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Below are resources for practitioners who have received AlphaRoute training to use with their adult literacy students. These resources are organized within the following topics:
Student orientation
AlphaRoute activities
Assessment
Blended learning
Online courses for adult literacy students
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Student orientation
The resources listed below are great guides for helping adult literacy students use AlphaRoute.
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Title: AlphaRoute Chat Room Rules
Date of publication: September 2005
Description: Explains to adult literacy students AlphaRoute Chat Room rules, etiquette, safety tips, and problem-reporting procedures.
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AlphaRoute activities
This resource maps out all activities according to where the activities are found in AlphaRoute.
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Title: AlphaRoute Activities Mapped
Date of publication: Updated April 10, 2007
Description: There are 681 learning activities within Deaf, Native, and Anglophone AlphaRoute. This resource maps out all activities according to where the activities are found in AlphaRoute. This document is 57 pages.
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Assessment
The resources listed below introduce and discuss student assessment resources available for use by AlphaRoute practitioners.
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Title: The AlphaRoute Placement Tool (APT) Overview
Date of publication: Updated March 2007
Description: An overview of the AlphaRoute Placement Tool (APT), includes APT background information and highlights of the assessor and student’s experience using the APT, complete with step-by-step screen captures.
This document is 6 pages.
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Title: Assessor’s Guide to the AlphaRoute Placement Tool
Date of publication: April 2005
Description: Guide to the AlphaRoute Placement Tool (APT), an informal online assessment tool for identifying adult literacy students’ starting levels for reading, writing, and numeracy outcomes work in AlphaRoute– students with basic computer skills can work independently on their AlphaRoute placement assessment using APT. Provides everything you need to know to use APT and to evaluate the APT assessment work your students complete.
This document is 26 pages.
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Blended learning
The resources listed below promote using a blended approach when integrating AlphaRoute into adult literacy programs.
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Title: Demonstrations Ontario Web site
Description: Designed to assist Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) program delivery agencies in Ontario develop and apply learning outcomes demonstrations. Offers a diversified learning approach to help practitioners better understand the purpose and application of demonstrations to assess adult literacy students’ progress.
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Title: Skills at Work series: Guide to Blended Learning
Author: AlphaPlus Centre
Publisher: Toronto, ON: AlphaPlus Centre, 2004
Description: Guide to using a blended approach to learning. Focuses on bringing the best resources, technology, and practices from the e-learning world into the classroom setting – blended learning combines the best features of face-to-face sessions with the flexibility of e-learning. Developed as part of the Skills at Work set, workforce literacy series exploring common entry-level jobs and how literacy, numeracy, and technical skills are used at work.
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Title: Skills at Work series: Guide to Workforce Literacy
Author: AlphaPlus Centre
Publisher: Toronto, ON: AlphaPlus Centre, 2004
Description: Provides background information on workforce literacy, ideas on program planning and examples of what other workforce-focused literacy agencies in Ontario have done to support learners towards employment goals. Developed as part of the Skills at Work set, workforce literacy series exploring common entry-level jobs and how literacy, numeracy, and technical skills are used at work.
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Title: Skills at Work series: Workbook 1
Author: AlphaPlus Centre
Publisher: Toronto, ON: AlphaPlus Centre, 2004
Description: Allows learners to start collecting information about their employment goals and about the world of work. They identify skills they need to work on to reach their goals. They will find information about different kinds of training and learn some ways to find, save, and use information about jobs. Developed as part of the Skills at Work set, workforce literacy series exploring common entry-level jobs and how literacy, numeracy, and technical skills are used at work.
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Title: Skills at Work series: Workbook 2
Author: AlphaPlus Centre
Publisher: Toronto, ON: AlphaPlus Centre, 2004
Description: Helps learners explore employers’ expectations about reading, writing, and math on the job. They will read about the tasks people do every day in different kinds of jobs. Developed as part of the Skills at Work set, workforce literacy series exploring common entry-level jobs and how literacy, numeracy, and technical skills are used at work.
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Title: Skills at Work series: Practitioner Guide to Workbooks 1 and 2
Author: AlphaPlus Centre
Publisher: Toronto, ON: AlphaPlus Centre, 2004
Description: Gives tutors and instructors information and guidelines on how to use the workbooks and how to match the materials to the rest of their literacy programming. They will find ideas for setting up and using the activities in the workbook, information about Essential Skills resources, and suggestions for using the online activities along with the workbook activities. A resource list and a sample CD-ROM rounds out the Practitioner Guide.
The sample CD-ROM allows users to try out three Skills at Work online activities. Existing AlphaRoute users will find the complete series of English online activities in the AlphaRoute environment at http://alpharoute.alphaplus.ca.
Three-day trial access to AlphaRoute is also available from this address.
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Online courses for adult literacy students
Online courses are offered to AlphaRoute students. Students who complete a course receive a Certificate of participation and they are encouraged to participate in as many courses as they wish. Course participants must be registered AlphaRoute students.
If you require any assistance setting up adult literacy students on AlphaRoute, please Contact us.
Past courses
Listed below are past online courses for adult literacy students. If you would like to see one of these courses repeated, or if you have a topic suggestion for a future online course, please Contact us.
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Title: In the News...
Developer/Facilitator: Mike Kelly and Lindsay Kennedy
Date: February 12 – April 13, 2007
Description: Every day we hear and see stories about things that are happening next door or half a world away. Every week "In the News..." will be your chance to talk about current stories in the news on a variety of topics. We’ll explore what we know about the topic and talk about where we could go to learn more. In the final two weeks of the forum we’ll open up the discussion and you can post topics you’d like to talk about.
