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ESL Teachers Direct English For All Improvements
On June 25th, 2003
nearly a dozen ESL teachers from throughout California gathered
in the Board Room at the Sacramento County Office of Education
to discuss the English For All Web
site and videos. The discussion focused on identifying which features
of the site were most valuable
and which potential upgrades were most desired.
According to the
participants, the most valuable current features were the availability
of the video segments on VHS, the learning
activities based on the videos, and the printable teacher guides.
The group had lots of ideas about how to improve the site. Among
the most popular were adding more learning activities in a format
that could be edited and printed, and a place for teachers to find
and post activities and learning materials created by other teachers.
Other ideas included adding a 'Last episode completed' column
to the student record summary table and adding a function to send
a message to all students at once.
Because there was strong sentiment
for adding more learning activities, participants were asked to
identify the types of activities they
would most like to see added to EFA. By far the top vote-getter
was focused listening. Tied for second place were cloze exercises,
community
activity suggestions and Web searches, closely followed by comprehension
questions.
In addition to content ideas, several suggestions were
made for streamlining navigation and functionality. Quite a few
teachers
applauded the
idea of providing a way to delete students in batches.
"It's great to get so many wonderful ideas directly from
our users," said
Andrea Willis, project manager. "Unfortunately, in the current
budget environment, we won't be able to realize all of them. We
are optimistic, however, that with some clever design work and
creative
programming, we can incorporate the most strongly-desired improvements
and additions."
Check back in coming weeks for updates on our
progress!
The Study Place Makes It Big in Kansas!
In an inner city section of Wichita there's an old school building
known simply as 'Dunbar.' Dunbar has become the unlikely Mecca for
several hundred very successful Study Place adult learners. The
driving force behind this local educational technology explosion
is one Charles E. Thornhill. But Thornhill is not the techno-wizard
you might imagine. On the contrary, he's a retired college professor
and RV salesman who sometimes has trouble figuring out how to use
the school's phone system. Nonetheless, it was Thornhill who walked
away from a CASAS meeting in San Diego two years ago bubbling over
with enthusiasm for the newly launched Study
Place Web site. Today, some 500 Dunbar adult learners are voluntarily
completing dozens of assignments every day using The Study Place.
"The first time I saw The Study Place, I knew how important
it was for adult education," said Thornhill. "When I first
tried it, I created a mock lesson and class just to learn how to
use it. It turned out to be just as easy as they claimed. It's easy
for the students, too. While there are other learning Web sites
with good material, many of them would be too difficult for my ESL
students to access. I direct my students to other sites like libraries
and job banks from The Study Place because they are able to understand
and use The Study Place. The students feel comfortable and safe
using The Study Place; it allows them to feel successful right away."
Dunbar teachers Harold Smith, Pam Schrag and Sue Wilkey have joined Thornhill
in using The Study Place to create multiple choice quizzes, reading
assignments and essays to teach subjects that range from physics
to grammar. "I sneak into my wife Shirley's classroom and swipe
the essay questions she uses in her class," confessed Thornhill.
"Students can practice essays and do multiple choice or true
false quizzes online. I print them out and drop them in their teacher's
box the next morning. Of course, the essays can be read online,
too. Other activities are scored automatically and the teacher can
see the results instantly."
The 'any time, any place' learning made possible by The Study Place
is a boon for learner and instructor alike. Thornhill is sure that
it was The Study Place that made it possible for students to work
around the many other demands for their time and attention in order
to complete their GED. Katrina Miller expressed the views of many
learners: "I think The Study Place is really cool. You can
look up information and do all kinds of things on it. You can choose
whatever you want to do. I've never really done anything on a computer
before, but The Study Place is not complicated or hard to do. It's
easy to get to what you want." Katrina was able to graduate
thanks to the flexibility of The Study Place. "I have gotten
online at 1:30 am Monday morning and reviewed work submitted at
11:30 p.m. on Sunday night," added Thornhill. "Maybe it's
a passion or even an obsession, but I find it's just plain fun to
see the students learn and be so positive about their learning experience.
We document students' use of The Study Place to show that they have
fulfilled Kansas competency requirements for technology. I've asked
the students to rate The Study Place, and on a scale of 1 to 10,
with ten the best, it's always a '10'! Every teacher should try
The Study Place; it's a national treasure!"
Cyberstep Explores Use of New Internet Computers
A cheaper, simpler, and easier-to-use device to access the Internet
has been the Holy Grail of hi-tech hardware developers ever since
the appearance of WebTV several years ago. With a dozen new contenders
on the market, it was time to find out if it had been found. In
January of 2002, the Cyberstep partners completed a pilot study
to evaluate teachers' and adult learners' experience with the New
Internet Computer, one of the most promising of the new generation
of 'Internet Appliances.'
