Hello Tommy and all,

Please at any time feel free to pose questions to the list (just as David
did) that are of relevance and interest to you or forward suggestions to
me. This is a forum where we can all take initiative...no need to wait.

Regards,
Mariann

 At 11:18 AM 11/22/2005 -0500, you wrote:

>David, finally a question I am really interested in--and finally 

>someone who believes as I do that a listserv is to explore things. 

>

>I taught for many years in NYC at the public library and the thought 

>of teaching people how to learn online--just at the bare roots of 

>technology--scares me. Not the teaching so much, but it scares me the 

>number of people who could be left out of the loop. 

>

>Do we really know how many people have access to technology of any 

>kind?

>

>I wonder if we really use the telephone enough in teaching. It was 

>used more than 40 years ago in PA for distance ed, before we thought 

>the computer was only way to teach. 

>

>Could we start a grass roots "something" that would prepare for 

>something like this, while other "experts" are supposedly planning 

>what to do?

>

>Just thoughts. 

>

>while I hate the bird flu, I like the premise of this topic. Perhaps 

>even if the flu does not come, we will learn more about educating 

>people in a far reaching way. 

>

>Tommy

>

>Tommy B. McDonell 

>Tommy.McDonell at nyu.edu 

>Adjunct, Steinhardt School of Education 

>tbr202 at nyu.edu 

>Doctoral Candidate in TESOL at NYU 

>

>Sales Agent, 

>Debra Kameros Company Inc. http://www.debrakameros.com 

>tm at debrakameros.com 

>http://www.tommybmcdonell.com 

>

>

>H: 212-929-6768 

>F: 212-929-1129 

>C: 917-514-1354 

>

>

>

>----- Original Message ----- 

>From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 

>Date: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:03 am 

>Subject: [Technology] Distance learning -- an option or a necessity? 

>

>> Technology Colleagues, 

>> 

>> Indulge me. This post may seem a bit of a stretch, but that's 

>> what a 

>> discussion forum is for -- a place to try out ideas. It also 

>> follows 

>> from a discussion here earlier this year on adult education 

>> distance 

>> learning. 

>> 

>> I have been thinking about Asian Bird Flu. I hope the predicted 

>> epidemic does not come to pass, or if it does, that its scope is 

>> tiny; but many experts claim that it is inevitable, and at a scale 

>> 

>> that could be between 5 and 50 million people afflicted. In 

>> earlier 

>> world epidemics, for safety reasons public gathering places were 

>> closed or limited to only those that were essential. Schools were 

>> 

>> closed. 

>> 

>> Suppose schools in North America or in other parts of the world 

>> actually were all closed, including all adult education schools 

>> and 

>> programs. Suppose adult education could only take place by 

>> Internet, 

>> TV broadcast, radio broadcast, CDROM or DVD, and telephone. Those 

>> 

>> with experience in delivering adult education at a distance -- 

>> many 

>> of you on this list -- would be asked to step forward and think 

>> through how to organize this adult education distance learning 

>> delivery system. 

>> 

>> I have been thinking about this, and would like to invite you to 

>> think about it, too. What would be needed to deliver all adult 

>> literacy education (including English language learning) by 

>> Internet? What would the issues be? 

>> 

>> • Access from home, including broadband access 

>> • Good content online in all areas, all levels: ELL, basic 

>> literacy, 

>> ABE, ASE, Transition to higher ed, etc. 

>> • Counseling 

>> • Online training for participants using online learning -- 

>> including 

>> technology skills 

>> • Online teachers/facilitators recruitment and initial training 

>> • Ongoing professional development and training for online 

>> facilitators• An online assessment system 

>> • An online MIS 

>> • How to provide services to low-literate adults and beginning 

>> level 

>> English language learners 

>> 

>> What else? 

>> 

>> How should this be organized? By community? By state? Nationally? 

>> Internationally? Some other way? 

>> 

>> What pieces of such a distance learning system do we have now? 

>> Can 

>> some of the Project IDEAL states -- and Florida, California and 

>> other 

>> states which may be doing distance learning -- do some of this -- 

>> or 

>> all of it now? If so, tell us what is in place in these states. 

>> Could Alpha Plus or other Canadian models point the way? What 

>> about 

>> Australian and Irish (NALS) distance learning models? 

>> 

>> Let's think together on this one, hoping we never have to use such 

>> as 

>> system under such calamitous conditions, but through the thinking 

>> and 

>> planning being prepared. It may also suggest some things we 

>> should 

>> be doing whether there is an epidemic or not. 

>> 

>> David J. Rosen 

>> djrosen at comcast.net 

>> 

>> 

>> 

>> ---------------------------------------------------- 

>> National Insitute for Literacy 

>> Technology and Literacy mailing list 

>> Technology at dev.nifl.gov 

>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

>> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/technology 

>> 

>

>----------------------------------------------------

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>

>




Mariann Fedele
Coordinator of Professional Development, 
Literacy Assistance Center
Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org