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Title: When a Story is a Drum: An Introduction to Native Storytelling
Developer/Facilitator: Michelle Corneau
Date: February 12 – March 9, 2007
Description: Have you ever gone on a vacation and then told your friends about it when you got back? Or come home in the evening and shared what you did during the day? Of course you have! This proves that we are all storytellers. Stories bind us together. If we know other peoples’ stories, we are less likely to misunderstand them. Storytelling also gives us a glimpse of someone else’s history and culture, and forces us to look from another person’s point of view.
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Title: Math Magic – Making Math Easier
Developer/Facilitator: Tim Nicholls Harrison
Date: February 12 – March 9, 2007
Description: Many people get nervous about math. Often, when we were in school... math was boring or hard. Instead of learning math, we learned to dislike it, maybe even hate it. This course will make math fun for you again. The activities will help you improve your multiplication skills.
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Title: Tips and Tricks in Online Courses
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: February 5 – March 2, 2007
Description: Is this your first time taking an online course? If yes, take this course to learn some tips and tricks! Then you'll be ready to take more courses.
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Title: Using the Internet to Find Work 2006
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: October 10-November 3, 2006
Description: This course was for students wanting to explore ways to find jobs and learn more about jobs using the Internet. In this course, students learned and practiced how to; explore Internet job sites and resources; use a discussion system to learn with other learners by writing messages; manage their time; and work independently.
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Title: Fires! a Golden Oak Book Club selection
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: April 17-May 12, 2006
Description: In this course, participants reflected on a few stories in the book, posted and read messages in the Golden Oak Book Club forum, researched local news involving disasters and how people cope, and wrote reviews and opinions. The suggested reading level for participants was Level 3/4 with the ability to work independently or with an AlphaRoute mentor (program tutor). Students at Level 2 were welcome to participate, provided they have access to on-site/classroom support.
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Title: The Rescue of Nanoose, a Golden Oak Book Club selection
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: March 6-April 5, 2006
Description: In this course, participants reflected on the book, posted and read messages in the Golden Oak Book Club forum, wrote and reflected on the book topic, and researched whales and the environments they inhabit. The suggested reading level for participants was Level 2/3 with the ability to work independently or with an AlphaRoute mentor (program tutor). Students at Level 1 were welcome to participate, provided they had access to on-site/classroom support.
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Title: Know your body: Reflections and research on being healthy
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: October 31-November 30, 2005
Description: This course was for students who wanted to learn more about using the Internet as a research tool, for students who wanted to try out an online course and for students who wanted to learn about the body and talk about what it means to be healthy. In this course, students learned and practiced how to; explore the Internet; communicate using email; manage their time; work independently; and use a discussion system to learn with other learners by writing messages. Students also had the chance to practice; filling in forms; reading stories and poems; writing reviews and opinion; and writing poems and stories.
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Title: Let me find my talk: Native history through poetry
Developer/Facilitator: Michelle Corneau
Date: October 21-November 18, 2005
Description: This course was designed for students with an interest in poetry, history, Native cultures, and/or taking an online course. In this course, students learned and practiced how to; explore the Internet; communicate using email; manage their time; work independently; and use a discussion system to learn with other learners by writing messages.
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Title: Poems for Autumn Nights
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: September 26-October 21, 2005
Description: This course was for students who wanted to learn more about poetry, and for students who wanted to try out an online course. Some students who had already taken the "How to eat a poem" online course were interested in continuing their poetry appreciation skills. In this course, students learned and practiced how to; explore the Internet; communicate using email; manage their time; work independently; and use a discussion system to learn with other learners by writing messages.
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Title: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: June 6-June 24, 2005
Description: This course was for students who had taken one or more AlphaRoute online courses and wanted to evaluate the experience and help plan for more courses. This was a chance for students to say what kinds of courses they want to have offered and how they want them to be set up. In this course, students learned and practiced how to; give critical feedback to a course facilitator; contribute ideas for future online courses, try out group work and email as learning environments; use a discussion system and email to learn with other learners by writing and responding to messages; manage their time; and work independently.
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Title: Using the Internet to Find Work
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: May 9-June 3, 2005
Description: In this course, participants used a combination of AlphaRoute activities and website searches to gain skill in using the Internet as a job-hunting tool. Group work was included. The suggested reading level for participants was Level 2/3 with the ability to work independently or with an AlphaRoute mentor (program tutor). Students at Level 1 were welcome to participate, provided they have access to on-site/classroom support.
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Title: Research on the Web – Evaluating Internet Resources
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: March 28-April 22, 2005
Description: In this course, participants discussed issues related to conducting research on the Internet. Activities included evaluating a Web site that offer information on current events and issues. This course was appropriate for learners in college programs, as the suggested reading level for participants was Level 4/5. As a prerequisite, participants were asked to complete two Level 5 activities in AlphaRoute in advance of the course start date:
- Research: The Internet
- Research: Evaluating Information on the Internet
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Title: Rights in the Workplace
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: February 28-March 25, 2005
Description: This course was for students who wanted to try out an online course; experience being in a book club; learn more about using the Internet as a research tool; read and discuss the books in the Golden Oak Book Club; and explore their interest in history and disasters. In this course, students learned and practiced how to; explore the Internet; communicate using email; manage their time; work independently; and use a discussion system to learn with other learners by writing messages. Course participants also practiced; threading discussion messages, researching local news involving disasters and how people cope; reading stories; and writing reviews and opinions.
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Title: How to eat a poem
Developer/Facilitator: Tracey Mollins
Date: January 31-February 25, 2005
Description: This course was for students who wanted to learn more about poetry, and for students who wanted to try out an online course. In this course, students learned and practiced how to explore the Internet; communicate using email; manage their time; work independently; and use a discussion system to learn with other learners by writing messages.
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