Computer Technology Integration

NELRC’s work in technology integration has primarily focused on fostering practitioners’ ability to take advantage of the exciting potential of the World Wide Web in adult literacy instruction. With funding from the National Institute for Literacy and the GTE Foundation, we have distributed nearly $30,000 in funding and equipment to over 80 teachers and students to design and publish teaching materials for the World Wide Web. In Bangor, Maine, for example, students used digital cameras to photograph important local landmarks, and then created Web pages that take viewers on a tour of the city, including a "virtual shopping trip" at a local supermarket. In New York City, a pre-GED class at La Guardia Community College published their writings on the Web. In Crownsville, Maryland, a teacher at the Hospital Center worked with students to write and publish low-literacy reading material for adult learners in mental health rehabilitation centers. These are just a few of the ways in which NELRC mini-grants have supported teachers and students to actively use the Web as a resource for creative expression and learning. Read more and see this year's projects.

Over the years, NELRC staff have produced a number of publications and online collections to inspire and guide adult literacy practitioners in their efforts to make optimal use of the World Wide Web:

Under Construction: Building Web Sites as a Project-based Learning Activity for ABE/ESOL Classes guidebook provides adult literacy and ESOL staff developers and teachers with some simple, user-friendly advice on building Web sites as a classroom activity. Contact Tina White at 617.482.9485 or Steve_Quann@worlded.org to order copies.
Computers in Action website features a series of stand-alone lesson plans for teachers using computers in the ESOL classroom, co-authored by NELRC’s Steve Quann.
CESOL (Computers and English for Speakers of Other Languages) is a website for teachers who are interested in integrating technology into the adult ESOL/ ESL/EFL classroom.

We offer workshops, mini-courses and consultations in the following areas:

Using the Web in instruction
Using computers to teach reading
Using computers as a tool for project-based learning

These workshops are developed and led by

Steve Quann
Web Design and Curriculum Specialist
squann@worlded.org

Please see Steve’s bio.