ALRC TECH TIPS
MAY 2014
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 3
This Month’s Feature:
Independent Study for Students
Welcome to May’s ALRC
Tech Tips. We hope you
find these resources
helpful. Please feel free to
If you are thinking about keeping your students learning during the summer,
these websites will help. Some are courses, but many others simply provide
practice in reading, understanding, and gaining content knowledge.
contact us with any tech
ideas you would like to
share with other programs.
This is your forum.
Adult Learning
Resource Center
2626 S. Clearbrook Dr.
Arlington Heights,
Illinois 60005
Sue Barauski, Director
sbarauski@cntrmail.org
Phone
224.366.8620
Fax
847.378.6225
ESL
Visiting the Doctor
http://www.literacynet.org/vtd/
This is a site that is fun to look at, has useful information about doctor’s visits,
and can be shared with family and friends.
Level 3
VOA ~ Learning English
http://learningenglish.voanews.com
Daily news is presented in “special English” – a somewhat simplified form.
Levels 4-6
Real English
http://www.real-english.com
Students can hear how actual English speakers talk. There are activities
associated with the dialogues.
Levels 2-5
ALRC is on the Web!
http://www.thecenterweb.org/alrc/
The Adult Learning Resource
Center (ALRC) is a member of
the IL Adult Education
Service Center Network.
Many Things
http://manythings.org
Even lower level students can find activities here – one of the most famous ESL
sites on the net.
Levels 1-3
Pumarosa
http://www.pumarosa.com
This is an English course for speakers of Spanish for beginning and intermediate
students include a section on preparing for citizenship.
Levels 2-4
USA Learns
http://www.usalearns.org/
The website attempts to teach students speaking, pronunciation, listening,
reading, spelling, and grammar. It was funded by the Office of Career,
Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). It is free, but learners must register.
Levels 2-5
MATH
Math Goodies
http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/
This site has simple and clear descriptions for almost all areas of ABE and GED
math. Just search and click on the topic that interests you.
ABE/GED
Schmoop Algebra
http://www.shmoop.com/basic-algebra/topics.html
Each section on this site explains an algebraic concept. The information is wellwritten with lots of examples.
GED
Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/
All sorts of videos on all sorts of math topics…many students appreciate the
step-by-step instruction. Users must complete a free registration.
ABE/GED
Math Skillswise
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/maths
This fun, instructional site has brief math videos, stories where the problem is
solved though math, games, factsheets, and worksheets. The site was
especially developed for adult learners in England.
ABE
TV411
http://www.tv411.org/math
Mathematics is only one of the topics on this adult education site. These videos
show how various math applications are used in the real world.
ABE
READING
GCF Learn Free
http://www.gcflearnfree.org/everydaylife
Easy and enjoyable investigations in topics such as Health and Safety, Money,
and Work Skills provide helpful information and reading practice.
ABE
Women at NASA
http://women.nasa.gov/
Read about what inspired women to go into space and what they accomplished
there. Sometimes a video interview supplements the stories.
ABE/GED
Adult Education Students Succeed
http://www.adultedlearners.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=students
Here you’ll find almost 200 stories of successful adult education students told
in their own words.
ABE
Classic Short Stories
http://www.classicshorts.com/bib.html
This site presents famous classic short stories free from copyright.
GED
Awesome Stories
http://www.awesomestories.com/
These videos and stories highlight the famous, the unique, and the just
interesting from a piece on the film version of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax to a brief,
pictorial history of the famous Normandy Invasion of World War II.
GED
SCIENCE
Sea and Sky
http://www.seasky.org/
With text, data, games, and florescent pictures, this is an exciting science
website.
ABE/GED
A Science Odyssey
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/
This website has games such as The Atom Builder, comic book stories about
scientists, and a section on scientists and key scientific discoveries.
ABE/GED
We Are What We Eat
http://data.massivehealth.com/
These are a series of infographics about nutrition and its consequences.
ABE/GED
Physics in Life
http://www.physics.org/interact/physics-life/web/physics_life/
Enjoy an interactive, cartoon exploration of the major tenets of physics.
GED
Image of the Week
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/image-week
Along with a picture, the reader gets a story of the science involved.
GED
SOCIAL STUDIES
Trulio
http://www.trulio.com
This site gives an overall look at the United States and its cities. There are all
sorts of interesting charts, tables, and graphs about these places Just enter
“Chicago” or another town in the search box to bring up information about it.
ABE/GED
PBS: The Abolitionists
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/abolitionists/
PBS tells the story of how the strength and determination of individual people
helped to end slavery – three hours of excellent video.
ABE/GED
The American Presidency
http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/home.html
This site has brief biographies with objects from the era. There are also other
sites listed for more information.
Upper ABE/GED
Glencoe Spotlight videos
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/ss_modules/videos/tavmt_08/tavmt_08.html
Here is a library of brief videos covering American History.
ABE
Geocube
http://www.geo-cube.eu/
This is an excellent resource for physical geography.
GED