LiteracyLink is an extensive, multi-year project begun in 1996 that uses the latest in video, online, and computer technology to help adults receive literacy instruction and gain a high school diploma or equivalent. The partners in the project--The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Kentucky Educational Television (KET), the National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Kentucky Department of Education--will research and develop this integrated, multimedia learning system. By providing instruction that can be accessed easily and in a variety of settings, from the classroom to the workplace and the home, LiteracyLink is designed to overcome many of the barriers that often block adults from reaching their learning goals.

Learners and practitioners at 25 adult literacy programs across the United States will serve as "innovation sites" that will be active participants in the development of LiteracyLink. The innovation sites, representing a diverse range of programs nationwide, will shape the design of LiteracyLink products and instructional approaches by piloting products, providing feedback, and contributing their own ideas for instruction and involvement.

Developing a Technology-Based System

LiteracyLink takes a unique approach to developing a technology-based system for adult literacy instruction and staff development. While LiteracyLink aims to provide instruction that is centered on learners' self-identified goals, interests, and experiences, the system also strives to build a "community of learners" in which adult learners, with guidance from teachers, tutors, and the online system, can truly take responsibility for their own learning by actively participating in generating new knowledge and resources for the overall system.

LiteracyLink has three central goals:

• to increase adult learners' access to literacy learning opportunities,
  
• to improve the quality of instruction available to learners, and
  
• to expand professional development options to practitioners.

As a research and development project, LiteracyLink is a work in progress. The partners in the project are continuously initiating products and researching their effectiveness in adult learning settings. Planned products include the following:

• Two video series complemented by published/printed material will help adult learners to prepare for the General Educational Development (GED) exam, which is the credential for high school equivalency in the United States. The first video series, Workplace Essential Skills, will focus on employability and basic skills for pre-GED learners. The GED video series will provide 40 half-hour videos on the GED content areas: Writing Skills, Social Studies, Science, Literature and the Arts, and Mathematics.
  
• An interactive online learning system will provide high quality assessment and instruction for adult learners as well as professional development for practitioners. There are three components of the online system: LitHelper, LitLearner, and LitTeacher.

Online Components of LiteracyLink

LitLearner will deliver instructional content over the Internet in easy-to-use online formats, with icon-driven menus and audio instructions. In LitLearner, quality adult literacy materials will be adapted and new materials developed for use in online Workplace Essential Skills and GED modules. Print materials will supplement both the pre-GED and GED videos. Integrated learning modules will be organized around the test areas covered in the GED exam, and interactive access will use the widest range of relevant materials on the Internet.

For literacy educators, LitTeacher will offer a comprehensive "virtual resource center" which will include training in literacy and technology issues, technology assistance, a menu of materials on literacy education, and professional development videoconferences. An interactive instructional resource review tool, PeerLit, will enable educators to search and review appropriate instruction on the Internet with a set of assessment criteria tailored to adult literacy contexts.

The LiteracyLink project was chosen to be included in the International Literacy Explorer because it can serve as a model and resource for the use of technology in basic education.

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