AlphaRoute resources

AlphaRoute has come a long way since its inception in 1996 as a small Ontario pilot study on the feasibility of using online learning in adult literacy programs. Funding, received annually from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) and the National Literacy Secretariat (NLS), has always included a research component, which has informed and guided AlphaRoute development over the years. Please click on any of the topics below to find out more about the history of AlphaRoute:

Distance delivery
Student feedback
Program use
Site and content development

If you are interested in current AlphaPlus Centre e-learning initiatives, go to AlphaPlus. If you are interested in knowing more about AlphaRoute or the organizations that contributed to AlphaRoute development, go to About AlphaRoute or Acknowledgements.

Distance delivery

From its conceptualization, AlphaRoute was intended to be used as an adult literacy instruction distance delivery tool, and below is how that has been accomplished:

1998-1999 – AlphaRoute was piloted as a distance delivery tool in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, and this pilot informed AlphaRoute (Phase 2): A Research Report. This report found that key distance delivery supports identified by adult literacy students were Web site design, practitioner support, technical help, on-site support, and interaction with other students.

2000-2001 – Distance piloting was conducted at the agency level in partnership with Contact North/Contact Nord. The objective was to make literacy training available to adults who did not live in a community with an established Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) delivery agency and to observe and report on this effort. The goals were to determine:

The ability of adult literacy students to make progress in literacy learning through a distance delivery model
How rural and remote literacy communities could adapt materials and provide support to adult literacy students at a distance

The December 2001 Using AlphaRoute in rural Northern Ontario communities not served by Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) delivery agencies: Final Report which stemmed from this distance piloting showed clear evidence that adult literacy students are able to demonstrate literacy progress in this distance delivery model. The report also looked at the cost-benefit relationship associated with sustaining distance delivery of an LBS program through AlphaRoute, and at the infrastructure and support required for Contact North/Contact Nord and LBS agencies to work together to deliver AlphaRoute to remote Ontario communities. Also as a result of the pilot, strategies were developed for distance delivery recruitment and retention and for communication for distance delivery using AlphaRoute.

2003-2005 – Four distance delivery sites in Ontario were selected in order to explore using distance delivery models including AlphaRoute in their programs. Research questions included:

Can distance learning maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of literacy programs?
What are the essential elements needed to support adult literacy students, staff, and agencies in delivering a viable distance delivery model?
How can a viable distance delivery model of literacy programs be implemented and sustained?

Crossing the Great Divides: Distance learning and flexible delivery in Adult Basic Education is the report stemming from this research.

Student feedback

Student reflection and feedback on their experiences using AlphaRoute includes:

1998-1999 – AlphaRoute wanted to find out at what stage of their learning can literacy students begin to be independent in an online environment, and what supports do they need in order to do so? The AlphaRoute (Phase 2): A Research Report resulting from this study found that:

Student comments throughout the report indicated that across all levels adult literacy students were able to attain a certain level of independence online – independence understood within the wider frame of student control
Adult literacy students perceive benefits from online learning in many ways, including increases in literacy and computer skills, in their understanding of how they learn, and in their positive feelings about learning

2002-2003 – The research study What difference does it make? Literacy learners perspectives on Web-based learning with AlphaRoute, funded by the Office of Learning Technologies (OLT), explored what adult literacy students think about learning online using AlphaRoute. Adult literacy students were asked to reflect on their experiences with AlphaRoute and to share their opinions on whether using AlphaRoute had made a difference in their learning, and if so, how. Generally, users reported AlphaRoute helped them to build literacy and technology skills and to be more comfortable using computers and the Internet. Adult literacy students also said AlphaRoute increased their access to information and enhanced their sense of directing their own learning.

Program use

Over the years, program use of AlphaRoute has been measured as follows:

2000-2001 – The September 2000 launch of Francophone and Anglophone AlphaRoute, and the February to April 2001 site pilots of program delivery in six LBS agencies in Ontario (Thunder Bay Literacy Group, Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Learning Centre for Georgina, Dryden Literacy Association, Kingston Read Write Centre, and J’aime apprendre Inc. in Cornwall) prompted the following questions:

How does using AlphaRoute affect LBS services and clients?
What tools, systems, and processes are needed to offer AlphaRoute as an enhanced or alternative mode of delivery?
How does AlphaRoute enhance the skills of adult literacy students with different goals and how can this be evidenced?
How can an agency document LBS activity in an AlphaRoute environment?

Adult literacy students, instructors, and tutors agreed AlphaRoute was a valuable tool to encourage learning, a tool that had important potential for use in LBS agencies. Results from the launch and pilots included valuable recommendations for improving the AlphaRoute environment, such as varying levels of student support, improvements to AlphaRoute design and content, and various technical considerations. Results also suggested the need for a strategic implementation plan outlining the various modes of AlphaRoute delivery and addressing possible barriers to participation.

