This small-scale study compares two groups of Year 4 (8/9 year-old) pupils either reading or playing an interactive storybook. The study considered pupils' recall of propositions, which formed the story setting and episodes, and of micro-propositions and characters' names, and pupils' responses to inferential items derived from the 'interactive storybook'. The study indicates that, whether reading or playing, pupils' recall of the story setting was sound, but pupils who had read the interactive storybook demonstrated greater recall of the story event structure than those who had engaged in interactive picture-play. Pupils who had played the interactive storybook demonstrated significantly greater recall of micro-propositions and names.

The use of "interactive storybooks" in the primary classroom may facilitate small group and individual reading with minimal teacher intervention. This small-scale study examines whether small groups of Year 5 pupils, without teacher supervision, progress linearly through an "interactive storybook" and whether such diversions as cued animations affect pupil comprehension. The study finds that more intensive choice of diversions affects some pupils' comprehension. IntroductionMiller et al. (1994) remarked that "Reading storybooks aloud to children is recognised as a crucial component in total literacy development" and-conceding that most teachers are restricted to reading to an entire class "although some teachers try to find time to read to small groups or even individual children" (ibid., 188)-contended that an "interactive storybook" on CD-ROM provides opportunities for small group or individual reading with minimal intervention by the teacher (ibid., 202).

The use of interactive storybooks in the primary classroom has the potential to facilitate pupils' reading, in small groups or individually. However, critics have expressed concern at the exposure of pupils to interactive storybooks. In particular, concern has been expressed that the interactive animations and sound effects in such storybooks may adversely affect pupils' responses to the written text. These small scale studies examined whether story recall of small groups of pupils, respectively in Year 5 and Year 4, was affected by the provision of cued animations and sound effects. Consideration of the outcomes of both studies indicates that access to cued animations and sound effects did have adverse effects on pupils' story recall. IntroductionInteractive storybooks, for the purpose of these studies, conform to the definition of 'real' books, provided by Tann (1991), as:

This paper describes an illuminative small‐scale study that piloted an initial survey instrument intended to investigate correspondences between 47 undergraduate Education final year students' use of information and communications technology (ICT), including the Internet, and – within the context of their adoption of tactics intended to impress lecturers or to exploit the hidden curriculum – students' engagement in cheating behaviours such as plagiarism. The study disclosed that 0.23 of the sample had reported single instances of cheating behaviours and that 0.21 of the sample had reported multiple instances of cheating behaviours. Analysis of data discerned correspondences between these cheating behaviours and personal factors. However, indicators of ICT capability and the Internet did not correlate significantly with cheating behaviours. Those students who had reported multiple instances of cheating behaviours were found to rate their ICT capabilities higher than their peers but had a tendency to report less frequent use of the Internet for coursework. Inferences are tentatively drawn for further research and for academic practices.