A. Broaden the Literacy Community's Access to LINCS

1. Training for state level staff and local programs

The Hub did a presentation on LINCS and the Midwest Hub to the Midwest state directors of adult education at the national meeting in March. The Hub was also represented at the Adult Literacy and Technology Winter Institute in Atlanta in January, and presented at the Illinois Workforce Development Conference in January.

Illinois gave presentations at the state adult education conference where providers where encouraged to submit work. A memo has been sent out to providers with a simplified form.

Indiana is developing a survey for local literacy providers to establish current technological capabilities and will use the results to establish levels of needs and plan regional workshops for the summer.

Iowa created class materials for providing LINCS and Iowa Literacy Resource Center web page training for literacy students and practitioners. Several adult literacy students were involved in discussions to ensure proper focus of materials. Actual classes will begin next quarter.

Ten workshops were conducted during the quarter in Kansas for 239 adult educators representing 22 adult education and literacy programs. Although none of these workshops focused solely on the Hub project, all of them highlighted the technology project, resources available online, and NIFL and its resources.

Michigan has conducted surveys to determine the need and focus for regional technology training and are being analyzed with a two-fold purpose: 1)to conduct basic, entry level Internet training for the field in general and 2) to provide training on utilization of Hub resources specific to teaching and learning. An April 22 workshop is scheduled with additional activities after the COABE conference (which has been the focus of the whole state recently).

Minnesota provided training in the use of LINCS to one Training Facilitator from each Adult Basic Education training region of Minnesota in a one-day workshop format. Training Facilitators work for the Literacy Training Network in providing training to ABE teachers statewide through a train-the-trainer model.

Nebraska held a training session for local practitioners which included representatives from the Partner Program. A second session was canceled by an April blizzard.

Ohio provided HTML training to interested local programs to facilitate putting resources online as well as creating program sites.

South Dakota held a preliminary meeting with the South Dakota Literacy Council to begin planning for hands-on searching LINCS, South Dakota Library Network, and other Internet/literacy resources. This will be a day-long training for fifteen literacy professionals who will then have the responsibility of providing the training to others at their sites.

Wisconsin gave presentations to state agency and local volunteer organizations regarding the NIFL publicity campaign, and trained VISTA workers to assist in the campaign and to provide local level training.

The Midwest Hub published the Winter, 1997 issue of Tech Talk and distributed copies to the Midwest states and to 2300 individuals on the OLRC database. The first 3 pages of the publication contain web resources and information on the LINCS Forum/Listservs with all Ohio tech news on the 4th page. This is done so that the other states can just reproduce the first 3 pages for distribution in their state.

2. Training/technical support for Local Partner Programs

Each state was asked to choose at least one local Partner Program and provide coordination, training and technical assistance to that program in the use of LINCS. By the end of the second quarter, the following activity had taken place in the states in choosing Partner Programs.

Illinois will be working with Lawrence Education Center in Springfield, IL and another program. The major goal of the Lawrence program will be evaluation of Internet sites.

Indiana will have 3 regional advisors who will serve as the Partner Programs and will be in charge of the workshops in each region. It is hoped that at least one workshop in each of the three regions will establish an on-going relationship with a program that agrees to assist the Resource Center in advancing the entire region's capabilities.

Iowa had attempted to work with a local community college, but has recently decided to select an alternative partner who will be better positioned to become actively involved.

Kansas is working with Project Finish, Johnson County Community College and this program has received extensive technical support. Training for instructors and volunteers will begin in June when installation of equipment is completed.

Michigan's local Partner Programs are the Kent County Literacy Council operating out of Grand Rapids Public Library ( which deals with ABE federal funds on a FTE basis as well as offers one-to-one tutorial assistance) and the Basic Writing Center at Central Michigan University. The needs of the Kent County project are in training staff, tutors, and board members on the utilization of technology and in networking and communicating among all sectors of the program and formatting teacher materials for SLRC website. The Basic Writing Center will be working with networking and developing and delivering through the web writing curricula.

Minnesota continues to work with the St. Paul Community Literacy Collaborative (CLC). The CLC is focusing on using the Internet as a tool to streamline program administration and as a resource for teachers. Their goal of Improving service delivery will be met by getting each program a home page to use for publicity, developing a uniform intake form for use by all on the Internet, enhancing the program information and referral system, and allowing access via the Internet.

