- Read to Me!
- NETWORKS information
- Literacy for Women on the Streets
- Networks Datebook
- NALD's Software Evaluation Project launched
- Brigid Hayes receives NALD Award
- Adult Numeracy Frameworks
- The Literacy Bookshelf
- CABS Online
- Training for the Enhancement of Online Educational Resources
- Teaching Tips
- Regional Tidbits
- Calling all SARAW Programs
- Learner's Corner
- Learner's Story
- And, Among the Winners Were...
- Websites Worth Remembering
-
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| NALD Networks | Volume 9 • Issue 1 |
Evaluated free and low-cost educational
software
now available online
It is now easier for adult literacy instructors to find suitable and affordable educational software for learners to use, thanks to a project coordinated by the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and funded by the Office of Learning Technologies. Evaluations of 107 pieces of educational freeware and shareware have been posted online, and the programs are also categorized and available for download.
Rather than having to search for programs on the Internet, download them to see if they’ll run on the computers available in the classroom, and then test them to see if they’re suitable for the students, instructors can now find all of this information, plus the programs themselves, on the NALD website. This represents a valuable resource, as these programs are peer-reviewed, cover a range of skill levels plus ESL, teach such subjects as math, reading, spelling, vocabulary and typing, and are available for Mac, DOS, Win 3.1, and Win 95+.
The complete list of evaluated programs is available in alphabetical order at: http://www.nald.ca/software/software_list.asp. This list can also be sorted by content, by operating system, and by skill level.
Finally, there is also a refined search option at: http://www.nald.ca/software/project_search.asp. Using the pull-down menus, visitors can retrieve information that is limited to programs meeting their exact criteria. This is intended to make it easier for users to find only the programs that teach the right subject, at the right skill level, that will work on their computer. Additional information is provided to allow users to learn more about each program before deciding whether or not to download it.
A total of 438 programs were evaluated by learners and instructors at adult literacy centres across Canada : Aboriginal Literacy Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Brother T.I. Murphy Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador; Delview Adult Centre in Delta, British Columbia; Hawkins Neville Community Academic Services Program in Fredericton, New Brunswick; The Learning Centre in Edmonton, Alberta; and Parkland Regional College in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
The 107 programs that were found most useful for adults were each given a star rating, representing how strongly the evaluators recommend the software for other adult literacy instructors and students. Visitors to the site can also view the evaluation forms, which contain the evaluators’ opinions about how easy it was to use the program, how interesting and educational it was, and more. The comments the evaluators made are also online, and provide additional insight into how they felt about the program.
For those with limited Internet access or slow connections, NALD has also a developed a CD-ROM version of the project, which is available free of charge. To order a copy, please contact NALD at 1-800-720-6253, or by e-mail at contactnald@nald.ca.
Evaluations were conducted as part of a two-year project entitled “The Evaluation of Educational Freeware and Shareware Software Programs as Effective Resources for Adult Literacy Training Programs", which was funded by the Office of Learning Technologies.
Besides producing an annotated list of low or no-cost educational software, another objective of the project was to provide adult literacy learners with the opportunity to participate in a pan-Canadian project. They gained experience in evaluation techniques, enhanced their familiarity with computers, and also benefited from working through the educational components of the software.
The instructors involved in this project were given the opportunity to network with other adult literacy facilitators, and to familiarize themselves with low or no-cost information technology resources. They also helped develop an evaluation process that can be applied to other programs and materials in the future.
For more information about this project, please see the full report online at: http://www.nald.ca/software/