The harmonious blend of technology with literacy is visible at Bedford Learning Center, where computers share rooms with color-coded book collections on biography, fiction, people and culture, sports, and other topics. This seamless integration is also evident in the work of the small groups and in the published products of learners. Learners then followed Arno's advice by using computers to write their responses to the works they had read. Student writing is displayed in the lab or compiled in the center's publications. For example, Bedford on the Road chronicles field trips to the Weeksville Historical Site in Brooklyn and to the Schomburg Library and Cultural Center in Harlem.
Digital photos accompany the text.
Yet, as in other adult education programs staffed primarily by volunteers or part-timers, integrating technology has not been easy. Technology Toolkit, which provides a series of classroom-ready, integrated lessons, is designed to help change this attitude. As the learners, staff, and tutors of the Bedford Learning Center illustrate in their work and their remarks, the positive effects of using technology are evident in every aspect of program practice, from instruction to evaluation not only in formal program outcomes, but in the increased confidence of learners and the contagiousness of their enthusiasm. MAP Copyright 2001 Literacy Assistance Center.