The New Internet Computer (NIC) consists of separate processor,
speakers, monitor, mouse and keyboard, and appears similar to a
conventional computer system. The NIC can be connected to a printer,
but there is a limited selection of compatible printers. Like all
Internet appliances, it has no means of saving files or installing
additional software. Its CD-ROM drive must be used to operate it,
and cannot be used for additional software or files. It uses the
Linux operating system and Netscape 4.76 is the browser.
The study was a pilot test focused on a relatively small group
of teachers (5) and learners (33) who would be typical of those
likely to try and use Cyberstep products. Teachers participating
in the study were interviewed individually by telephone, and a group
of learners participated in a structured focus group discussion.
What did we learn? In general, the NIC was seen as a simpler and
cost-effective alternative means of Internet access compared to
a full computer system. While well-liked for what it could do, its
limitations were also noted. The NIC was seen as an appropriate
'steppingstone' toward use of more sophisticated technology for
learning. Its lower cost and greater simplicity clearly extend the
opportunities for using technology as a learning tool. Those who
are familiar with full computer systems, however, will definitely
miss their capabilities when using the NIC (or any Internet appliance).
Disk storage for additional software and personal files was the
most frequently missed feature.
The study also confirmed what should by now be common wisdom: good
training and technical support is vital to the successful adoption
of technology. Most of the technical problems encountered by teachers
and learners were minor and easily corrected by knowledgeable users
or technicians.
Learners were enthusiastic about using the latest technology to
learn. The simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the Internet appliance
were appreciated by both teachers and learners alike. However, the
appliance's limited capabilities became a frustration as users became
more knowledgeable and demanding. Quality training before deployment
and quality support after are critical to the long-term success
of any educational technology. As technology continues to evolve,
we must continue to seek out tools that are the easiest for neophytes
to use, are the easiest to install and configure, and provide the
most capability at the lowest cost. In today's world of constantly
and rapidly changing technology, separating the wheat from the chaff
is likely to remain a continuing challenge.
English For All Web Site Upgraded
 Cyberstep's
popular English For All (EFA) Web
site is now even easier to use thanks to streamlined navigation
and other technical improvements. The site is part of the recently
developed multimedia learning system created expressly for adults
who want to learn English. The program includes five compelling,
real-life stories in twenty, fifteen-minute episodes. Each episode
features a multi-ethnic cast and a friendly Wizard, who explains
language and skill content throughout each story. The content is
based on the California ESL standards and skill areas identified
in the Latino
Adult Education Services Project and is correlated to CASAS
and SCANS competencies.
The English for All Web site features interactive student
activities, streaming video (for broadband connections), 'Flash'-based
audio, and a course management system for teachers to track student
progress. Print materials are available in Portable Document Format
(PDF) and are freely downloadable from the Web site. To accommodate
speakers of other languages, there is a link to an online translator
with translation capabilities for sixteen languages.
Users with a high-speed, broadband Internet connection can watch
the videos while using the English For All site, as part
of the integrated multimedia learning system. For those with slower
connections (less than a sustained T1 line), the English For
All CD-ROM works automatically with the Web site to provide
fast, high-quality video. Click
here for ordering information.
The Study Place Now Online
Now online, thestudyplace.org
shares most of the features found on the CD-ROM authoring tool.
But because it is on the Internet, teachers can also find and modify
ready-made activities, lessons and even entire courses created by
teachers around the world. Lessons in The Study Place archives can
be found using a search based on theme, subject, difficulty and
activity type. In addition, teachers can create class home pages
using simple forms to make assignments and communicate to students
online.
Teachers are guided step-by-step to create original lessons using
simple forms. Course management features allow teachers to organize
activities into lessons and entire courses, enroll students in classes,
track student work and review portfolios. Like the CD-ROM, the resource
section provides immediate access to successful adult learning strategies
and frameworks as well as the CASAS, SCANS and EFF competencies.
Fully animated quick tours for students and teachers are an easy
and fun way to learn about The Study Place features and how to use
them.
Read TV News Brings Adult Literacy Services
Online
While
many adults may have poor reading skills, that doesn't mean they
have poor life skills or that they aren't interested in world or
local events. Moreover, research has shown that adults learn best
when the learning is practical and relevant to real life issues
and experiences. Read TV News is a Cyberstep product developed
to provide adults with a tool to improve reading and other skills
in a way that is meaningful and motivational for them by building
curriculum around actual TV news stories.
The 50 television news stories featured in Read TV News
were gleaned from the archives of News10 in Sacramento, California.
The stories relate to one of ten major life domains identified in
the Social Services Matrix and have an interest that is not limited
to a specific time or place. Along with the broadcast video of the
story, there is a copy of the original script as well as a simplified
version to assist low-level readers. Each story is accompanied by
six learning activities to reinforce and assess learning: flash
cards, a multiple choice quiz, a spelling bee, a crossword puzzle,
concentration, and writing in response to a question and photo related
to the news story.
Teachers can enroll students in a class and monitor their performance
online. Students can be enrolled in a class or visit the site as
independent learners. Visit
Read TV News to see for yourself how easy it is to use!
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