Missouri continues to work with the St. Louis Community College student tutor corps. The college student tutors will use the Internet to connect with other tutors around the world to discuss best practices and the tutors will be trained to use the Internet to locate literacy-related resources. A second Partner Program has been selected at the International Institute in St. Louis, where LIFT will work with the ESL Family Literacy program to provide a modem, service provider, training and phone support.

Nebraska is working with the Lincoln Literacy Council and in addition to providing training, has met with the Director to determine how to best meet their needs.

North Dakota has selected four local Partner Programs that are now in training.

Ohio selected nine local programs to receive $500 grants. These programs represent two large city public school programs, a program for deaf students, a program in a Private Industry Council, two programs in career centers, a public library program, and two small county programs. A one-day training was held in February where 20 staff members from the 9 programs received training which include an overview of the NIFL project, introductions and sharing of plans for the projects, summary of 1996 local projects, hands-on Internet activities, and a review of project requirements.

South Dakota met with the South Dakota Association of Lifelong Learning (SDALL) who has agreed to be the Partner Program. SDALL will participate in Internet search training which will be the model used with the SD Literacy Council and the Rural Family Literacy Technology grant. As the local partner they will also assist in locating and cataloging materials on LINCS.

Wisconsin has assisted the Council for the Spanish Speaking, a CBO in the Milwaukee area, in receiving funds to upgrade its computer equipment and will provide on-site training to instructional staff when the upgrade is completed.

3. Training at the State Level: A three-day training was held by the Hub for 20 staff members from the eleven Midwest states March 2-4 at Kent State University. The agenda included both a Management Track and a Technical Track in order to go in-depth with technology training while also covering many of the issues important for the management of the project. A complete agenda, list of participants, and evaluation is attached.

4. Technical Assistance: The Hub provided assistance to member states at an average of 10 phone calls a week and 15 e-mails a week.

B. Enhancing the Content of Information on LINCS

1. Collecting Quality Information: Each state has been encouraged to focus on collecting instructional materials and other non-published materials. Discussions on collecting materials took place during the March training and a discussion of quality control resulted in the recommendation that the quality of content be left up to individual states to deal with, but that the NIFL should assist in setting national guidelines for submission of materials (i.e: no undocumented copyrighted material).

The following activity took place in this quarter in the individual states.

Illinois added six documents full-text on-line.

Iowa entered the quarterly newsletter.

Ohio added 11documents on-line.

Michigan published The Executive Guidon, a new SLRC publication targeted to program directors. The first issue was a technology primer. The Center has met with 353 coordinators in the state and are in the process of putting all of those publications on the website. There will be a major emphasis in next year's 353 grant application for technology assistance to get materials online and provide training. An on-line form was also added to the Michigan web site for direct submission of materials.

Minnesota has added current issues of the newsletter.

Missouri added 3 documents: Teaching Literacy Through Creative Writing, Science of Infant Development, and Clinic Recruitment Manual.

2. Cataloging Documents: Training was conducted the March meeting on the best way to do the cataloging.

Individual states have done the following cataloging during the quarter

Illinois cataloged 8 documents.

Indiana will have an online catalog of the Resource Center's collection by September.

Iowa cataloged and added to the collection 144 new titles and 258 total items.

Nebraska added 20 documents to the catalog and is currently revising catalog system to conform to the Hub system.

Ohio cataloged 15 documents.

Wisconsin had the holdings of the Wisconsin Literacy Resource Network transferred to the Wisconsin Reference and Loan Library and to Chippewa Valley Technical College Learning Resource Center. The materials will be cataloged according to WISCAT (a statewide materials cataloging system for libraries).

3. New Additions to Web Site

Illinois completed the Illinois Adult Education/Literacy Providers List which includes all providers registered with the Illinois Adult Learning Hotline. They are continuing to promote specific conferences and upcoming events, and have changed the look of the site and added their logo throughout the site.

Kansas added 1) a Demographic Data page to help program planners, grant writers, and other interested persons in locating relevant online information and 2) information on five additional local adult education programs.

Missouri added 1) Calendar of Events, 2) Video Resources Available for Loan, 3) Additional Links to Other State Organizations, 4) Frames to the site, and 5) a Survey/Form for public response and/or suggestions.

