Technology Integration

Computer Comfort in Three Easy Lessons?

Since I made the transition from teaching in the public secondary school to teaching in adult basic education, I've noticed that adult learners are not all that different from teens in several areas - they want education that is useful and relevant; they want it to be interesting and enjoyable; and they want education that is succinct because they have many demands on their time. We know, because of great leaps in research in the past two decades, that learners "learn" by "building information from the assistance that teachers provide" (Weaver, 1994). Students learn in this constructivist model because "by articulating ideas and experience through writing, speaking, and/or visually representing, students deepen their thinking and construct and organize their understanding of new material" (Gill & Dupree, p. 95). With this in mind, teachers can integrate several layers of learning into teaching "computer comfort."

Let's look at Eduardo who is an English-as-a-second language learner. He's working on English spelling and syntax, improving reading fluency and comprehension, and he wants to learn some keyboarding and Internet basics because he often must order supplies online for his job and write short memos and reports to his boss. Eduardo's teacher can design lessons that encompass all of his objectives using an Internet-accessible computer.

The lesson design could look something like this:

Lesson 1 - become acquainted with the keyboard and mouse by typing words grouped into word families – e.g.: kit, sit, pit, bit, fit, etc. The word work reinforces spelling rules, while building memory for location of the keyboard letters and symbols. It's not important for the learner to focus on proper keyboarding - he can accomplish much with "two-finger" typing. Conduct a simple Internet search on a topic of the learner's choosing using a user-friendly Web browser such as Yahoo! or America On-line.The learner then reads the information he has found during his search, and the teacher can focus on vocabulary building and comprehension assessment before, during, and after the reading.

Lesson 2 - reinforce keyboard familiarity with more typing practice using word families. Extend this exercise to include typing sentences using the word family lists. Have the learner read his sentences aloud to self-check for syntactical and stylistic errors. Discuss and re-teach as necessary. Introduce the spell check and/or grammar check features of the word processing system. Conduct another Internet search of the learner's choosing. This would be a good time to discuss reliability of Internet sources: typically those associated with universities or research facilities are reliable, while those associated with commercial endeavors are not always so. The learner will read selected passages from his search, while the teacher assesses comprehension, including vocabulary building.

Lesson 3 - reinforce keyboard familiarity with more typing practice using word families and sentence building. Extend this exercise by asking the learner to type a short memo to his boss using a template that the teacher has designed. Use the learner's own writing as a springboard for discussion of style, tone, syntax, and spelling. Encourage the learner to use word processing tools such as spell check or grammar check, and to read his writing aloud to hear mistakes. Print a corrected copy of the learner's memo and celebrate success! Search the Internet and read selected passages of the learner's choosing. Assess comprehension.

Depending on your learner's ability to practice new skills between lessons, he may be ready for some independent Web-browsing and first draft writing of memos or letters by the end of the third lesson. Let your learner lead you in the direction he wants to go. He is much more likely to stay engaged in his learning tasks when he sees relevance and enjoys the tasks.

Through these simple lessons, you've reinforced previous learning, introduced new material, and you've given your learner the tools to construct this material into meaningful and useful knowledge upon which he can continue to build.

Gill, S., & Dupree, K. (1998). Constructivism in reading education. The Reading Professor, 21 (1), 91-108.

Weaver, C. (1994). Reading processes and practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Tammy Allen is a certified teacher of English, reading and speech for grades 6-12 in TX. She is pursuing a master's degree in reading from the University of Texas at Tyler and has completed 21 hours. Currently, she is an instructor at the East Texas Literacy Council, specializing in learning differences.