Courseware for teaching survival sight vocabulary and reading skills by computer to nonreading adults was developed using principles of adult learning. Non-English speaking immigrants in Western Australia used the modules cooperatively and were interviewed to determine their reactions to the approach. (SK)

Discusses the use of interactive multimedia as an effective learning environment for adults with poor reading skills. Guidelines for designing basic skills and technical training multimedia programs are suggested, including simple computer navigation, the careful use of text, and appropriate audio and visual aids. (LRW)

A project in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, investigated whether the use of computers along with Laubach literacy materials could significantly raise the reading level of adults presently reading at the 0-4 grade levels. Adults in a control and an experimental group (15 in each) worked one-on-one with volunteer tutors using the "Laubach Way to…

The Penn State Adult Literacy Courseware project uses a "whole word" approach with some word-building activities in teaching 1,000 high frequency and functional words to adult beginning readers whose children participate in Chapter I programs. The aim of the project is to counteract the intergenerational effects of illiteracy. The…

The effectiveness of using computer courseware developed for adults reading below the fourth-grade level was investigated with inmates at Rockview State Correctional Institution. Data were collected both to establish multiple baseline data and to permit experimental group comparison with a control group. The multiple baselines portion of the study…

This annotated bibliography reviews 41 pieces of educational software that are marketed for use in basic reading and conversational English programs. A variety of educational games, drill and practice programs, tutorials, problem-solving programs, and utility and authoring systems is included. Reading, math, writing, vocabulary, grammar, spelling,…

This project was undertaken by a public library to assess and address the continuing literacy needs of the local county's population. Comparison of the results of pre- and post-grant surveys conducted to determine the level of the residents' awareness of the problems of illiteracy showed an increase from 60% to 81% in the number who knew about the…

Promotes the development of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs as a way of educating illiterate parents and nonreading adults in general. Notes several programs of this nature already in operation around the nation. Describes some nonthreatening courseware that is being used to recruit more adults into such programs. (TW)

Growing interest in adult literacy has encouraged research and innovative programming in the field. This paper examines several pieces of software created by the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy at Pennsylvania State University and explains their underlying conceptual foundations and the integration of visual materials. The Penn State…

The feasibility of using technology as an instructional strategy to help adult students make the transition from volunteer literacy programs to adult basic education classes was assessed. The following benefits of technology as an instructional strategy were examined: privacy, individualization, achievement gains, cost-effectiveness, control of…

This curriculum offers an eclectic, multisensorial, holistic, and flexible approach to reading. Sections I and II are an introduction and information on using the curriculum. Section III offers strategies for working with adults. Section IV describes means of formal and informal assessment of the learner. Section V presents an overview of ways…

This resource booklet was prepared to assist literacy projects and community adult education programs in determining the technology they need to serve more older persons. Section 1 contains the following reprinted articles: "The Human Touch in the Computer Age: Seniors Learn Computer Skills from Schoolkids" (Suzanne Kashuba);…

The Power Learning Project was a pilot test of the potential of home-based computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for adults with intermediate reading skills and adult nonnative speakers of English. Project development was made possible by a partnership involving public, private, and community-based organizations in Philadelphia. Online services were…

The Vermont Institute for Self Reliance (VISR) conducted a Basic Educational Skills for Training (BEST) program, a national demonstration project in workplace literacy, from April 1990 to March 1992. BEST provided learner-centered, context-based literacy instruction onsite, on company time, at two General Electric (GE) Aircraft Engines Rutland…