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Why Use the Internet for Instruction? Imagine the following scenario: a brand new library that houses an enormous collection of books, periodicals and other documents and audio-visual materials, and provides electronic access to library collections around the world, opens right next door to your literacy program. You immediately make appointments to bring your students to the library to help them get library cards and to teach them how to find and borrow materials. Your program director not only supports the idea, but provides release time for all the teachers to spend a few afternoons getting to know the library well enough to use its resources as an extension of the program's limited collection of instructional materials. It would be difficult to find an educator who would object to the above scenario. It makes perfect sense. However, if library is replaced with Internet, reactions are likely to change. This is unfortunate, because most literacy programs do not have easy access to libraries such as the one described above, but with even one Internet-connected computer teachers and learners can have access to extensive information and resources without leaving the building. In addition, just as there is more to learn in using a library than how to fill out a library card application and how to find and check out books, there are many not-so-obvious literacy lessons that come with learning to use the Internet. Some key literacy skills learned while surfing the Net are: sorting, categorizing, ranking, describing and evaluating. Users also learn graphical literacy as they learn to decode the wide variety of icons they encounter, and information literacy as they learn to identify reliable information on the Web versus inaccurate, commercial or otherwise biased information. There are also significant benefits related to employability, parenting and sociocultural awareness and interaction. A student's familiarity with the Internet may be very appealing to a potential employer. In addition, students can use the Internet to research companies and jobs they are interested in prior to an interview. There are also Web sites with job postings where students can read about and apply for jobs online. On other Web sites, students can get assistance writing resumes and putting them online for potential employers to access. Students who are going to work for the first time, returning to work after a long break, or changing careers can research different career opportunities online or e-mail professionals in fields of interest to get more information. While many parents may never be able to keep pace with their children's appetite and aptitude for technology, learning basic Internet skills can help narrow the gap. With so many parents in adult literacy classes, the Internet can be a valuable resource for family literacy and parenting information. In addition, parents who are concerned with the kind of material their children might access on the Internet will be able to direct their children to appropriate, educational Web sites only if they have a working knowledge of the Internet and what's available online. The Internet can also be invaluable in linking people culturally and socially.
The scenarios above are all examples of different ways that the Internet provides windows to cultural and social life and interaction. Being left out of a cultural phenomenon as expansive as the Internet means missing out on myriad opportunities for actively engaging with society. The opportunities presented by the Internet are not better than, or replacements for, real-life activities, but they are windows to learning that adult literacy students should know how to open. Therefore, we feel the answer to the question in this section's title is another question - why not use the Internet for instruction? Successes and Pitfalls Anyone who has spent even minimal time online has probably experienced both the joys and frustrations of the Internet. So, while one of the goals of this guide is to encourage and inspire staff developers and teachers to use the Internet in instruction, we also want to present a candid picture of the potential highs and lows of life online. THE LOWS Waiting, Waiting and More Waiting For a variety of reasons, you can expect to spend a significant amount of time waiting to get online or, when you finally get there, waiting for individual Web pages to load (that is, to be fed to your computer and appear on your screen). The problem may be faulty or slow hardware, limited capabilities of your Internet Service Provider or the Web site itself. Regardless of the reason, it's frustrating and tedious. Tip: If Web pages load slowly at your end because of hardware/memory limitations, you can speed things up by looking in the Preferences menu of your browser's tool bar for the option that prevents Web page graphics from loading. Text always loads much faster than images. Information Overload You want to stay on top of literacy news and policy and communicate with other literacy practitioners, so you join three listservs (e-mail subscription groups) - National Literacy Advocacy (NLA) and the National Institute for Literacy's NIFL-ESOL and NIFL-Technology listservs. Suddenly you are receiving fifty or more e-mail messages every day. You can't possibly keep up. Frustrated and exhausted, you drop your subscriptions to all the listservs and become nostalgic for a time when all this information was not so readily available. Tip: Find one listserv on a topic of high interest to you (many listservs are now archived on the Web, so you can browse through past messages before joining to see if it will keep your interest). Subscribe to that listserv and get involved right away by posting an introduction of yourself to the list. Lurking, the common practice of remaining a passive reader of listserv messages and not participating in the conversation, is not recommended. Until you are actively engaged, it is difficult to grasp the potential value of communication and resource sharing through a listserv. Sick of Search Engines Your class is developing a project for Black History Month. You want to locate some interesting Web sites your students can use for their project. You do a search for "black history month" on Altavista, and you get a list of over 33 million Web pages! Using Infoseek, your search is reduced to 7 million Web pages. It would take months to go through those lists -- and who would want to? There's got to be a better way to find good Web sites. Tip: Use Search Engines when you have no other leads for finding what you are looking for. A better and more direct route to Web sites is through other related sites. You can find leads to instructional Web sites in most education and educational technology journals and magazines. In addition, many literacy organizations publish their own newsletters, like the LAC's Literacy Update, that regularly feature Web site reviews. Most good Web sites will have compiled their own list of favorite links on the same topic. You will find these lists under headings like: Other Internet Resources, Links, Cool Sites, etc. Good webmasters (professionals who oversee Web site content, programming and design) are dedicated to providing useful links on their sites, so take advantage of their hard work and save a lot of time as well.
