Technology, when used properly, can be a great addition to any lesson. However, in the field of adult ESL, technology is not always available to us. What can we do with English Forward lessons that require use of technology? For example, In Unit 8, Lesson 5 of English Forward, we are tasked with using a PowerPoint (click here to access the Powerpoint) that can be found on the Literacy Forward Web Portal and using a picture of a voting booth or ballot box, which we may need to find online. We have a few options here for taking this into a classroom without a computer or projector. One option is to use a smaller device, such as a tablet or smartphone, to share with the students. Just this week I had to give my class a short presentation on common jobs in our community (Unit 5, Lesson 1) and found that my class was moved to another room without a projector upon arriving at the building. Fortunately, I had my tablet with me, so I was able to pull up the presentation on my device. Of course, this did require me to be more mobile in order for all of the students to see what I was talking about, but it worked.
Another option would be to simply print out whatever materials you need or bring in realia that represents the topics you are discussing. This may take a little more advance planning, but should be just as effective as the electronic presentation if executed well.
This is all good for presentations and pictures of course, but what about videos? A tablet could also be used to show a video. If you don’t have a tablet available to you, you could use pictures and retell the story or material covered in the video yourself. In some cases this may be more beneficial to your students. You would be able to make sure that the information is relevant to your students and your community!
If you have other advice or information regarding how to adapt lessons that require technology, tell us in the comments below!