Instructional Technology
In our Information Age, technology plays a role in nearly every aspect of life. To assist adult education programs in preparing students to become full participants in this 21st century environment, the LAC’s instructional technology initiatives offer resources for integrating technology into the classroom. These resources build on foundation theories of adult literacy instruction, active learning strategies, and principles of adult learning.
Project-Based Learning and Technology
Using the Internet in Instruction
Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis
Media Literacy
Computer Basics for Literacy Instructors
Instructional Technology & Media Literacy Links
Project-Based Learning and Technology
Our approach to instructional technology is founded on project-based learning (PBL), an instructional method that makes students active participants in their own education. Focusing on problem solving and product development, PBL helps students see how the skills and content they learned in the classroom can apply to real-life.
- Guiding Documents on Using PBL in the Classroom
- Research on PBL
- Evaluation of Project Based Learning by Regie Stites
- Project Based Learning and the GED by Anson M. Green, Focus on Basics 2mB, June 1998.
- Examples of Successful Projects
Using the Internet in Instruction
The Internet can provide access to information, promote active participation, and connect students to the world outside the classroom. However, it can also be overwhelming to new readers and English language learners. The following resources can help instructors make productive use of the Internet with their adult students.
- Evaluating and Selecting Websites
- Surfing for Substance A Professional Development Guide to Integrating the World Wide Web into Adult Literacy Instruction
Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis
- Use a blog to post your thoughts, ideas, and learning.
- Use a podcast to connect directly to learning activities or create your own.
- Use a wiki to collaborate and share your learning.
Blogs
Blog is short for weblog: a frequently updated online journal intended for general public consumption. Blogs’ content and quality vary greatly depending on the authors’ purpose. Many bloggers view their writing as an online diary (in reverse chronological order) with an audience. Weblogs began in mid-1990s with the advent of free web publishing tools.
- A compilation of blogs by, for ,and about ESOL/EFL
- A blog about podcasting for ESOL/EFL
- A blog for ESOL students in Sydney, Australia
- A blog by ESOL teacher Barry Bakin
- OLDaily (Online Learning Daily), a blog about online learning
- Technology and Literacy in Deaf Education
- New Ways of Thinking about Literacy and Learning
- Adult Literacy and Technology Blog
- To start your own blog, try Blogger
Podcasts
Podcasting makes audio files, usually in MP3 format, available online in a way that allows software to automatically download the files for listening at the user’s convenience.
- Podcasts for learning English
- A podcast site by Steve Quann
- Podblaze site for ESL students
- To start a Podblaze podcast
- A blog about podcasting for ESOL/EFL
Wikis
A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content. The term also refers to the software used to create such a website. The name is based on the Hawaiian term wiki wiki, meaning quick or informal.
- Writing Together wiki
- Adult Literacy Education wiki
- Grassroots Literacy Coalition wiki
- Wikipedia, the groundbreaking collaborative encyclopedia, is one of the best-known examples of wiki technology.
- Create a wiki using free MediaWiki software
Media Literacy
In today’s media-saturated society, adult learners need to develop the skills to deconstruct and analyze messages designed to influence their opinions and decisions. At the same time, as media tools (such as video, digital, audio, and text-based instruments) become increasingly accessible, adult students have an opportunity to become not just critical consumers but also media producers. The LAC has developed its approach to media literacy instruction with both of these objectives in mind.
- Video Projects in the Classroom
- Other Resources on Media and Video in the Classroom
Computer Basics for Literacy Instructors
If you’re new to integrating computer use in the classroom, you can start with these tools: