1. VIRTUAL LITERACY TO SUCCEED
EQUIPPING ADULTS WITH LOW LITERACY FOR FUTURE WORK READINESS
Stressing the role of workforce creation and economic stability is dependent upon an investment in human
capital and the harnessing of technology to make the most of the opportunities and information.
—Secretary Thomas E. Perez, Maryland Department of Labor (October 2008)
According to the 2008 National Commission on Adult Literacy report, “Reach Higher,
AMERICA: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce,” the employment needs of low-
skilled workers must be met in order to remain competitive in today's global economy.
The United States must “focus service on the needs of the unemployed; low-skilled
incumbent workers; immigrants with limited or no English; parents or caregivers with low
basic skills; incarcerated adults; high school dropouts; and high school graduates not
ready for college”. The quality of life for us and for our families would be greatly
improved - and we could contribute more fully to the U.S. economy and to our families -
if we had greater access to education and training. But for adults with low literacy skills,
reading and writing is the barrier to needed education and training. As many as 38% of
U.S. adults over the age of 18 lack the literacy skills to be successful in the 21st
century
workplace. That’s as many as 90,000,000 adults who could contribute more fully to the
U.S. economy and to their families if they had more education and training.
IOWA VIRTUAL LITERACY INITIATIVE (IVLI) FOR EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING
Spearheaded by the Drake University Adult Literacy Center (DUALC), IVLI, a public-
private partnership, is initiating pilots of “virtual literacy” technology and methods within
employment training programs including GED and other training certifications including
the Career Readiness Certificate. With the objective of preparing adult learners with
low literacy for future work readiness, timeframes are significantly reduced and
completion rates increased. Customized programming is being created to address the
literacy needs of multiple populations:
 Low-skilled worker
 Unemployed worker
 Underemployed individuals
 Immigrant workers
 Incarcerated individuals
 Formerly incarcerated individuals
 Minority populations
 Individuals with cultural and language barriers to employment
 Workers with disabilities
 Displaced workers
 College students in remediation
 Transitioning youth

2.  Mature workers

3. TECHNOLOGY WORKING MODELS
Software:
 Kurzweil 3000: http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000.aspx
 Read & Write Gold 9:
http://www.synapseadaptive.com/textHELP/read&write_gold/read&write_gold_default.htm
 Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred/microphone
http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/products/preferred.asp
 kReader PC (Beta): http://www.knfbreader.com/products-kreader-pc.php
Freeware:
 Natural Readers www.naturalreaders.com
 VozMe: http://vozme.com/index.php?lang=en
 ReadPlease: http://www.readplease.com/
 Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/#home
 Dial 2DO: www.dial2do.com
 Scan R: www.scanr.com
 Bookshare: www.bookshare.org
 Google Book Search: http://books.google.com/
 Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page?sess=25607a1aa5
ClassMate Reader: http://www.humanware.com/en-
usa/products/learning_disabilities/_details/id_107/classmate_reader.html
kReader Mobile (Nokia N82):
http://www.knfbreader.com/products-kreader-mobile.php
Iowa Virtual Literacy Initiative (IVLI) for Education and Workforce Training
For more information, contact:
Anne Murr, M.S.
Coordinator
Drake University Adult
Literacy Center
School of Education
3206 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50311
anne.murr@drake.edu
515-271-3982
Linda Kelly
Project Manager
lkconsulting@gmail.co
m
515-201-5158
http://www.drake.edu/soe/projects/adult_lit_center.php