| Technology and Learning | |
This page includes input from practitioners as well as links to resources presenting possibilities for integrating technology into learning. Another page, Internet 101, provides basic information for educators wishing to utilize the internet as a tool for learning and / or for pursuing their own interests in any area.
This page is broken into these sections: Resources for developing online materials and resources; Resources for / information about technology and learning; software and other links to internet-related resources.
The page begins with a set of statements about possibilities and challenges surrounding our use of the internet (a handout presented to a colloquium on Adult ESL and the Web at TESOL '98); the statements address questions about best ways to utilize this website, and the internet generally. I'm grateful to Susan Gaer for her assistance in setting up that page.
recent additions to this page:
LearningLine
- An Online Workshop for Adults - Introducing Basic Computer
Skills and Key Life Skills.
Adult
Literacy Education Wiki and its technology
page - practitioner developed and maintained compendium of
resources
Using the
Web in Instruction - with support of a LINCS mini-grant
inviting exploration of ways of integrating and utilizing technology,
and with the guidance of the New England Literacy Resource Center,
practitioners from Massachusetts and Rhode Island focused on developing
and supporting online learning options while Connecticut and Vermont
practitioners learned how to build web sites with students as a
project-based activity.
Teens
and Technology: Youth are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and
Mobile Nation - report from the Pew Internet and American Life
Project, July, 2005.
Evaluating
web sites for bias - From Education World; adaptable to adult
education contexts
Rhode Island Distance Learning - Two distance learning programs, Skills Tutor and GED Connection, with local support.
Vision Wire - a non-profit virtual community whose purpose is to distribute and allow the exchange of information on technologies designed for the blind and visually impaired. VisionWire's intent is to be a free and independent discussion column for those interested in these technologies. VisionWire is more than a simple information source. The site is designed to help you orient yourself in a sector where information is often diffuse and evolves as quickly as the technology.
Jeff Carter's fabulous LiteracyTech Blog - a"random pointers and notes, updated semi-regularly. Many of the resources citedhere may eventually find their way in to the main part of the site, so please feel free to use the "comments" feature liberally." Covers a range of topics of use and interest to adult educators and learners.
Northeast Literacy Tech: Training and Support for Adult Literacy. Northeast Literacy Tech, is an informal collaboration between state and local leaders in the field of adult literacy in the Northeastern part of the U.S. Our purpose is to advance and support the practical and effective use of technology in adult education.
Spiders at Work: Webcamp for adult literacy practitioners - overview of an ongoing web-based curriculum development project begun in August, 2000; projects being developed, related resources relevant to web development (part of Northeast Literacy Tech's ongoing work).
Creating Web Pages for Effective Student Learning - Pre-Conference Institute at TESOL '97, with the goals of seeing participants finish the day with the substantial beginnings of a Web Site appropriate to their instructional needs and goals and with the resources to continue the work on their own, and raising each participant's awareness of the further potentials of the Web, available resources for tapping into those potentials, and related issues. (This site has gone missing, but its author's homepage is https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/dmills/www/)
[from a workshop given by Dave Sperling at TESOL 2001, via
Jennifer
Giroux]
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Florida's
Tech
Net - online Professional Development Center provides
adult
educators, teachers and administrators with opportunities to enhance
their
own professional development through: technical, web-based and
professional
development training. Topic areas include teaching/learning
content
as well as administrative issues.
Principles and
Indicators to Assist in the Development and Evaluation of
Technology-based
Materials: A Design Framework for Multimedia Development
in Adult Literacy by Heide Spruck Wrigley; useful and usable resource
for
considering uses of technology with adult learners. One of a series
of working papers from Cyberstep, well worth consideration.
TECH21: A National Technology Laboratory for Literacy and Adult Education - "The central goal of TECH21 is to use the best of what information technology can offer to assist all adults to achieve their adult education and life goals'
World
Wide Web Institute for ABE/ESOL Teachers and Staff Developers -
The Literacy Assistance Center conducted a two-day technology Institute
for literacy practitioners in New York City and New England, sponsored
by NetTech and in collaboration with the Eastern LINCS project. 34
adult
literacy practitioners participated in the Institute, gaining ability
in
utilizing the internet and developing web-based lesson
plans.
This site has gone missing, but a similar institute supported the
development of these lesson
resources.
The Literacy Assistance Center (LAC), with funding from NetTech, (and in collaboration with the Adult Literacy Resource Institute, National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL), TERC and The Center on Distance Education and Lifelong Learning, Eastern LINCS and the New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education), facilitated Teachers, Technology and Leadership Institute: An Institute for Adult Literacy Practitioners, in order to assist adult educators in clarifying ways of integrating technogolgy into adult education in meaningful ways, from January through April, 1999.
