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A college teacher of both freshman English and English as a Second Language (ESL) recounts the addition of computer networking to her ESL classroom and its effects on student attitudes and performance. When computerized instruction and networking capabilities, already used in freshman composition, were added to the ESL class, a variety of expected and unanticipated changes in classroom communication and student attitudes were evident: appreciation of the trust associated with access to computers; increased student pride in work products; optimism about learning computer use; improved communication between students by overcoming pronunciation and comprehension difficulties; a cooperative atmosphere for learning from errors; and comparatively better learning processes in later classes. In addition, the positioning of the teacher's computer in the middle of the classroom established her position as an interactive collaborator. It is concluded that the networked computers helped create a better learning environment for these students. (MSE)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert