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LVA-Verizon Technology Project
Resource Link #02-4
Can you believe that summer is over? You are all probably engaged in the typical fall rush of activities. This newsletter offers you some tips on becoming an e-mail savvy organization, offers a look at some low-end hardware, and examines a few pieces of software. As usual, there are also some new Web resources.
*** Becoming an E-mail Savvy Organization***
What is a vehicle that will facilitate greater and greater engagement of stakeholders? How can each stakeholder be spoken to as an individual but managed as a part of a group? However ordinary it might be, e-mail is a killer application. It is person-to-person communication that breaks down barriers. Consider this:
E-mail savvy organizations understand the potential of this mode of communication. Here are some tips.
- More and more people have Internet access. Everyone on the Internet knows how to access e-mail.
- Individuals visit far fewer websites than they get e-mail messages.
- People treat e-mail messages as To Do items, but often forget bookmarks.
- E-mail can be very personal.
- Invite stakeholders (donors, volunteers, activists, students, and others) to share their e-mail addresses with you. Collect addresses by phone, during face-to-face meetings, by mail, and through your website. When stakeholders offer you an e-mail address, they are giving you �permission� to correspond.
- Consider publishing short e-mail newsletters or updates. You build relationships by keeping people informed. Beyond the obvious advantage of low cost, e-mail news has a second advantage�timeliness of information. Tailor your content to your audience, so it serves as a resource.
- Survey stakeholders. Part of relationship building is learning more about individuals. Discover their interests and their preferences, and allow them to shape the nature of the ongoing communication.
- Raise money through e-mail by getting your donors online. Fundraising is a combination of relationship building and asking. For example, use e-mail to aid your direct mail campaign. Collect e-mail addresses on your response cards. Then send a welcome e-mail and your e-newsletter. You�ll be reminding donors regularly of your good work.
- Publicize your e-mail address on all print publications.
***Low-end Hardware Update***
AlphaSmart Dana
In previous editions, we�ve written about the AlphaSmart products as a low-cost alternative to desk-top or lap-top computers for students who want to practice keyboarding and writing. A number of affiliates use them in their programs; some loan them out for student use at home.
AlphaSmart just announced a new product called the Dana. Basically, this is an AlphaSmart with a slightly larger screen than the Palm. It runs on the Palm Operating System. In simple terms, it is a hybrid of the AlphaSmart and the Palm Pilot. This means that in addition to doing the usual things with the AlphaSmart, you will have access to the more than 10,000 applications that operate on the Palm. It comes with a full-size keyboard, Alpha-Word (the word processing program that is fully compatible with Microsoft Word), and built-in utilities like a calendar, date-book, and To-Do list. These utilities may help students who need help with organizing skills. To see the thousands of applications available for the Palm, including those directed to educators, visit the website at www.palm.com.
AlphaSmart, Inc. - www.alphasmart.com
ReadingPen II
The ReadingPen II is a portable assistive reading tool to help students who have limited literacy due to learning disabilities. It reads scanned words aloud via its text-to-speech technology.
When students come to an unrecognized or difficult word, they can scan the word or line of text, which is then displayed and read aloud through the built-in speaker. It also provides students with a definition of the scanned word, which can be read aloud, as well. In addition, students have the option of using earphones attached to the output socket for private listening. Individual words are enlarged on the LCD window, and can be spelled out or broken down into syllables. The tool also keeps a history of the last 80 words scanned. It is six inches in length and weighs three ounces. It contains the entire American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition.
WizCom Technologies - www.wizcomtech.com
***Software/Video News***
DraftBuilder
DraftBuilder is a tool that helps students organize notes for writing, learn the writing process, and create first drafts. Individuals enter main ideas, expand on them, and then complete the draft. They can see their notes in writing, as well as through an information mapping process using visual blocks. There is a built-in talking spell-checker that help students write with correct conventions. Cost is $149.
www.donjohnston.comUnderstanding Government
This is a series of videos that may help ESL students understand the government. The Road to the White House: How We Elect Our President explains the process step by step. Understanding Our Constitution is a series of four videos about the different branches of the government. Additionally, there are tapes titled Colonial Times, the Road to Revolution, Civil Rights, and more. Tapes are at the 4-8 grade level, and each comes with a teacher�s guide and reproducible materials. Cost per tape is about $50.
www.sunburst.comTwelve American Voices: An Authentic Listening and Integrated Skills Text
Designed for non-native speakers of English, Twelve American Voices presents a series of radio documentaries by award- winning producer David Isay. These stories were first broadcast on National Public Radio. They focus on diverse individuals living and working in America, from an immigrant Chinese restaurant owner in New York City to an African- American waitress who helped integrate a Southern lunch counter, to a retired couple who have become disk jockeys. Students listen to these stories with or without a transcript of the documentary. The student book includes exercises that encourage students to analyze the language in the stories and to respond in both oral and written form. Each book comes with a CD of the broadcasts. Also available are free instructor's manual and a cassette for language labs. For advanced students. Cost is $30.
www.yale.edu/yup/books/089600.htm
*** Internet Sites***
Although we�ve mentioned English for All before, we�d like to once again review this site. Developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District under the Cyberstep Project, this is a series of five stories on video broadcast. Every story focuses on one topic, such as getting a job or renting an apartment. Each story contains four video episodes. Each episode has learning objectives for development of English skills and development of life skills. After the video, there are related vocabulary lists and activities, comprehension lists and activities, life skills activities, and so on. All are on-line.
Advanced students may be able to use this site with minimal guidance. Intermediate students may need more assistance. Teachers/tutors may want to use this series as part of small group tutoring and can register their group name on the site. Students then individually register for their assigned group. All student work is saved and is password protected. There are teachers� guides available. Those of you with slower Internet connections may want to purchase the CD of videos for $28 plus shipping and handling. Students can watch an episode on CD and then go to the site to complete the related activities.
Preview the site at: www.myefa.org/login.cfm.
Tech21 is a new site focusing on adult education and technology. It is a collaboration of the National Center on Adult Literacy, in partnership with the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, Inc. (NAEPDC). This national project consists of technology labs in Philadelphia and Sacramento, a "hands-on" Demonstration Lab in Washington, D.C., seven adult education program-based field sites nationwide, and an Internet portal. According to its website, Tech21�s goals are to:
While this national collaboration is just getting started, the site is worth bookmarking for updates on what is happening.
- serve as a hands-on and virtual research-to-practice and dissemination system;
- bring together the most promising practices in the field through collaboration with direct service providers and online systems;
- develop state-of the-art technology learning environments that will enable learners and practitioners to access technology and to fully integrate it into their practice;
- implement and evaluate technology products and pool information collected through federally funded (and other) educational technology projects; and
- disseminate effective models to the field on a national scale through the project's Internet portal.
Visit the site at: www.tech21.org.
The Children's Partnership created Contentbank.org to spur the development of online content for and by low-income communities. It is for individuals and organizations that work with community technology at the local level. It provides links to sites that focus on education, health, housing, jobs, community technology resources, and Spanish content, and to sites for low-literacy users and those that address specific ethnic audiences. Its three major goals are to make quality content for underserved individuals easier to find, identify, and use; to make it easier for community-based organizations and the individuals they serve to create their own content; and to encourage both the public and private sector to develop useful content for low-income and underserved Americans.
A site map gives concrete examples of how to use Contentbank.org. Some of the online tools and resources include a Tech Library, a guide to technology resources in every community, and best practices of organizations that create local content.
PowerPointers is dedicated to helping individuals communicate more effectively. It offers tips on public speaking and building and planning a presentation. There are articles about making formal and informal presentations, dealing with a hostile audience, and fielding questions. There are also tips on using PowerPoint, including multimedia presentations.
Learning With Technology Profile Tool will help you to compare your current instructional practices with a set of indicators for engaged learning and high-performance technology. For each category, there is a description of the indicators and examples that fall along a continuum. This is a great tool for assessing how well you are integrating technology and instruction. Even if you are a beginner, indicators can give you some long-term goals. Although created for K-12 classrooms, it can easily be adapted for adult literacy programs.
www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm
Students can learn Checkbook Basics at this interactive site. Lessons include writing checks, making deposits, and reviewing statements.