Adult learners with low literacy skills compose a highly heterogeneous population in terms of demographic variables, educational backgrounds, knowledge and skills in reading, self-efficacy, motivation etc. They also face various difficulties in consistently attending offline literacy programs, such as unstable worktime, transportation…

A research study on the use of technology on Australian literacy programs for adults is reported. Questions were directed to administrators (e.g., objectives, outcomes) teachers (e.g., appropriateness, flexibility, portability), and adult learners (e.g., expectations, needs, feedback). The resulting rating scales were used for specific…

Describes an Australian national study of technologies used for adult literacy: traditional technologies (print, radio, television, audio and videotape, teleconferencing, and computers) and new generation technologies (laser discs, CD-ROM, videodiscs, and hypermedia). (SK)

Describes training and adult education resources available from ERIC: "Applications of an Adult Motivational Instructional Design Model"; "Visual and Digital Technologies for Adult Learning"; "Applications of Computer-Aided Instruction in Adult Education and Literacy"; and "The San Diego CWELL Project. Report of…

These participant materials are from a videoconference that addressed the needs of adult literacy program administrators, instructors, and tutors beginning or continuing the technology implementation process. Section I contains the videoconference materials: agenda; videoconference evaluation form; biographical and program information; executive…

The many advantages claimed for using the computer in adult literacy instruction--privacy, immediate feedback, individualization, control, and flexibility--have also been observed in the practice of dedicated teachers, without the help of computers. Fortunately, many scholars still emphasize the need for teacher sensitivity and teacher-student…

Presents an overview of educational technology studies conducted by the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, including a 1988 study of computers in schools; a 1989 study on distance learning; a 1991 study of testing and assessment; and a recent report on the ramifications for adult literacy. (Contains eight references.) (LRW)

Many adult basic education and literacy programs are reaping the benefits of educational technology for their students, instructors, and administrators. In this context, most often the term refers to computer-assisted instruction that supplements regular classroom instruction. In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Technology for Literacy Center uses…

Effective technology empowers learners and helps them assume responsibility for their own learning. Characteristics of effective instructional technology should guide the development of computer software and other types of technology. Software should provide for interaction since adults learn through active engagement. Feedback should be…

This article gives a brief overview of issues in adult literacy; an assessment of workplace literacy; and components, concepts, and steps of the NASA Adult Literacy Evaluator project. The Adult Literacy Evaluator project applies NASA's technical experience to the problem of adult literacy and workplace literacy by finding ways to use interactive…

This document chronicles some of the innovative uses of technology in the adult basic education and literacy field and the creative and cooperative efforts of local service providers to increase the instructional resources for learners. In 1-2 page profiles, it provides information about how the 50 states and the District of Columbia are using…

This proceedings contains 23 papers in French and the following 45 papers in English: "Arthur Lismer" (Barer-Stein); "Bootstrapping and Shoestringing to Academic Respectability" (Baskett); "Teaching by Teleconference" (Boak, Kirby); "Doing What Is Possible" (Butterwick); "Connections between Individual…

Current efforts to improve literacy teaching and learning are directed at replacing task-oriented approaches to teaching isolated skills with an integrated language arts curriculum, focusing on the cognitive and social processes the learner engages in to write. This new approach requires fundamental changes in the classroom, and computer-based…

This document provides advance information on the symposia, workshops, and presentations of a conference the purpose of which was to teach about new techniques and methodologies for applying technology as a solution to adult illiteracy. Brief summaries are provided of the content of the symposia, workshops, and presentations. Representative topics…

Compares a multimedia adult literacy instructional course, Reading to Educate and Develop Yourself (READY), to traditional classroom instruction by studying effects of replacing conventional learning tools with computer-assisted instruction (CD-ROMs and audio software). Results reveal that READY surpassed traditional instruction for virtually…