[The following article, originally posted to the NIFL-Technology list, was written by Erna Golden, Education Coordinator for the Adult Literacy Program at the Brooklyn Public Library in New York City. According to David Rosen, it is "one of the best descriptions of what it means to integrate technology that I have seen," so we are reprinting it here, with the author's permission.]
Two main goals face adults who are learning to read and write: developing the nuts and bolts skills of literacy and balancing that goal with the purpose for learning to read and write, that is to be able to communicate. We believe at the BPL (Brooklyn Public Library) that meaningful communication cannot be put off until a person can decode, encode, etc. We use actual texts, books that are checked out of the library by students just as any patron would do. Students also bring in materials they want to be able to read. Volunteer tutors share meaningful texts from their daily lives as well. We do not rely on any kind of workbook-type materials. And we use a multimedia approach: Macintosh computers, television, radio, tape recorders, VCR's, video projectors, digital cameras, scanners, even the telephone (for learning to take messages or navigate those awful trees you have to deal with when you call almost any company). We also have designed lessons around using the vending machines dispensing NYC's Metrocard (for bus and subway transit) and ATM machines.
How are the technology and media used? In whatever way is relevant for whatever is happening in the group. That could mean watching the movie based on the book the group just read or watching a television program to jumpstart a project. It could mean listening to music and then freewriting. It could mean using books on tape or taping a reading of difficult text so that the tape can be used when reading at home. A group could plan a trip, looking up a certain website, and then locate an online map to use as a guide, buy a Metrocard from the vending machine, create a flyer to announce the planned trip, take pictures/film of the trip, create a book about the trip, and design and create a bulletin board about the trip/project in the learning center. All this would be done using word processing, graphics, scanning or downloading pictures, possibly audio, reference materials from the internet and elsewhere, and so on. Groups have gone to restaurants, plays, concerts, ballets, Ellis Island, museums, galleries, street tours, etc.
From the very first day, students attending our program begin learning to use a productivity software such as Microsoft Word. Eventually they learn how to get onto the Internet and to use email, as well as the names of the hardware and software tools and functions they are using. Students also learn some extras: playing games, using reference CD's, typing skills programs, graphics programs. Students can use the skills they learn here with their children at home (some already do have computers at home, "for the kids") and for communication with family members living far away (much less money than long distance). Students can then go into any branch library and use the computer to communicate, and they can certainly use it for work and study.
Many people ask us how a person who cannot read can work on a computer. Consider that most people learn to use technology on an as-needed basis, one function at a time. We start with name, date, address, and then a language experience activity (for non-readers or very beginners) or short journal-type entry (the topics are not preset, but come out of whatever conversation we have with the student). Students don't need typing lessons, just a finger or two (hunt and peck). We show them a few important keys--the space bar, enter/return, etc. And we say to leave all of the mistakes to practice with. The next session we begin editing--highlighting, arrow keys, delete, and eventually moving onto copy/cut/paste after several, possibly many sessions. Students learn to save and print immediately. There's a lot of repetition built into using a computer and so the skills actually stick very well. We rarely have students who do not find a keyboard as easy or easier to use than a pen or pencil. And the ability to edit, change fonts and add graphics or color is very engaging for students (more so than penmanship exercises could ever be). It's very exciting as well as being an accomplishment and a useful, relevant tool that even those who can already read are still learning! And getting past that first page of writing is easier when you don't have to turn the page.
Students can use all or one of these skills/functions in one project. All they need is imagination and/or a goal and some help from staff and tutors in getting going. Our students have families, jobs and community ties. And New York City is a huge resource we access as well: museums, theaters, outdoor shows, galleries, concert halls, historical sites of every kind--all with websites to visit before using the MTA online map to figure out what route to take to the place.
In terms of what to buy, I would choose computers bundled with productivity software and internet access, with a few games thrown in--either MACs or PCs--the same as anyone would choose for office or home. Add a television and a radio/tape/CD player if budget permits. And assist students in understanding the connections between all of this--that all of these are communications media!
How has this changed how we teach? Before we started using technology like this we did the workbook thing. Now we see students gaining a matrix of skills that goes beyond learning spelling and grammar. It's more real, more connected, more meaningful, right now for students needing immediate as well as long-term growth.