The Institute sought to expand the capacity
of the participants to serve as leaders in the integration of
technology
in their organizations. As part of that work, I am developed a web
page, Cultural Production, relating
to the work of my inquiry group (Visions for Technology, one of
six groups within the Institute) in order to look at ways to make
connections
between technology and learning, to name places where technology can be
well integrated into adult education and ongoing learning generally,
and
specifically to see how practitioners and learners in Rhode Island can
benefit from using and learning through and about technology. I
have
had difficult accessing the page to update dead links; but a number of
the links are still active, as are the three sections of the site
(found
at the bottom of the first page).
Instructional Technology Resources from the Literacy Assistance Center
Resources for / information about technology and learning
[also: from the same search google.com; to learn more about Alan and Michelle Shaw's work, go to google.com and enter "Alan Shaw" + Dorchester. With thanks to David Rosen for bringing this work to light] On "Democracy and the New Information Highway"
Linking up
Villages
- offers technical assistance and support for community residents
and organizations interested in developing various types of community
based
networks. In this way we help to connect residents to each other and to
local institutions and resources. We also help community groups to
develop
an information infrastructure with which to catalogue and expand on the
resources and links within their community and to develop coalitions
among
the various organizations providing community services.
an online computer skills assessment page - students, and teachers new to technology, might find this an interesting way to get a sense of what they already know and still want to learn.
Basic
Computer Literacy - Developing A Community Needs Assessment
For
Adult Literacy Programming;
information developed to help communities prepare for an adult literacy
program.
Captured Wisdom™ on Adult Literacy - (return of a) site accompanying video/CD footage of 6 adult education contexts in which use of technology is incorporated into ongoing learning
Digital divide? An article in the June 28/02 Washington Post suggests that rural/urban differences in access to technology are dwindling, opening the door for political and other use of 'data' for supporting access to technology across the US.
Falling through the Net - reports on the digital divide - series of fact sheets and information reporting on internet use, looking at economics and educational background, among other factors in determining who gets what on the internet food chain.
An
Educator's Guide to Assessing the Cost of Donated Computers -
another
step in the direction of helping nonprofits assess total cost of
ownership.
That donation can often represent a net expense.
Distance Education and Web-based Training - a compilation of information about technologies used for distance education and web-based training for practitioners in adult, career, and vocational education.
Exploring
the web: something to talk, click and write about - a lesson,
emailed
to students incorporating use of the internet, designed by Stacie
Evans,
at the Stanley Isaacs Center in New York.
Community Technology Centers Network (CTCNet) - Among other things, as a leading advocate of equitable access to computers and related technologies, CTCNet provides access to information, resources and a rationale for engaging communities in the use of technology.
Education with new technologies - Networked learning community, designed to help educators develop, enact and assess effective ways of using new technologies.
Native Tech: Native American Technology and Art: "Across this vast Turtle Island, different Peoples develop and express their own complex technology. Types of craft specialization are influenced by the different environments people live in, and by trade and information networks -- these technologies are the product of thousands of years of expertise, oral traditions and continuity. "
Surfing for Substance - an extremely useful professional development guide to integrating the World Wide Web into adult literacy instruction, was written by Emily Hacker in collaboration with Mary Ann Capehart.
Computer/Internet Literacy Lessons
From Susan Gaer: I have been teaching a class this semester called Writing and Computers. The goal of the class is to teach students writing, computer literacy and Internet literacy all in one shot. I have a series of lessons that I have found or developed to help students acheive this technology literacy. The idea again is to teach writing and techno literacy both at the same time. The address is: http://www.otan.us/webfarm/emailproject/rancho/intro.htm
Students are at the intermediate level of language learning. THIS IS NOT FOR BEGINNING LANGUAGE LEARNERS. Students have no computer literacy skill.They have had instruction on how to hold a mouse and how to click, double click and drag prior to using these lessons.
Lesson 1- Introduction
1.1 Get students an email account to start electronic journals with the instructor
My class learned a lot last semester going through these activities. I will be teaching the class again next semester and will add more activities as needed. I anticipate the next two lessons will deal with searching for information on the Internet. Your suggestions and feedback would be greatly appreciated. And ...if you have some ideas for teaching searching to ESL students let me know. Maybe you would be interested in writing a lesson or two .&:-)
I welcome you to try out these activities with your students and let me know how they work out. Susan Gaer sgaer@earthlink.net or sgaer@otan.dni.us
Teaching and Learning with Internet-based Resources, by Susan Cowles, is available in hard copy or on line at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/fellowship/reports/susanc/inthome.htm
From the on-line introduction: "Literacy students, instructors, program administrators, and other life-long learners are all in the group moving along the information superhighway. Some people have been running for a while; others are just starting down the road. Beginning to use the Internet can sometimes seem as grueling as participating in a marathon. This short course is designed to make the journey as informative and enjoyable as possible." To order a hard copy of the document, please call 1-800-228-8813. Susan Cowles is a Literacy Leader Fellow for 1996-97; this document is her fellowship report to the National Institute for Literacy.
