Using Computers as Tools for Reducing Adult Illiteracy

Using Computers as Tools For Reducing Adult Illiteracy by RICHARD J. LAVIN, Executive Director and JEAN E. SANDERS, Senior Associate Director Merrimack Education Center, Chelmsford, Mass. There is more adult illiteracy in the United States today than ever before. The number of illiterate adults now equals our total population in U.S. secondary schools. Harris polls and other national surveys indicate that an estimated 50 million adults are illiterate and another 39 million read with considerable difficulty. Recognizing that people are our country's most precious resource for the future, government and private industry are beginning to devote more attention to adult education. Beginning in 1983, the federal government established the National Literacy Initiative, the National Adult Literacy Project and the Coalition for Literacy. Private industy formed the Business Council for Effective Literacy (BCEL) and the Gannett Foundation began providing support for a national adult literacy/technology program. The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program is the nation's single largest literacy project today, with an enrollment of 3.1 million people in 1986, up from 2.5 million in 1984. Many states have implemented their own projects, such as the Commonwealth Literacy Corps established in Massachusetts in 1987. In additon, the Massachusetts Department of Education (MDE) and the Merrimack Education Center MEC's Lighthouse/Technology Project. However, despite all these efforts, resources continue to be less than adequate in meeting in challenge of widespread adult illiteracy. In Massachusetts, adult education programs serve only 3 percent of those adults who have not completed high school. Only 32,500 out of 1.3 million adults who qualify for ABE are being served by these programs. Many factors contribute to current difficulties with adult literacy projects. Characteristic problems include the following: Most potential adult learners have critical issues affecting their lives, including econimic deprivation, learning disabilities, family crises and unemployment or under-employment. Adult learners have many demands upon their time, so finding time for study is often difficult. Many adults refuse to acknowledge their illiteracy and therefore don't seek help due to fear of being shamed or exposed Many adult students have fears and insecurities about learning as a direct result of past learning experiences. They often believe they are incapable of learning. There is approximately one teacher of every 50 students in the current service delivery system. Four out of five teachers are part-time. Although most of those are certified, many are not trained in working with adult populations. Most learning centers operate with a system of individualized educational plans for each student. Students work independently, and there is little or no peer support. These problems indicate that it's time to take a new look at adult learning programs if we are to reach more students and help those we do reach to succeed. However, studies suggest that we need to do more than simply provide additional financing or more programs. We need to examine new methods to improve adult education. One powerful new method is the integration of modern technology, especially computers. If we integrate technology successfully into adult literacy programs, we can simulataneously teach marketable skills. Redefining Adult Learning Requirements Adult illiterates used to be defined as people who couldn't achieve at least a fourth-grade reading level. In today's technological age, most experts agree that the minimum standard should be at least a 12th-grade reading level. However, teaching reading skills is no longer enough; we must explore new methods of employing technology to teach thinking skills. For, as the general population becomes more technologically oriented, the learning gap broadens. …