The climate of education today is very much attuned to the technology available and accessible to students. Many states and provinces have gone so far as to create grade specific learning outcomes to address the skills, understandings and attitudes required by students today. Most agree that the computer is an important tool for learning in combination with skilled instruction on the teacher's part.

In addition to this priority of" computer smarts", computers are also valuable as a teaching tool for another reason. Computers, as a medium for conveying information are fast paced and stimulating, and as such, are very engaging to children. Combining learning outcomes with technology outcomes, therefore, offers students the learning opportunities that a teacher is required to give them, through a medium that students are engaged by and comfortable with.

Tilley Adventures in Reading has been designed to be accessible to students as an independent activity. However, it is unrealistic to assume that all schools will possess the technology to make this type of independent computer learning possible all of the time. In addition, a computer, like any other tool in a classroom, cannot be used in isolation to provide a balanced, individualized learning experience. Acknowledging this, Tilley Adventures in Reading has the potential to be used in a variety of ways to complement the teaching and learning already occurring in a classroom:

Use the computer as a multi-media blackboard for direct instruction or group instruction
By connecting Tilley Adventures in Reading to a television or projector, the Tilley Adventures in Reading books and resources can be shared as a class for read aloud or shared reading. Concepts or activities can be demonstrated, and used in extension activities in reading or writing blocks.

Use the computer as a learning center
Tilley Adventures in Reading can be implemented as a learning center in a one-computer classroom. Students can share a computer with partners to read and problem solve together in the midst of a regular center time. A class of students could be rotated through this learning center in a systematic way, so that each student in the class has the opportunity to experience learning through this medium.

Use the computer as a tool for individual input
In situations where computers are available for individual use, Tilley Adventures in Reading provides the supports necessary for this type of independent work. Teachers can customize Tilley Adventures in Reading to provide some of the same cues available during group instruction as desired (e.g. phonetic support, word wall cues), and can access updates as to what individual students have accomplished during the work period through the Tilley Adventures in Reading Class Update.

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