Nebraska added new links to both local resources and to the NIFL and Regional Hub. The site has been made more user friendly and a feedback form has been added to the homepage.

North Dakota updated its web site to include timely materials.

Ohio added new links to teacher resources and a set of resource development pages.

C. Marketing

The Hub published a Fall issue of Tech Talk which featured information on LINCS, web sites from M-NET and all the Midwest states, and information on software. This was distributed to over 2300 people.

Illinois is attempting to increase the level of publicity and incentives to use the Internet. Their Network Notes newsletter contains a feature called the Internet Corner which selects topics of interest to providers and then lists sites which provide information or program suggestions to implement. The formal newsletter, Illinois Literacy, now lists web addresses for more information at the end of articles.

South Dakota had articles in both the Adult Education Newsletter and the South Dakota Library Association Newsletter about the Rural Dakota Family Literacy Initiative and its relationship to the Hub project.

Information on publicity from other states was highlighted in training activities above.

D. Collaboration

The twelve state directors in the region were sent a letter with copies of the first quarter report and Tech Talk.

The Midwest Hub made a presentation to the regional state directors in March.

Presentation materials were distributed to each state to use with their state department and other state-level agency. (Overheads, hand-outs, and Power Point presentation.)

E. Evaluation

Surveys were developed by the Hub: 1) a phone survey of 1996 local programs will be conducted in April; 2) an on-line survey; and 3) a survey to be included in the Spring, 1997 Tech Talk.

Use of system: The Midwest Hub site had 22,486 hits during the quarter, an increase of 59.8% over last quarter. The most popular pages were the M-NET home page, the Internet Directory of Adult Literacy Resources page, and the Tools and Utilities page. 10,305 of the hits came from external links and 3,310 hits came from search engines. In Iowa, the web site server was contacted 4,627 times with an average daily usage rate of 52. Iowa showed an 84.6% increase in hits over last quarter.

Some of the other states have not set up a system to provide these statistics.

F. Management

The last two of the state subcontracts for $4000 were finalized. In addition, the Hub rebudgeted after all expenses for the first year of the grant were in and was able to offer each state an additional $500. States asked that this money be used primarily to support their local Partner Programs.

G. Special Projects

Leveraging Funds: During the Midwest Training in March, discussion was held on the amount of money which had been leveraged because of this project. Several states reported actual dollar amounts:

1) South Dakota received a $195,735 federal grant from the Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiatives to link 24 local literacy councils with the state, regional, and national literacy resources.

2) Kansas has directed approximately $20,000 of 353 funding to technology training for adult educators and literacy tutors and special projects to enhance technology utilization.

3) The NIFL LINCS/Midwest Hub project has been critical in Minnesota for the retaining of funding for the state literacy resource center. 353 funds have covered operational expenses for the last 2 years.

4) North Dakota has used $7,000 in 353 funds for training of staff, has designated $40,000 in equipment and software for local staff training, and can count $35,000 from local school districts for telephone, server support, wiring, etc.

5) Michigan has received a $270,000 353 grant which includes support of training and other technology activities.

6) Illinois has been able to recommend more dollars going into technology and training because of its relationship with the Hub project. $55,000 was reallocated for technology, $100,000 in state dollars will go for technology materials and training for librarians and literacy programs, $25,000 for training is now available because of interagency cooperation on the 1996 ALT conference, the family literacy portion of the Illinois Literacy Act was amended to include statewide projects relating to families and technology access ($1.5 million), $90,000 has been requested for a parental involvement grant.

7) Ohio has received an additional $20,000 in 353 funds to pilot the Technical Assistance Network.

The Midwest Hub submitted a proposal to the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program under the US Department of Commerce. The $426,838 grant proposal was for a 18-month project which will involve all 12 states in the Midwest and will build upon the infrastructure developed with the Hub project.

The Iowa Literacy Resource Center was the recipient of the Governor's Award for Volunteerism as an organization.

Nebraska has submitted a proposal to receive 353 funds from the State Department of Education to support the operations of the SLRC and the technical services offered as part of the LINCS project.

H. Barriers to success this quarter

Indiana lacks staff to move plans forward, and feels that despite the best intentions, the time line continues to be moved back by the day-to-day needs of the Center.

