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Volume 5, Issue 4

Winter 2005

The Arkansas Adult

Learning Resource

Center provides equal

access to all programs

and activities.

Success Story around the WhisperPhone

Yvonne Dougherty, Director

Pulaski Technical College Saline County Adult Education

When instructor Carol Tabor saw the AALRC newsletter article featuring

the WhisperPhones, she asked if we could purchase a couple for her

ESL students to try. Carol thought they would be useful assists to ac-

commodate learning. After reviewing the article, I agreed to purchase a

dozen of the phones last May.

When they came in, all of the staff had to try the new “toy.” We were so

pleased with this product that we began utilizing them for students im-

mediately. As a matter of fact, I was so pleased with the WhisperPhone

that I ordered several dozen more. We are seeing some great suc-

cesses with the use of this assisted learning device in the areas of ac-

commodating students with learning disabilities, auditory learner stu-

dents, and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The one big

advantage I see in the product is the capability for multi-level sensory

learning: reading text, speaking text, and hearing text. The Whisper-

Phone is a cost-effective tool for increasing a learner’s skill level in

phonics, rote memory learning and recall (such as the multiplication ta-

bles), and ESL.

GED student Malcolm Washington uses a WhisperPhone to facilitate

his learning. Malcolm, after years of being out of a formal educational

setting, found himself at 50 studying for his GED. He found the noise of

the classroom distracting to his ability to study. I suggested that Mal-

colm use the WhisperPhone. This is what he writes:

“I was given the WhisperPhone

while at the Adult Education Cen-

ter in Benton, Arkansas. While

studying, I found myself dis-

tracted by the fellow students and

other noises in the room. But

when Miss Yvonne suggested

that I use the Whisper- Phone, at

first I was reluctant, but later I ac-

cepted it. I, since then, have not

found myself without it, even at

home. It truly is the wonderful

way to study.”

For approximately $10 per WhisperPhone, we have not found a more

cost-effective way to meet so many learning needs with one assistive

tool. We give the phones to students whom we think can best utilize

and will use the phones. I believe it has been well worth the

investment.

Arkansas Adult Learning

Resource Center

3905 Cooperative Way,

Suite D

Little Rock, AR 72209

Phone: 800-832-6242

(501) 907-2490

FAX: (501) 907-2492

http://www.aalrc.org

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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 Pearson

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:

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.

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Adult Learning Network

This year’s keynote speaker

Dr. Hemphill from UALR

AACAE News

by Lynda Bradford, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer

Pilot Project of Online Professional Development

The Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center is pleased to announce a pilot project of online

professional development through the Adult Education Professional Development Network (AE

Pro). This program was initiated in 2004 through collaboration between the Center for Literacy

Studies at the University of Tennessee, and the Ohio Literacy Resource Center at Kent State

University. This exciting opportunity in online learning is funded, in part, by the National Institute

for Literacy LINCS project.

The mission of AE Pro is to become a national network for online professional development for

Adult Education. The guiding goals and objectives are to:

•

provide online courses and course modules for adult education professional development;

•

provide technical assistance in online course development and facilitation;

•

provide a complete course development platform; and

•

be a gateway to other online professional development.

AE Professional comes in two modes. For institutions such as states, schools, or other large

organizations entire training courses are offered for up to twenty-five participants. For individu-

als, facilitated training is offered on a per-seat basis. Check out their website:

http://www.aeprofessional.org/

for more information regarding this resource.

The course that we plan to offer free to the participants in Arkansas is the Integration of Tech-

nology in the Adult Education Classroom (description below).

Have you ever tried to blindly put a puzzle together without knowing what the final picture will

look like. This may be what is happening to you when you are trying to integrate computer

technology into your classroom. This course will provide quick access to educational resources,

lesson plans, activities, and tools for evaluating educational software, information about pur-

chasing educational software, and knowledge to help you utilize a variety of software applica-

tions and web-based activities in the classroom. Online activities, discussion boards and as-

sessments will keep you engaged.

