedia software for elementary and high school students. What was sorely missing, from a response-based perspective . . . Whatever the shortcomings of specific language arts software packages, researchers and practitioners agree that integrating various technologies with traditional teaching methods and goals has definite advantages. The key to successful teaching with technology is to combine smart tools with smart instruction. Teachers and students regularly report that computers and related hardware such as CD-ROMs, laserdiscs, camcorders and digital cameras, and scanners enrich teaching and learning.