1
Volume 5, Issue 1
SPRING 2005
The Adult Learning
Network is a
quarterly publication
of the Arkansas
Adult Learning
Resource Center.
Adult Education Legislation Update
Mr. French presents in front of legislators and
adult educators.
Photo provided by: Dubs
Byers
By Dr. Sharon Ellis, Chair of the AACAE Legislative Committee
Four legislative breakfasts were scheduled in January with 68 legisla-
tors in attendance. Mr. French presented information about adult educa-
tion’s mission and programs to each group of legislators. The preceding
of four breakfasts allowed us to visit with our local legislators. Thanks to
the legislative committee and to Mr. French for making the Legislative
Breakfasts a success!
Sponsors for the breakfasts
included:
•
Southwestern Bell
•
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
•
Arkansas Electric
Cooperative
•
AEP-SWEPCO
Pending legislation of interest to you:
•
HB1555, our appropriation bill AND amendment passed. Funding
the bill with the amendment is our next priority. Contact members of
the Joint Budget Committee in support of funding the $1.400.000
amendment. These additional funds would provide for a cost of living
increase and provide funds to cover the raises to adult education teach-
ers working in public schools. Senator Broadway sponsored a bill the
past legislative session to cover the cost for the raise for adult education
instructors with public schools; however, no funding was provided to
cover the raises. We have not received an increase in state adult edu-
cation funds since 1992.
•
The Kennedy Amendment was approved by the U.S. Senate by a
vote of 51-49. Senator Kennedy specifically mentioned adult education
in his opening remarks. A special thanks to all adult education staff and
partners who sent letters of support to your United States Congress per-
sons.
•
SB 1150, An Act to Limit Professional Development Requirements
for Certified Personnel Working Solely in Adult Education, was passed
by the Senate and sent to the House. The bill is still in committee and
should be addressed in committee Tuesday, March 29th.
Continued on page 8
pg_0002
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Adult Learning Network
Tuition Reimbursement
Program
Contact your Program Advisor at the
Adult Education Section or Marsha Taylor
at the AALRC for more information on this
program. Reimbursement is applicable to
courses taken for Adult Education Licen-
sure ONLY! This form is available on the
AALRC website (www.aalrc.org).
Remember: (1) The application form must
be submitted to the AALRC 10 working
days before class begins.
(2) Your class grade and receipt of pay-
ment must be received within 30 days of
class ending.
There is a new requirement: Applicants
must provide documentation that the
class will count for adult education li-
censure.
AALRC Staff
Director
Marsha Taylor
___________________
Secretary
Toccara Handy
Administrative
Assistant
Wanda Johnson
Professional
Development
Coordinator
Nancy Loftis
Media
Coordinator
Klaus Neu
Information
Technology
Specialist
Rob Pollan
Disabilities
Project
Manager
Patti White
Professional Development News
For a list of courses available in adult education, please contact:
Continued on page 3
NOTICE:
If you are unable to attend a work-
shop you have registered for, please
contact the AALRC as soon as possi-
ble. Participants are often placed on
waiting lists because workshops fill
up. If you find that you cannot attend
a workshop and you call ahead, this
gives us time to notify wait-listed
participants that they can attend.
When a workshop has a waiting list,
participants may not send substitutes
from their center to attend in their
place. Registrations are held for par-
ticipants and not for centers.
Arkansas State University
Jonesboro
Dr. David Agnew
(870) 972-3943
University of Arkansas
at Fayetteville
Dr. Barbara Hinton
(479) 575-5119 or
(479) 575-4578
University of Arkansas
at Little Rock
Dr. Charlotte Robertson
(501) 569-8933
University of Central Arkansas
Conway
Dr. Sherry Roberts
(501) 450-5431
TRAVEL Reimbursement
It is important to remember the guidelines when making travel plans to attend
meetings/workshops at the AALRC. Programs must follow state travel guidelines
and the policy written below. We have had to disallow many travel requests be-
cause the guidelines are not being followed. The AALRC would appreciate your
cooperation in this matter.
Local programs funded with state or federal adult education funds must adhere to Arkansas Department of
Finance and Administration guidelines when requesting travel reimbursement.
pg_0003
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Adult Learning Network
Professional Development Update
With the increased number of Professional Development (PD) hours required by the state,
many teachers are searching for a variety of ways to meet those requirements. The Resource
Center offers a wide range of Professional Development each year that includes Basic Skills,
Learning Disabilities (LD), English as a Second Language (ESL), GED and Technology.
Some teachers are not able to attend the necessary hours needed to fulfill the 60 hour re-
quirement.
