Here are some links to audio/visual content that we like to use with adult literacy learners. Of course there is lots more out there. If you find a great resource, let us know and we will add it to this list.
At TechEase - etc.usf.edu/te_win/index.html - you can find answers to tech related questions.
In April 2009, I facilitated a workshop for practitioners about online learning using some of the resources below. It included some lessons that had been originally developed in Moodle and delivered as AlphaRoute online courses. You can see a copy of the workshop here - literacylearningonline.blogspot.com. The original workshop blog is here: tdsbliteracy.blogspot.com.
AlphaRoute - an online learning environment made in Ontario.
You have to sign learners up. Go to AlphaPlus to find out how - www.resources.alpharoute.org/
AlphaRoute is no longer being updated and maintained but many of the resources and links still work well. You can test out some of the resources here - http://199.71.28.160/
Exemplary Literacy Material Online Reviews by Literacy BC - an online database of adult and family literacy resources and reviews - www.elmoreviews.ca
Learning Links - connecting websites and multimedia activities to learning - www2.recitfga.qc.ca/learninglinks
GED - websites for people studying for GED or other academic upgrading - jfynetworks.edublogs.org
Webwise - basic computer and the internet tutorials from the BBC - www.bbc.co.uk/webwise
Skillswise - more basic skills from the BBC - www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise
Simple English Wikipedia - We only use simple English words and grammar here. The Simple English Wikipedia is for everyone! That includes children and adults who are learning English - simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia
Commoncraft how-to videos (online learning and networking made simple – the ___ in Plain English Videos are fantastic!) - www.commoncraft.com
Howcast - how-to videos (many topics) - www.howcast.com
MonkeySee - more how-to videos - www.monkeysee.com
Sclipo has one of the world's largest libraries of educational content created by thousands of member Academies. Learn, teach and meet people that share your educational interests such as Technology, Nutrition, Wellness or Business - sclipo.com/home
World News from the BBC - easy to read news and information from the BBC world news service - www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
Simple English News - covers a variety of topics, includes audio and vocabulary - www.simpleenglishnews.com
Project Care - mostly geared to high-intermediate ESL students. It provides some case studies, multimedia (vocabulary and authentic listening practice) and projects on such topics as Depression, Alzheimer's Disease, Death and Dying. - projectcare.worlded.org.
Cartoons for the Classroom presented by Newspapers in Education Online and the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists - daily editorial cartoons with lesson plans plus information about cartooning and cartoonists - nieonline.com/aaec/cftc.cfm
ESL Lessons at the CBC (I have heard that the activities do not work well but the videos are okay - Canadian Content!) - www.cbc.ca/ottawa/esl/
LingQ is another ESL site that literacy students may find useful and fun. You can learn a new language or you can practice reading and vocabulary in English. You can listen and read along with stories on a variety of topics and build your own list of words you want to practice. You have to register and there is a fee for some things but you can access quite a bit of content for free. - www.lingq.com/
Of course there is a lot of content on the CBC especially at
Documentaries - www.cbc.ca/documentaries/
and the Digital Archives - archives.cbc.ca
At the National Film Board site you can watch full-length NFB documentaries, animations and dramas online - beta.nfb.ca/
The Learning Edge - www.thewclc.ca/edge
the Northern Edge - www.nwt.literacy.ca/resources/northernedge/edge.htm
and the Learning Beacon - www.ns.literacy.ca/TheLearningBeacon/index.html
Native Drums - nativedrums.ca
Four Directions Teachings - www.fourdirectionsteachings.com
Audio of poets reading poems at Poets.org - www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/361
Or at the PoetryFoundation - www.poetryfoundation.org/journal/audio.html
Links to Stories by Learners - www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz/Stories+by+Learners/#
Media That Matters - www.mediathatmattersfest.org
Bristol Stories - www.bristolstories.org
Stories for Change - storiesforchange.net
The Center for Digital Storytelling - www.storycenter.org/stories
The Organic City - www.theorganiccity.com/wordpress
StoryCorps - www.storycorps.net/listen
Six Word Memoirs at Smith Magazine - www.smithmag.net/sixwords
examples of literacy student 6-word memoirs here: alphastory.blogspot.com/2008/02/6-word-memoirs.html
Frankenstory stories are collaborative. You only get 40 words. You write the first part of a story. You send it on to your friend but they can only see the last few words you wrote. They write the next part in 40 words, send it back to you and you are done. - frankenstory.com
Alan Watts Theatre - the ideas of Alan Watts animated by the South Park guys at www.freshminds.com
Today's Document presented by the National Archives (US)- daily articles related to this day in (mostly US) history with lesson plans and related articles - www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc
And of course there is YouTube - www.youtube.com
and 70 signs of 'intelligent' life at YouTube from OpenCulture - www.oculture.com
Many school boards block YouTube so students at school board programs cannot see the videos. Some do not block TeacherTube.
Teacher Tube is here: www.teachertube.com/index.php
And a CommonCraft article about TeacherTube is here: www.commoncraft.com/teachertube-educators-workaround-online-video
You can find more ways to use You Tube videos if they are blocked at your work here.
If you want to make your own content:
Squidoo is a "publishing platform and community that makes it easy for you to create "lenses" online. Lenses are pages, kind of like flyers or signposts or overview articles, that gather everything you know about your topic of interest--and snap it all into focus." - www.squidoo.com.
At Mixwit - www.mixwit.com - you can make mixed tapes online. And at the blog of proximal development you can see how Konrad uses this technology to inspire students to reflect on reading. Mixwit is gone but there is Mixtape - mixtape.me and MyFlashFetish - www.myflashfetish.com.
At xtranormal - www.xtranormal.com - you can turn text into cartoons (PoMo Cloze).
At jottit - jottit.com - you can create and edit text online. It is kind of a miniwiki. (defined).
At jing - www.jingproject.com - you can download software that instantly captures and shares images and video from your computer to anywhere. It is a great way to create instruction videos.
At chatzy - www.chatzy.com - you can create an easy to use chatrooms with 1 click that are deleted when you are finished chatting.
At enjoysthings - enjoysthin.gs - you can start an easy-to-use social network by saving and sharing things that you enjoy as you roam the internet.
At Jott - jott.com - you can call a phone number and they will capture your voice, turn it into text, and send it to the destination you chose (email, twitter, your to do list...).
Plinky - www.plinky.com - makes it easy for you to create inspired content. Every day they provide a prompt (i.e. a question or challenge) and you answer. They make it simple to add rich media and share your answers on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.
Here are 50+ web tools you can use to create your own web-based story: http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools
And for more lists...
Larry Ferlazzo makes “The Best…” lists where he highlights what he thinks are the best educational websites each year. He updates each list in an ongoing way. I have not explored every link but have found some pretty interesting stuff there that I am anxious to try out. You can find the lists on Larry's blog.
And when you are all done - My AwardMaker is a free, quick and easy site to print out certificates for all types of activities: sports, school, business, etc - www.myawardmaker.com
Links working on April 29, 2009