Access Aggravations Although the Internet is inherently a democratic environment, the politics and economics of gaining access to the Internet are not. Wealthier school districts have more and better computer equipment than poorer districts. Adult literacy programs run by small community-based organizations are considered fortunate if they have a handful of donated 386 PC's running DOS - relatively archaic equipment. While there are many different projects attempting to upgrade wiring and telecommunications equipment and capacity in poorer communities, these initiatives are often mired in politics and bureaucracies and may not materialize as promised. Tip: Investigate your community for hidden resources. Is there a public school with a computer lab that would be willing to time-share with an adult literacy program? Would your request be more appealing if you developed an innovative intergenerational computer project with children and adults working on a project together? Would businesses in your neighborhood that regularly upgrade their computers be interested in donating equipment to your program? Is there a public library with Internet access nearby, and could you arrange to take your class there for regular, scheduled visits? Could you form a consortium with a large group of literacy programs and apply jointly for government infrastructure grants? THE HIGHS Here are a few real examples of how some adult literacy learners and teachers have used the Internet to their advantage: Achieving Computer Literacy & Developing Leadership Skills Archie Willard is a dyslexic adult who learned to read at the age of 54. Inspired by his success in a literacy program, he became an advocate for adult literacy and won a research fellowship with the National Institute for Literacy. During the fellowship year he was introduced to the Internet, and was initially resistant because he disliked computers. He became more interested, however, when he found Web sites on learning disabilities and dyslexia. He then got an e-mail address so he could communicate with the other NIFL fellows and join the National Literacy Advocacy listserv. Soon after, he decided that adults with learning disabilities should have a Web page devoted to their needs, so he created the Archie Willard Learning Disabilities Home Page at http://www.readiowa.org/archiew.html. Using the Web to Prepare for a Job Interview An ESOL student in Boston was preparing for a job interview. A few weeks earlier her class had been introduced to the Web. She asked her teacher if he thought the company interviewing her had a Web site. He told her she should use a Search Engine to find out. The student found the company's Web site and looked through it carefully, learning everything she could about the company. Using this information, she was able to prepare excellent questions to ask at the interview, and she mentioned the Web site during the meeting. The interviewer was very impressed that she had taken such initiative. The student got the job. Making Connections Through E-mail A student at one of the Brooklyn Public Library Adult Learning Centers wrote stories regularly. At the same time, he had been reading and enjoying Tana Reiff's books for adult learners. He liked her books and thought she might want a story idea from a student. Since he had learned how to use e-mail and the World Wide Web at the Learning Center, he was able to use an Internet search engine to look up Tana Reiff's e-mail address. He e-mailed her a story he had written and she promptly e-mailed him a response. They continued to correspond by e-mail for some time. This was fun and motivating for the student because Tana Reiff addressed him as a writer and was very supportive of his work. Using the Internet for Staff Development - 1 A group of ESOL and BE teachers from across New York State were enrolled in a year-long Leadership Institute. At the second meeting in New York City, their Inquiry Group was scheduled to meet to work on a collaborative research project for the Institute. One of the group members had a family emergency and had to remain at home in Syracuse, New York. Instead of missing the meeting, she went online from her home computer and met with her Inquiry Group in an Internet Chat Room. The Chat Room enabled the group to continue working together, even though they were geographically separated.
Using the Internet for Staff Development - 2 Thirty-two ESOL and BE teachers from New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island participated in a month-long World Wide Web Institute. In addition to the hands-on sessions in New York City and Boston, the participants communicated regularly through a listserv and weekly Internet Chats. In their online communications they shared ideas and experiences about integrating technology into instruction, recommended interesting Web sites to one another and sought advice on technological and instructional issues. During the Institute, the teachers learned how to design Web-based lesson plans. The lessons they created are on the Web at http://www.lacnyc.org/resources/curricula/gallery.htm. |
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