Summer Reading -- Technology Toolkit

The Technology Toolkit is a thoughtful, informative account of a literacy and technology initiative by the Brooklyn Public Library. This program involves Learning Centres at five libraries in the Brooklyn area. Volunteers at these Centres help adults work on basic skills including reading, writing, information literacy, problem solving and technology.

The Library took a unique project-based approach to helping adults learn technical skills. In 1992, the program decided to “throw away” all drill and practice software and concentrate on providing adults with access to productivity software such as word processing, spreadsheet, database, and desktop publishing programs. There was no sequential curriculum; the curriculum came out of activities that were meaningful to the adults involved in the program and gave them the opportunity to express their ideas and explore.

The Technology Toolkit takes you through their experiences with Introducing Adults to Computers, Word Processors and the Writing Process, Productivity Tools and Critical Thinking, CDROMS, the Internet and Information Literacy and Using the Internet to Communicate. The last section of the book contains detailed lesson plans for all of the student projects mentioned in the book. The lesson plans include Family Portraits, My Favourite Person, Creating a Mother’s Day Card and You’ve Got Mail. This book is an excellent resource for practitioners wanting to help adults learn computer skills that have become a necessity in today’s society. The book can be borrowed from the AlphaPlus Centre (1-800-788-1120) or purchased from the Brooklyn Public Library (1-718-832-3560).