For more information on these research reports, please Contact us.

2001-2002 – In fall 2001, two new AlphaRoute environments were officially launched to the Deaf and Native literacy communities in Ontario. From then to March 2002, three LBS agencies piloted AlphaRoute for the Native community in Ontario: Nokee Kwe Occupational Skill Development Inc. – Native Literacy Initiatives Program, London; Sioux Hudson Literacy Council, Sioux Lookout; and Peterborough Native Learning Program, Peterborough. From January to April 2002, one LBS agency piloted AlphaRoute for the Deaf community in Ontario: Durham Deaf Services – Literacy Program for Deaf Learners, Oshawa.

AlphaPlus Field Consultants for the Deaf and Native streams served as AlphaRoute practitioners, working with adult literacy students online throughout the pilot phase. Pilot sites provided on-site support for adult literacy students and were asked to explore a number of questions, including the following:

Did AlphaRoute specifically enhance the skills of adult literacy students who have different goals?
Is there evidence AlphaRoute facilitates adult literacy student achievement and success?
How can an agency document LBS activity in an AlphaRoute environment?
Did student levels of computer knowledge affect usage of AlphaRoute?
Which activities, features, and functions worked well and which did not?

Recommendations resulting from the piloting with the Native community were to:

Add more content that teaches about Native culture and contemporary issues
Expand content to include the domains of Communication and Numeracy
Expand upon the cultural diversity of content to reflect the range of First Nation cultures, including Mohawk, Cree, and Métis
Link to the Anglophone environment to accommodate student choice in culture-based focus

Resulting from the Deaf community piloting were recommendations to revise the activities and site interface before giving full access to this community. It was also found that:

Adult literacy students require one-to-one or one-to-two person support initially, and that on-site support was critical
High-speed Internet connection was essential
The bulk of learning activities should be developed for LBS levels 1 and 2

Reports were sent to the MTCU and to AlphaPlus.

2002-2003 – AlphaPlus conducted online and phone surveys of Native, Francophone, and Anglophone agencies using AlphaRoute. Research focused on:

How are LBS programs using AlphaRoute?
What issues, challenges, and concerns are evident?
Which issues are related to program capacity, training, and interest in e-learning and which issues are related to the AlphaRoute environment itself?

Results were incorporated into Evaluation of AlphaRoute 2002-2003: Report on a survey of AlphaRoute use in Literacy and Basic Skills delivery agencies, which was prepared and sent to MTCU by AlphaPlus.

Site and content development

AlphaPlus staff and the AlphaRoute Coordinator gather information, collect ideas, and address concerns related to how the literacy field in Ontario is using AlphaRoute. Content developers, associated with literacy agencies and together with AlphaPlus, create online learning activities for AlphaRoute.

1996-1997 – In 1996, with funding from MTCU and NLS, the AlphaRoute project began with the question: Can a Web-based environment offer adult literacy students an opportunity for learning? The reaction to the first Web-based environment, a small number of Francophone and Anglophone online activities called Literacy On-line, was positive and led to continued development and funding for phase 2 of the project.

1997-1998 – Reseau INTERACTION Network (RIN) of Ottawa was contracted by a steering committee of the funders and AlphaPlus to develop Literacy On-line into an enhanced environment, called AlphaRoute, which used a village visual metaphor. RIN led further content development for the Francophone and Anglophone environments. Content development during this period was located within one area of AlphaRoute called the Resource Centre. Content development standards and templates were developed. Email, WebBoard discussion and chat features, and a learning management system were added.

1998-1999 – The AlphaRoute steering committee piloted AlphaRoute in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, and this pilot informed AlphaRoute (Phase 2): A Research Report. The results showed clear direction from adult literacy students and programs to continue developing content and the AlphaRoute environment.

2000-2001 – The AlphaRoute steering committee passed sole management of the AlphaRoute environment to AlphaPlus in August 2000. Content development continued in the Francophone and Anglophone environments, which were formally launched in September 2000. RIN continued to work on site and content development for the Deaf and the Native AlphaRoute environments, which were launched in 2001.

2002-2005 – The AlphaRoute Placement Tool (APT), an online assessment tool, was developed in 2002, piloted in 2003 with seven Anglophone LBS agencies, and was available for use by the Ontario literacy community in 2005.

2004-present – Additional interactive and dynamic content is being developed for AlphaRoute through partnerships with practitioners and private consultants in Adult Basic Education (ABE) communities across Canada, and AlphaPlus continues to manage AlphaRoute content development using a blended learning approach. For example, AlphaPlus content is now more purposely linked to other Web sites and print materials, such as Skills at Work.