More information will soon be available on our website at

http://www.aalrc.org/

. Letters will also

be sent to local programs as soon as final details have been worked out for this training.

Speaking for the entire AACAE Executive Committee, I can say

that we had a great time with this year’s AACAE Conference.

Now is the time to get ready for next year’s conference. The

dates are October 26 and 27, 2006. Mark your calendar and

plan to attend. The AACAE newsletter coming out in January

will have more information about next year’s conference so be

watching for it!

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Adult Learning Network

News from the Disabilities Project Manager

Learning Disabilities and Work Issues

AD/HD Workshop for Local Programs

The AALRC is offering a 2-day workshop, Demystifying

AD/HD, to local adult education and literacy programs. The

purpose of the workshop is to raise awareness regarding the

facts about Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) as

well as to dispel some of the myths and misperceptions of the

disorder. Additionally, the workshop is designed to give teach-

ers practical and affordable strategies to use when teaching

adults with AD/HD.

Day 1 is an introduction to AD/HD, and includes the history of AD/HD beginning in about 500 BC,

definition, screening tools, medication and treatment, and characteristics of adults with AD/HD in-

cluding positive attributes. Day 2 focuses on teaching adults with AD/HD, and includes the GED

accommodations request process, coping skills and strategies, AD/HD in the classroom and work-

place, and online resources. Day 2 of the workshop is structured to model appropriate and effective

instruction for adults with AD/HD, including frequent breaks and a variety of hands-on activities and

multisensory instructional techniques.

The workshop can be presented two days in a row, or with a few weeks in-between the two ses-

sions – whatever is most convenient for the program. Each day’s session begins at 9:00 am and

ends at 4:00 pm. Participants are on their own for lunch.

To schedule this workshop at your program’s location, please contact Patti White at

prwhite@madisoncounty.net

or 800.569.3539. Programs are encouraged to invite other nearby

programs in their region to attend the scheduled training.

The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) LINCS website at

http://worklink.coe.utk.edu/ld_work_issues.htm

has information for work-

place instructors, employers, and employees regarding learning disabili-

ties and work issues. The site addresses three questions: (1) How do

learning disabilities affect a person in the workplace. (2) What factors

contribute to success for a worker with LD. (3) How can a 'coach' or

teacher assist adults as they prepare for work.

The site includes a PowerPoint tutorial and an extensive list of re-

sources, including resources related to accommodations, disclosure,

ADA, self-advocacy, skills ID with a match to occupations, business best

practices, LD success stories with real life experiences, comprehensive

best practices for teachers, and a webliography.

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Adult Learning Network

AALRC

Advisory

Committee

Dubs Byers,

Chair,

Pine Bluff

Emily Barrier,

Little Rock

Harriet Branch,

Monticello

Sharon Ellis,

Secretary,

Fort Smith

Jennifer Hurst,

Pine Bluff

Lloyd Huskey,

Little Rock

Steven Lilly,

Lonoke

Charlotte

Robertson,

Little Rock

Trece Shepherd

Williams,

Helena

Billy Upson,

Texarkana

Nancy

Whitmire,

Vice-Chair,

Batesville

Continued on page 6

Workshop for Teaching Reading to Adults with Dyslexia

Like Music to Your Ears

The next time a student exhibits severe dyslexia and/or dysgraphia, re-

member the high levels of creativity and intelligence associated with peo-

ple of all ages who have learning disabilities. Below is an example of a

writing sample from a dyslexic and dysgraphic student.

a) First draft of creative story as typed by student:

the way I descride a bumby ride is like wothgan mowtsarts mowsek. eshe

bumby rowd is like a song. Eshe bumb is the a note eche uncon at the

sam time ste is. that was the mewstere to mowts mowsuk it was vare

metereus and unperdekdable.So the next time you drive down a bumby

theak of mowtsart.

b) Same story. Student reads to teacher using his draft:

"The way I describe a bumpy ride is like Wolfgang Mozart's music. Each

bumpy road is like a song. Each bump in the road is a note. Each bump

is uncontrolled at the same time it still is controlled. That was the magic

to Mozart's music. It was very mysterious and unpredictable. So the next

time you drive down a bumpy road think of Mozart." (Retrieved Septem-

ber 9, 2005, from

http://www.ldonline.org/article.php.max=20&special_grouping=&id=550&

loc=79

)

Just imagine the writing this student could do with access to some

speech-to-text software.

The AALRC is offering a one-day workshop in the

spring of 2006 for adult education and literacy in-

structors who teach reading to adults with reading

disabilities. The Multisensory Approach to Phono-

logical Processing (MAPP) workshop will be con-

ducted by Stacy Mahurin, CCC-A/SP, CALT on

April 10, 2006 at the AALRC from 9:00 am – 4:00

pm.

The MAPP workshop is designed to teach individuals with deficits in pho-

nological awareness a process for analyzing sounds in isolation, sylla-

bles, and words. Students are led to discover the articulatory gesture for

consonants and vowels during group or individualized sessions. The cor-

responding label for each mouth movement is provided and students

practice previously learned material in a variety of ways.

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Adult Learning Network

Adult Education

Advisory Council

Patricia Bates, Chair

El Dorado

Diane Shores,

Vice-Chair, Helena

Jim Allen,

Fayetteville

Diane Cary,

Magnolia

Steve Clayton,

Jonesboro

Pat Collins,

Russellville

Sharon Ellis,

Fort Smith

Lloyd Huskey,

North Little Rock

Margaret Jarrett,

Monticello

Steven Lilly,

Lonoke

Becky Linsky,

Hot Springs

Paulette Martin,

Little Rock

Bobbie Sanders,

Little Rock

Flora Simon,

Dumas

Marsha Taylor,

Little Rock

Continued from page 5

Specifically, the workshop addresses the following learning objectives:

a) Participants will learn multisensory strategies for introducing

consonant and vowel sounds to students.

a) Participants will learn multisensory strategies for tracking consonant

sounds.

b) Participants will learn multisensory strategies for tracking and ma-

nipulating sounds in words.

c) Participants will learn strategies for teaching automatic letter recog-

nition skills.

d) Participants will be introduced to programs to enhance word attack

and word recognition strategies.

e) Participants will be introduced to evaluations designed to identify

students at risk for reading failure.

Each participant will receive a Teacher’s Manual and two colored mouth-

form masters. The Teacher’s Manual contains additional strategies for

strengthening automatic letter recognition and basic phonological aware-

ness skills.

Stacey Mahurin holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech Pa-

thology and Audiology through the American Speech, Language, and

Hearing Association. She has served as Program Manager for the Centers

for Youth & Families Dyslexia Center since 1989. Her teaching experience

includes teaching graduate-level training to Arkansas educators via the

Reading Therapist Program, as well as extensive training in numerous

venues related to early identification and intervention for dyslexia.

To register for the workshop, please contact Nancy Loftis at

nancy@aalrc.org

, 800.832.6242, or 501.907.2490.

The Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee has published a

161-page resource book that was developed by Tennessee adult educa-

tion practitioners, Bridges to Practice trainers, and a University of Tennes-

see professor/psychologist. It shares the action research experiences of a

group of teachers as they used various instructional strategies and ap-

proaches reflecting "LD appropriate instruction" as described in Bridges to

Practice. Included are tools for LD awareness, screening, planning, and

teaching/learning as well as personal stories about the teachers and learn-

ers who used them. Appendices include ready-to-copy templates for in-

structors to use in applying the strategies discussed in the book.

The book can be downloaded (free) at

http://cls.coe.utk.edu/curriculum/keys_ld.html

.

Instructional Tips for Teaching Students with

Learning Disabilities

Workshop for Teaching Reading to Adults with Dyslexia

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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.

The AALRC has installed two new servers to accommodate the purchase of our new Aztec

Learning System. Aztec is a web-based conceptual learning system from a 2.6 grade reading

level through a community college level in all subject levels including Language Arts, Mathe-

matics, Critical Thinking, Geography, Biology, and Select Vocational Material.

This is a fantastic resource for you and your students and the response so far has been very

positive. Aztec is available online at

http://aztec.aalrc.org

Please contact Marsha Taylor or

Nancy Loftis at the Resource Center to set up an Aztec account.

AZTEC Available Online

The award-winning Web browser has been improved and is better than ever. Browse the Web

with confidence - Firefox protects you from viruses, spyware and pop-ups. Enjoy improvements

to performance, ease of use and privacy. It's easy to import your favorites and settings and get

started. Download Firefox for free at

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

FireFox 1.5 Released

OpenOffice.org2.0

AALRC Lab Expansion

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is the productivity suite that individuals, governments, and corporations

around the world have been expecting for the last two years. Easy to use and fluidly interoper-

able with every major office suite, OpenOffice.org 2.0 realizes the potential of open source.

Best of all it’s free and works with Microsoft Office documents. Download OpenOffice 2.0 at

http://openoffice.org

The Resource Center computer lab has been expanded. Two offices had their walls removed

to add room to the computer lab. There is now room to move about the lab during trainings,

which was an issue before the expansion. The walls have been removed but the renovations

are not complete yet. We will be setting up new tables and computers and running new cables,

so in the meantime please be careful of the ongoing construction when using the lab.

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Adult Learning Network

The AALRC is continually looking for local program submissions regarding

student success stories. Please send your submissions to Klaus Neu at

klaus@aalrc.org

and share your students’ successes with other adult educa-

tion and literacy programs. These stories can provide inspiration for other stu-

dents as well as program staff, and can be viewed at

http://aalrc.org/resources/student/index.aspx

. Cody Ott from the SWADC

Learning Center in Prescott, who is currently featured on the site, felt a great

sense of pride and accomplishment when he found out his story would be

available online for other students and teachers. The AALRC is hoping to fea-

ture more success stories in the near future.

The Luther H. Black Memorial Scholarship was set up to recognize an Arkansas

High School Diploma (GED) graduate who demonstrates outstanding leader-

ship, citizenship, and professional promise. The scholarship was established to

honor Dr. Luther H. Black, the "father of adult education" for his years of dedi-

cated and committed service to Arkansas Adult Education.

For more information about this scholarship and to download the application

form, please go to

http://www.aalrc.org/resources/ged/lhb.aspx

.

The Arkansas Governor’s Commission on People with Disabilities awards several $1,000 schol-

arships each year to high school and GED graduates with disabilities. Applications are available

through the Governor’s Commission and are graded on the basis of achievement, community

involvement, goals, and the student’s disability challenges. The deadline this year is February

27, 2006. Contact the Governor’s Commission at (501) 296-1637 for an application form. If you

need any more information, please contact Klaus Neu at (501) 907-2490 or

klaus@aalrc.org

.

Arkansas Governor’s Commission on People with Disabilites Scholarship

Luther H. Black Memorial Scholarship-

GED Graduates Are Encouraged to Apply

Student Success Stories on AALRC Website

TABE Audiocassette Validation Study Published

In 2002, Dr. Larry Evans conducted a validation study of the audiocassette format of the TABE

Tests 7 & 8, Survey and Locator. The study was coordinated by the AALRC with a grant from

the National Institute for Literacy. The results of the validation study have been published in the

adult education journal, New Horizons, available at

http://education.fiu.edu/newhorizons/volume19no2summer2005.pdf

.

The audiocassette format of the TABE tests was developed for adult students who require an

audiocassette test as an accommodation for a documented disability. Every adult education and

literacy program in Arkansas should have a copy of the audiocassette TABE tests, but if your

program still needs one, or needs a copy for a satellite program, please contact Klaus Neu at

klaus@aalrc.org

or 800.832.6242.