INTERNET RESOURCES ON WOMEN: Using Electronic Media in Curriculum Transformation
Includes links to resources for and about women on the web, as well as information about using the internet itself.
" ... a clear, concise book written especially for two groups of people. One consists of Internet novices, people who know little or nothing about electronic communications and may feel uneasy about getting involved. .. The other group--Internet experts and novices alike--are people who want to learn more about the growing array of electronic resources pertaining to Women's Studies and to transforming the curriculum so that it better reflects women's experience, accomplishments, and perspectives. Internet Resources on Women provides detailed information about women-related e-mail discussion forums, archives, and web sites containing syllabi, bibliographies, essays, and other useful curriculum transformation resources.
Project Software - provides for field testing and evaluation of educational software by adult students and teachers to identify programs that are effective and that enhance learning, and provides information, resources, and training to educators who are interested in software programs and other technologies that may enrich the curriculum in their adult literacy, Pre-GED, GED,and workplace classes.
Software from Computers and English for Speaker of Other Languages
Technology and English Language Learners - (including software) resources from CAELAThe Use of
Educational Software in Adult Literacy Programs: a comparison
of
Integrated Learning Systems and Stand-alone Software Diane
Millar,
July, 1996 - despite the fact that this was written over 4 years
ago, the author makes valid assertions about the uses of packaged
educational
software for adult learners.
Adult Literacy and Technology Network - a national effort dedicated to finding solutions for using technology to enhance adult literacy, with the mission of providing leadership in the application and use of technology to enhance international adult literacy by means of conferences, training, technical assistance and communication media.
AT&T Foundation Educational resources
Connect - Canada's National Newsletter for Technology and Adult Literacy.
An Educator's Guide to Evaluating The Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms, December 1998 - handbook designed for individuals having little or no formal training in research or evaluation, organized around these key questions:
What is an evaluation anyway?
Where do I start?
What questions should I ask?
What information do I need to collect?
What's the best way to collect my information?
What are my conclusions?
How do I communicate my results?
Where do I go from here?
Education Calendar and related WWW sites - calendar containing information about significant days within each month and relevant links to informative sites.
Harnessing Technology to Serve Adult Literacy - Integrating Technology in Adult Literacy Education. David Rosen (director of the Adult Literacy Resource Institute) created The Harnessing Technology Web Page "to help adult literacy education (ABE/GED/ESL/ESOL) teachers and learners to use computers, television, audio and video cassettes, and other electronic technology to help solve learning and instructional problems. It focuses on teaching and learning challenges faced by adult literacy education teachers. The page grows and improves as teachers and learners describe problems they would like to solve and good solutions to these problems using technology." Find problems and solutions submitted from Rhode Island and from practitioners all over North America.
IT 7360: Technology for Educators Web Links - links to and about internet -based resources, from one of Georgia State University's technology courses.
Low and Technology and High Tech Folks - The Electronic Grange Network works to provide low and no cost access to technology and other needed resources to communities in northern Maine. See what they're doing, what the news and rumors are, as well as a more serious analysis of labor cutbacks at the Bass shoe factory. This is a prime example of what happens when people and technology interact in the best possible ways.
also, read about Abe Kreworuka's ongoing work with technology in the Portland Press Herald, November 29, 1998.
THE NET THAT BINDS -USING CYBERSPACE TO CREATE REAL COMMUNITIES
by ANDREW L. SHAPIRO June 21, 1999
An article appearing in the June 21st edition of The Nation
Writer seeks balance in internet power shifts - feature story in the New York Times, Friday, June 18, 1999, discussing Shapiro's work.
TECHNOREALISM - "In this heady age of rapid technological change, we all struggle to maintain our bearings. The developments that unfold each day in communications and computing can be thrilling and disorienting. One understandable reaction is to wonder: Are these changes good or bad? Should we welcome or fear them?
What do you think? How can the internet and stand alone software assist learning without becoming a flashier form of rote drilling? How do we utilize the technology for our own learning and with and for that of our learners?
How do you use technology? How is your program using technology?
Is the computer a tool to assist people in accomplishing whatever tasks it is they need to do? Are there software programs that you've seen that are helpful for learning, or is it more a matter of the interaction between teachers, learners and the tools they have at hand - pencils, papers, computers, whatever - that's important in overall learning processes?
Many of us speak about the importance of critical thinking in all learning, and wonder if software can assist in the development of critical thinking. Can concerned facilitators/teachers assist learners in more clearly articulating ideas, developing learning strategies?
Please fax (401-863-3094), mail (PO Box 1974 Brown University, Providence, RI 02912) or email your responses.
last
updated March 27, 2007