There are other ways to acquire the needed hours. One way that is very easy and effective
for many teachers is to use the internet. Many sites offer free professional development.
Some sites charge a minimal fee and others a more significant fee. Listed below are a num-
ber of websites that fit into those categories. One thing to remember is that most other
licensed professionals are required to meet their Professional Development or Continuing
Education Units (CEUs) on their own time, using their own money.
Workshops
April 13 - LD Policy Make up
April 14-15 - ESL Basics (Session 3)
April 19 - AALRC Numeracy Project (Session 3)
April 20 - Beginning Excel
April 25-27 - Payne-Jordan LD Training
May 3 - Beginning Excel (Repeat of Earlier Session)
May 4 - Beginning Excel (Repeat of Earlier Session)
May 5-6 - Literacy Strategies (Session 4)
May 11 - Beginning Excel (Repeat of Earlier Session)
May 18 - Teaching the Three Rs. (Session 2)
May 20 - Parental Involvement (2 Sessions-a.m., p.m.)
May 24-25 - Payne-Jordan LD Training
May 24 - Web Page Design
May 25 - Web Page Design (Repeat of Session)
Meetings
April 22 - WAGE 9:30 a.m.
April 27 - ESL Taskforce
April 27-29 - Administrators’ Meeting
May 10 - Technology Committee
May 12 - LD Committee
May 17 - AALRC Advisory Committee
May 26-27 - Adult Ed. Advisory Council,
Pine Bluff – SEARK
June 3 - WAGE 9:30a.m.
Upcoming Training Events
Continued from page 2
TRAVEL Reimbursement
In an effort to conserve funds during these tough economic times, it was necessary last year to formalize
what had long been an informal part of our travel policy dealing with reimbursement of mileage for par-
ticipants attending training workshops and meetings. Local programs are to be reimbursed mileage for
only
ONE
vehicle per program when attending training workshops, conferences, or meetings. Any pro-
gram requesting another option
must have prior written permission
from the deputy director of adult edu-
cation.
Your cooperation in helping conserve funds so we may continue providing instructional services to our
students is requested and appreciated.
All are to be conducted at AALRC unless so noted.
Continued on page 8
pg_0004
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Adult Learning Network
Disability News
WhisperPhone
The WhisperPhone from Harebrain, Inc. is a reversible mouthpiece (right or left) that snaps into an ear
headset to create auditory reinforcement opportunities in classroom situations. The acoustical headset en-
hances a student’s voice by projecting the words back to their own ear, so students hear the words and in-
dividual phonemes more clearly as they read, even when they whisper.
Although the WhisperPhone was initially designed for children, the company
responded amazingly fast to a request from Janie Carter in Crossett regarding
modifications for adult students. They now have a large version available for
adults who process written information best with auditory input and/or rein-
forcement. The WhisperPhone allows the student to softly subvocalize and
yet hear themselves loudly and clearly without disturbing other students in the
classroom. All parts are durable plastic and dishwasher-safe.
The AALRC has one WhisperPhone available in the Media Center for pro-
grams that would like to try it with students who would benefit from enhancing their auditory processing
strengths. Contact Klaus Neu at the AALRC to borrow this item.
For more information or to place an order, please visit
www.whisperphone.com
$7.95 for one or $79.95
for a ClassPak of 12.
Announcing the Arkansas Disability Issues Web Portal
http://www.ArkansasDisabilities.com
The Arkansas Disability Web Portal is a free, interactive, online community of Arkansans seeking to im-
prove the quality of life for persons coping with disabilities by sharing information, resources, opinions, and
other features. Resources include information about assistive technology, disability studies, children, edu-
cation, employment, independent living, organizations, news and media, support groups, and statistics.
There are links to government agencies, funding opportunities, events and activities. Directories include
services, training, employment, and consultants. This site is extremely useful for people with disabilities as
well as those who work or live with people with disabilities. Please visit this online site to see how it can
help you improve your services for adult students with disabilities, or—even better—explore the site with
one of your students who has one or more disabilities.
LDOnLine Article Series
LDOnLine (
www.ldonline.org
) has posted a series of articles by Regina G. Richards about reading compre-
hension, writing skills, and memory. These articles include excellent suggestions for teaching all ages of
students with learning disabilities.
The reading comprehension article (
http://www.ldonline.org/article.php.id=1111&loc=89
), for example, de-
scribes instructional strategies such as chunking information, visual organization, vocabulary development,
and mnemonics. There’s even a strategy for using Post-It™ Notes for a color-coded, manipulative visual
organizer.
The instructional strategies described are multisensory, systematic, and well-structured, an approach sup-
ported by research regarding students with learning disabilities and appropriate monitoring and modeling of
techniques.
pg_0005
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Adult Learning Network
Tech
Talk
Note: To link to any web address (URL) in this newsletter, go the
AALRC's home page at http://aalrc.org, look up this newsletter,
and then just click on the appropriate link.
AALRC
Advisory
Committee
Charlotte
Robertson,
Chair,
Little Rock
Emily Barrier,
Little Rock
Harriet Branch,
Monticello
Dubs Byers ,
Pine Bluff
Sharon Ellis,
Fort Smith
Jennifer Hurst,
Pine Bluff
Lloyd Huskey,
Little Rock
Steven Lilly,
Lonoke
Trece Shepherd
Williams,
Helena
George Stegall,
Texarkana
Nancy
Whitmire,
Batesville
Spyware
Microsoft has added a new free spyware cleaner program that can be
downloaded from their website at:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
There is also a Spyware Video clip on the right side of the page under
About Spyware that helps explain what spyware is and how it got on your
computer.
My other two favorite spyware cleaning programs are Spybot Search &
Destroy and Adaware. Both programs can be downloaded from
http://www.download.com
. Enter the name of the program, as seen
above, in the Search box of the download.com home page to download
these programs.
Phishing
Internet scammers casting about for people's financial information have a
new way to lure unsuspecting victims: they go "phishing." Phishing is a
high-tech scam that uses spam to deceive consumers into disclosing their
credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers,
passwords, and other sensitive personal information.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the latest phishing
scam involves emails that claim to be from
regulations.gov
, a Web site
where consumers can participate in government rulemaking by submitting
comments. The emails' subject lines typically read "Official information" or
"Urgent information to all credit card holders!" The message's text claims,
"Due to recent changes in Rules and Regulations, it is required by Law for
all Internet users to identify themselves in compliance with CFR (Code of
Federal Regulations) to create a secure and safer Internet community."
The email includes a link to a Web site that mimics
regulations.gov
and
asks readers to provide their personal and financial information.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm
How not to get
“Hooked” by a phishing scam.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishregsalrt.htm
This link has
good information about phishing and what you can do about it.
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
What to do if someone steals your iden-
tity.
http://www.antiphishing.org/
Good anti-phishing resources.
pg_0006
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Adult Learning Network
Tech
Talk
Adult Education
Advisory Council
Patricia Bates, Chair
El Dorado
Diane Shores,
Vice-Chair, Helena
Marsha Taylor,
Secretary, LR
Jim Allen,
Fayetteville
Dubs Byers,
Pine Bluff
Pat Collins,
Russellville
Sharon Ellis,
Fort Smith
Lloyd Huskey,
North Little Rock
Steven Lilly,
Lonoke
Becky Linsky,
Hot Springs
Paulette Martin,
Little Rock
Sheri Rogers,
Arkadelphia
Flora Simon,
Dumas
Billy Upson,
Texarkana
Peggy Weir,
Pocahontas
Ruth Ann Williams,
Conway
Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki
"Wiki-wiki," a Hawaiian word meaning very, very quickly, refers in the
online world to a web site where you can immediately and easily add to
or change text. The best-known application is the Wikipedia, a
multilingual encyclopedia, created and modified daily by thousands of
people across the world.
The creators of the ALE Wiki have developed a wiki for adult literacy edu-
cation providers that can be a useful, participatory online environment for
adult literacy practitioners, adult learner leaders, and researchers to have
ongoing discussions in areas of mutual interest.
The Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki is a complement of, not a re-
placement for, electronic lists. Because a wiki is an easily edited docu-
ment environment, current or past electronic list discussions can be se-
lectively copied to the wiki, continued at any time, and referenced (and
linked) in future e-list discussions. For each wiki discussion topic a sum-
mary, glossary, and list of research and other references can be created.
The ALE Wiki will become a handy electronic reference shelf of defini-
tions and resources for discussions which take place on adult literacy
e-lists, and where one could easily find research citations, full-text
studies, threaded discussions which have taken place on listservs, and
other materials which are all organized around specific research topic
areas and questions. It could also be an environment where researchers
describe their completed and ongoing work, see how practitioners are
reacting to or using their research, and see what questions and issues
practitioners and adult learner leaders think are important to study.
To visit the Adult Literacy Education Wiki, go to:
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page
To set up a log-in account so you can add to the ALE Wiki, go to:
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Special:Userlogin
Disable Error Reporting
Tired of all those Microsoft Windows error reporting messages. Follow
these instructions to disable error reporting. Be aware that
sometimes
the error report can give you valuable information about your problem.
1.) Open Control Panel. 2.)Click on Performance and Maintenance.
3.) Click on System. 4.)Then click on the Advanced tab.
