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Laying the Groundwork for Staff Training Contrary to popular opinion, the greatest obstacle to integrating technology into instruction usually is not lack of equipment. The biggest obstacle for most literacy programs is lack of staff training in instructional technology. Although computers have played a role in K-12 education for several years now, their introduction into adult literacy education is relatively new, thus there are only a handful of adult literacy professionals with expertise in educational technology. In addition, with the current emphasis on work readiness in adult literacy programs, computers have been seen more as tools for teaching clerical skills than as resources for learning across the curriculum. In this section, we'll try to debunk a few myths and provide some simple suggestions and activities to help build your in-house expertise in integrating technology into your curriculum. Myth #1 I need to be a techie and know a lot about computers before I introduce my students to the Internet. Fact a. The World Wide Web has made navigating the Internet a very intuitive, non-technical experience. b. There is nothing wrong with learning about the Internet along with your students. Those students who have a high aptitude for computers will enjoy having the opportunity to teach you something. c. Did you wait until you understood all the inner-workings of a camera before you took your first photograph? Myth #2 The Internet is only relevant to my teaching staff. Fact |
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a. Education administrators use the Internet for numerous reasons, including communicating with colleagues, keeping up with literacy news and policy, learning about grants and other funding opportunities, and researching critical issues in the field (i.e. welfare reform). |
National Institute for Literacy http://www.nifl. gov |
| b. Job developers and coaches use the Internet for locating job openings, posting situations wanted, posting student resumes, researching job market statistics, learning about specific companies, and exploring fields of interest with students. Beyond basic research, innovative job developers create virtual tours of various companies and professions by guiding students through a series of Web sites where they can answer prepared questions or exchange e-mail with a professional. | What Color is Your Parachute http://www. jobhuntersbible .com/ |
| c. Counselors use the Internet to find information and resources on issues they regularly confront, including domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness, child care, housing and welfare reform. Working with a Web-savvy counselor, for example, a student whose landlord threatened her with eviction can learn about tenants rights by reading the Housing Fact Sheets available at the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) web site at: http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/ | Welfare Information Network http://www. welfareinfo.org/ |
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Myth #3 My teachers attended a workshop on how to use the Internet in instruction. Therefore, I don't need to provide any additional staff development about the Internet. Fact The Internet is vast, as is its potential as a learning tool. A single workshop will barely scratch the surface of its usefulness. Teachers and other staff need a variety of opportunities and time to learn about and explore the Internet. Just as valuable as structured learning experiences (and even more valuable, some would argue) is having time to freely play and explore online. The attached lesson, Staff Development on the Internet: Playing to Learn, suggests several fun, user-friendly things Internet surfing beginners can do online to get their feet wet. Some tools lend themselves to ongoing staff development. With a little incentive and encouragement e-mail is an excellent way to get staff online. In addition to being able to send and receive messages, an e-mail address will enable your teachers to subscribe to listservs and to participate in interactive areas on web sites. Even if only one computer is available for staff usage, all staff can have free, web-based e-mail accounts using http://www.yahoo.com, http://www.rocketmail.com or http://www.hotmail.com. Since people have different learning styles, and learn at different speeds, it is good to offer a variety of possibilities for technology staff development. These can include formal classes and workshops, one-on-one mentoring with a colleague or technology coordinator (if yours is one of the rare programs that have one) and forming a Technology Team. Put very simply, the more you give (staff development opportunities), the more you will get (staff with innovative ideas on how to integrate technology into literacy instruction). Myth #4 I can't use the Internet for instruction because my program only has one Internet-connected computer for student use. Fact We are not going to tell you that having only one computer is not an obstacle. It is. However, it is not insurmountable. With some creativity on your part and flexibility on your students' part, a lot can be made of this single resource. The best way to integrate the Internet in this context is to use it as one of many resources students draw on while working on a class project. To demonstrate this strategy, imagine your class is doing a project on HIV/AIDS. You divide your class into 4 groups. Group 1 is searching the Internet for current information on HIV/AIDS, group 2 is reading and summarizing recent newspaper and magazine articles, group 3 is interviewing a community health worker and group 4 is conducting a survey on what students in the program know about HIV/AIDS. Depending on the length and goals of the project, the next day or week the groups rotate assignments, giving another group the opportunity to use the computer. Keep track of the groups to make sure that during the course of the term each group has had equal time online. In addition to using the computer in class, you can go low-tech and use Internet resources off-line by printing out pages from Web sites. If you have access to a projection system (i.e. an LCD panel), you can look at Web pages with your whole class. You can also purchase software, like Web Whacker, that allows you to download entire Web sites to disk for offline use. Finally, if you have regular freereading time, add exploring the Internet to the mix of options and set up a rotating schedule for your students to follow.
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Web Teacher http://www. webteacher .org/winnet/ indextc.html |
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