LVA-Verizon Technology Project Resource Link #02-2 In this issue, we offer some Internet sites that focus on ESOL and some resources to further develop and implement technology within your organization. Six weeks ago, we provided you with links to a few articles on things to consider before purchasing hardware. This month, we are continuing to offer you hardware tips by discussing backing up your data. As always, there will be a few miscellaneous news tips. *** ESOL Sites *** English for All The U.S. and California departments of education, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Azavar Technologies have released MyEFA.org, a free Internet-based multimedia learning system designed for people seeking to learn English and to learn about the American culture. The program includes interactive student activities, streaming video, Flash animation and audio, and a course management system for teachers to track student progress. The site can translate online text into several different languages, supporting German, Italian, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Hebrew, and Spanish. It is for high beginning level students. You will need Macromedia Flash movie player, Adobe Acrobat, and QuickTime Move Player to use this site. You and your students will also have to register on the site. Visit it at: www.myefa.org. ESL PartyLand This site offers activities for teachers and for students. http://www.eslpartyland.com/ Vendors You may be interested in exploring these fee-based language sites. More and more vendors provide online English-language training. Some have consumer portals as well as corporate services, and several provide instruction for languages other than English. The URLs listed below will take you directly to the sites. Their primary market is corporate users, and they charge a fee. Many offer �virtual� tutors as well as software programs. Auralog www.auralog.com/american.html Englishtown www.englishtown.com/master/corporate offers online conversation classes, writing feedback, self-study through software, and student-to-student interaction. Executive English www.auralog.com/american.html offers business English over the Internet. It is for more advanced users. GlobalEnglish www.globalenglish.com offers online general English and business English. GoFluent www.gofluent.com provides English instruction via video-conference and NetMeeting or via telephone. Parlo.com www.parlo.com also has business and general English courses. *** Improve Your Technology Planning and Implementation*** Regional Technology in Education Consortia (R-TECs) While some administrators may be familiar with specific resources that come from the R-TEC leadership goldmines, the reality is that most educators cannot identify their regional consortium and are unaware that there is a national network of R-TECs. Whether you are researching, implementing, or evaluating new technologies in your curriculum, updating technology plans, designing staff development programs, preparing proposals for funding, or seeking advice on technical issues from experts, put the R-TECs first on your list. Although these focus on K-12 education, their mission includes adult literacy. EAST Northeast & the Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.neirtec.org Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.temple.edu/martec Appalachian Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.the-atec.org SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.seirtec.org CENTRAL High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.hprtec.org South Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.southcentralrtec.org North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.ncrtec.org WEST Northwest Educational Technology Consortium, www.netc.org Pacific Regional Technology in Education Consortium, www.prel.org/programs/rtec/rtec.asp Regional Technology in Education Consortium for the Southwest, www.westedrtec.org Each of these sites has value. For example: The North Central Consortium has The Amazing Picture Machine to help educators find pictures, diagrams, and maps that are available on the Internet. It also has enGauge, a Web-based framework to help districts and schools plan and evaluate their use of educational technology. For those of you with family literacy programs, the Northwest Consortium�s Early Connections offers research-based information and resources for those who work with children ages eight and younger. The Southeast Consortium developed Online Resources for Electronic Accessibility & Assistive Technologies, a list of links to sites that provide information on current research, services, products, tools, and resources for individuals with disabilities. This site also offers a variety of tools for technology planning. The High Plains Consortium has Trackstar, an online tool to create interactive lessons to help students learn research skills. The Traits of an Effective Technology Coach and Signs of a Robust Program From Now On (FNO) by Jamie McKenzie Jamie McKenzie�s website provides hints about the integration of technology and education. One of his primary thoughts is the use of coaching to help individuals learn technology. The case for coaching as a prime system to encourage frequent and appropriate use of new technologies by even reluctant teachers was made in a previous FNO article. See "Coaching for a Change" in the October, 2001 issue of FNO at: http://fno.org/Oct01/coaching.html. A current article states that teachers (tutors) learn new technologies best within an adult learning context that provides great amounts of informal, highly customized support from peers who they can trust. www.fno.org/jan02/techcoach.html Hardware and Software Questions Are you having trouble with hardware or software? This site lets you solve computer-related problems simply by asking questions in plain language to access knowledge bases from leading vendors. Visit: www.freeanswers.com Backing up Your Data Imagine turning on your computer today, and it doesn�t work. Imagine that you get a virulent virus on your computer and that virus wipes out your files. Imagine having to reconstruct all the data you have on all of your matches, all of your grant templates, and/or your financial records. It is important to regularly schedule a backup of your organization�s computer files, so you don�t lose all of your data. At one time, most people used floppy disks. This option is less attractive today. Each disk can hold only 1.44 megabytes of data compared with hundreds of megabytes for other storage media. Online storage methods that emerged during the Internet boom are more expensive now, but still an option. Companies that once offered free storage services have gone out of business or started charging storage fees. One example is XDrive, that provides 75 megabytes of storage for $4.95 a month or 150 megabytes for $9.95 a month. A second example is @Backup that provides storage for an annual fee. A drawback to using these sites is that it may take a long time to transfer large files. A second risk is that the companies merge or stop business. Iomega's Zip drives were among the earliest storage mediums to provide an alternative to floppy disks. Zip drives come in both internal and external versions and cost between $75 and $175, depending on the model and port connection type. Many people use them. Disks hold 100 or 250 megabytes of data, and each disk is $10 to $15. Another option by Iomega is the Peerless system, an external drive that costs roughly $250 to $400. This system has too much capacity for most organizations (10 or 20 gigabytes) and is more appropriate for those of you with large files of music or digital photos. An increasingly popular backup option is to save your files on a CD. To do that, you will need a CD-R/RW drive, also known as a CD burner. If you are purchasing a new computer, this is a popular option. If you plan on using your current computer for some time, you can buy an external version. Average cost is $200 to $300. Disks are 50 cents to $1, and each holds at least 500 megabytes of data. There are two types of disks: CD-recordable (or CD-R) discs. You will not be able to copy data on the disk more than once. It is permanent. CD-rewritable (CD-RW) discs. You can copy data multiple times. These are better, since you can reuse them Once you have the needed hardware, making a backup can be as easy as dragging files across your desktop to the icon for your storage device. Software makes the job easy. For example, software that comes with the Iomega drive walks you through the process step by step. CD burners have similar programs. The time it takes to create a backup depends on 1) the number and size of your files and 2) the speed of your device. Whatever method you use, be sure to make copies of important files. *** Miscellaneous Tips of Interest *** Free Software Obtain free (or almost free) software at www.smart-estore.com. Pay $5.95 shipping and handling each program. Current titles include Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego and Mavis Beavis Typing V. 9. Bookshare Those of you with students with severe reading disabilities may be interested in this website. It includes scanned copies of A Beautiful Mind, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and more than 7,500 other books. To download the books individuals must prove that they have a visual or reading disability. An exemption in the copyright law allows electronic copies of texts to be shared among people with these impairments. Before using the site, a person must mail or fax a disability form signed by a qualified professional. There is also a $25 sign-up fee and a $50 fee for an annual subscription. See what is available at: www.bookshare.org. Back to Resource Links