5.) Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
6.) Select Disable error reporting. 7.) Click OK. 8.) Click OK.
pg_0007
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Adult Learning Network
Plaxo can keep track of friends, family, everybody
AALRC Technology Committee
The AALRC Technology Committee has been revived! We met in November of 2004 to review
and refresh previously planned activities, and to recruit a few more hard-working people.
Thanks to those committee members who could attend and add their valuable input.
Members of the Technology Committee are: Billy R. Upson, chair; Lynda Bradford, Marie
Bruno, Amy Butts, Janie Carter, Gayla Feist, Jacob Humphrey, Dr. Philip Less, Klaus Neu,
Wes Pillow, Rob Pollan, Diane Shores, Nancy Sparks, and Marsha Taylor.
The first activity was to update the
Five-Year Technology Plan
.
Many thanks to Marsha Taylor for documenting the revisions.
The committee plans to establish a process that will allow us to
continually provide up-to-date knowledge about software,
technology, and technological issues to adult education and
literacy programs. We will also offer recommendations for state
purchases of software upgrades and packages in the event there
are state monies available for statewide purchases.
Each program recently received a new Technology Needs Survey. In the event a statewide
purchase can be made, we must know what is needed in order to make good recommenda-
tions. Responses on the survey will also let us know what technology training might be
needed.
The committee plans to review the state-approved computer literacy curriculum. Any revision
of the curriculum would be reviewed by the state office for approval.
If you have any questions about the committee, please contact Billy Upson at
bru549@juno.com
or Rob Pollan at
rob@aalrc.org
. For additional information, please visit
www.aalrc.org
and check out the technology pages!
Plaxo is a free service that allows you to update the contacts you have in address books cre-
ated with Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Mac OS-X, Palm, Netscape, or Yahoo. That’s
pretty much everybody. When you join Plaxo at www.plaxo.com , your address book and ap-
pointment calendar information can be mae available online from anywhere you can connect to
the Internet. Click “Update Contacts” and the Plaxo service sends a message to everyone on
those lists asking them to update their information. With any luck, they’ll respond.
In the past, we’ve seen studies that say about one-third of the population of the United States
will have moved within any two-year period, so it’s hard to keep up.
The free service started in 2003, and so far more that 4 million people have signed up. For a
fee of $20 a year, Plaxo has a new premium service that allows the user to send cards for birth-
days, holidays, and other special occasions. A number of extension services are being rolled
out by this company, allowing you to send books, flowers, and other gifts to selected people on
your address list. Visit the Web site to find out everything they’re up to.
Reprinted with permission from Bob and Joy Schwabach On Computers,
www.oncomp.com
, This article appeared in the Arkansas Democrat
Gazette on Monday, December 20, 2004.
pg_0008
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Adult Learning Network
Continued from page 1
Adult Education Legislation Update
•
HB 2747, An Act to Repeat the Second Effort Scholarship Program was referred to the
House Education committee on March 7
th
. These four-year scholarships benefit our top 10 GED
graduates. Contact members of the House Education Committee supporting continuance of
scholarships of our Top 10. Cite specific examples of how the scholarship has benefited your
graduate - what difference did it make.
Continue to inform our Arkansas legislators and
United States Congress persons. Stand together
as one unified voice for Adult Education.
Professional Development Update
Continued from page 3
GED success stories - displayed at the leg-
islative breakfast
Photo provided by: Dubs Byers
As teachers, most are used to PD being provided at no charge; however, paying a fee in order
to get the required hours may be worthwhile to some.
FREE:
FEE REQUIRED:
Other sources for Professional Development include classes that are offered by local hospitals
or community organizations. Many offer classes in Stress and Time Management, and other
areas that are pertinent to adult education teachers. One can also read professional articles,
watch educational videos, and research areas of interest for PD credit. There are Professional
Development opportunities other than the Resource Center and local adult education programs
if one is persistent. According to the State Department of Education, the decision as to what
counts for professional development hours is a local decision. Remember to get prior approval
from your local administrator in order to get proper credit for a self-study program.
http://www.congressclass.org/
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/
http://www.vluonline.org/course/index.asp
http://www.floridatechnet.org/pdc.asp
http://www.learner.org/
http://tappedin.org/tappedin/
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/
http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/
http://www.maisplace.org/profdev.htm
This is a link that gives many other links to Professional De-
velopment
http://www.careerteched.com/
http://www.ableacademy.org/
Your Legislative Committee:
Sharon Ellis, Chair
Patricia Bates, Dubs Byers
George French, Becky Linsky,
Paulette Martin, Marsha Taylor,
Peggy Weir, Ruth Ann Williams