Iowa experienced many travel and cancellation problems due to weather and continues to have staff concerns since the Resource Center is operated in conjunction with the Regional Library. Administrative support for the Partner Program was a problem.

Michigan feels it is hard to be patient and that all of this takes a lot of time. They had disappointments when their original Partner Program self-destructed and when efforts to do some cooperative workshops with other agencies fell through.

I. Plans for third Quarter

The Hub will be making presentations at COABE and the Illinois Conference and will be attending the Hub meeting before COABE. The 3 surveys will be summarized and analyzed. Information on the On-line Conferencing and Student Website Review will be shared with the other states.

Indiana plans 1) to have the in-house software preview center up and running, 2) to complete at least 3 workshops around the state, 3) to recruit 3 technical advisors, 4) to have server software in place to facilitate maintenance and expansion of the web page, 5) to purchase an integrated library software package, and 6) to complete preliminary work on developing listserv capability.

Illinois will be developing training modules/tutorials for a new database being adopted for all programs funded by various state agencies. They will be offering incentives to programs which send in locally produced materials and recognizing the best in the newsletter, investigating a listserv for family literacy providers, and mounting information on the NIFL publicity campaign.

Iowa plans to start inclusion of 353 projects in electronic form. A schedule for capturing and entering all items identified will be set and executed. Classes for literacy students and practitioners on LINCS and the ILRC web site will be held.

Kansas will 1) add 3 full-text locally produced resources and catalog them, 2) provide technical assistance and training to a second local Partner Program; and 3) finalize plans for the Summer Institute VIII, where a major technology training will be conducted.

Michigan will be meeting with 50+ directors of CBO's and making a presentation on the Hubs project. They are also planning an action research/teacher inquiry project statewide which will provide stipends for teachers/providers to collect data on applications of technology to their practice. Short term goals are 1) set up local partner programs, continue scheduling trainings and workshops, hire additional technology staff, and solicit and place 353 projects on the website.

Minnesota will 1) continue to enhance content, maintain links, and respond to user comments; 2) finalize policies on server use by the Minnesota literacy community; 3) continue to identify and work with state-wide organizations to share information with the literacy community; 4) develop clear policies for the selection of materials to be placed online; 5) hold a series of Swap Sessions on special topics and invite participants to share locally produced materials; 6) place advertisements for materials in local literacy publications; 7) continue loaning materials .

Missouri will 1) continue to upgrade site on a timely basis, 2) add at least 4 locally-produced curricula, 3) train local Partner Program tutors, 4) catalog LIFT materials, 5) train community education providers, and 6) pursue funding to expand this project in Missouri.

Nebraska has 2 trainings scheduled, will have the Modem Project implemented, will continue to solicit locally produced materials, and will complete the Demographics Page.

North Dakota's goal is to have 75% of the adult education sites in the state with Internet access by the Fall, and to train at least 7-10 key staff members in the use of Internet resources for instructional purposes.

Ohio will put more resources on-line, including a major math resource which will be searchable. A student feedback page for comments on web sites will be developed and used by local programs in the state. A pilot Online Conference will be held in June with members of the Ohio Technology Team. Ohio will also refine stats and improve navigation. Presentations will be held at the state association conference and Directors Meeting.

South Dakota will provide hands-on training for Internet searching for SDALL and the SD Literacy Council and will begin reviewing locally produced materials for cataloging.

Wisconsin will be assisting with the creation of a High School Equivalency Diploma Option based on the competencies identified for level III basic education.

J. Additional Help Needed

Information on appropriate programs, formats to run a listserv (Kansas).

More sharing what other states in the project are doing (Illinois).

Working with NIFL to continue enhancing the technical capabilities of the Hub in order to provide back-up and assistance when called upon (Iowa).

Recommendations on particular products, assistance in establishing qualifications for educational discounts, and share contact information with recommended vendors. (Indiana)

Continue to be our technical eyes and ears. Recommend new server management products and coordinate software and hardware purchasing for maximum discounts when appropriate. (Minnesota).

On-site technical assistance in our state. (North Dakota)

Print a manual of instruction of the Training Model discussed at the Hub meeting. (Missouri)

Just be there for support and to answer questions. (South Dakota)

Need suggestions on how to get teachers to submit materials to put on the web. (Nebraska)