COVID-19 Lessons: Navigating Systems
The COVID-19 outbreak presents an unprecedented opportunity to help our students develop TIF (Transitions Integration Framework) skills as they try to understand everything that is going on. With so many places being closed, it’s a great time to help students connect with familiar institutions that are making their content or services available in different formats. Here are a few of the ways that we can help our learners practice Navigating Systems skills:
1)Hennepin County Libraries (hclib.org), for example, have a large number of resources that can be accessed from home. Library patrons can borrow eBooks, download audiobooks, and stream music, for example, from their Online Resources page (found under the Browse menu at the top of the page).
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- For those students who do not have a library card, you can apply online (https://apps2.hclib.org/libcard/Applicants/Resident) and the card will arrive by mail.
2) The Minnesota Historical Society is another organization that has a wealth of free online content. The Voices of Minnesota collection (collections.mnhs.org/voicesofmn), part of Oral Histories, contains over 1300 interviews with written transcripts. The interviews are categorized by topics, including African American History, Gay and Lesbian History, Immigration, Personal and Family History, and Women’s History.
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- Possible activities: Students could choose a few interviews to listen to, and then use them as a model for sharing some of their own stories. You could also use the oral histories to create almost unlimited listening practice activities.
Find more information and examples in this newsletter article by Stephanie Sommers, ACES Coordinator for ATLAS / Instructor for Minneapolis Adult Education: