*Writing Instruction

A computer-based collaborative approach to writing like the Daedalus Instructional System (DIS) can help students to learn to write for communication and to read for understanding. The DIS, created to reflect the collaborative learning philosophy, is networked, and fosters communication through reading and writing. The system provides CONTACT, an electronic mail board; QUICKSTART, a word processor; MINDWRITER and DESCANT, a series of prompts to generate ideas and aid in the review of writing; UTILITIES, a 'housekeeping' program; and INTERCHANGE, a real-time writing program. INTERCHANGE and CONTACT can be used together for collaborative writing. While students in the reading program at Community College of Southern Nevada began by using the DIS in class once a week, they soon chose to meet in the lab for both class periods, and even began to compose on the computer, collaborate with each other, and spend long hour