A technology professional development question for 2013

Technology and Professional Development Colleagues,

 

Researcher, teacher and teacher educator Erik Jacobson has written in Adult Basic Education in the Age of New Literacies (Vol. 42, Peter Lang Publishing, 2012. Page 79.) “When it comes to technology, this means that professional development should start with the kinds of questions a teacher wants to answer. Thus, rather than beginning with the latest technology, professional development efforts should start with the issues and problems teachers and learners are wrestling with. That is, teachers should identify a need and then look for a tool that would be a good fit. This stands in contrast to starting with the tool and then asking, ‘Now what can you do with this?’ “

 

My main purpose in bringing this to your attention is to start discussions in the Technology and Professional Development CoPs in which we explore what needs, issues and problems adult education teachers have for which there may be some useful solutions from technology. I hope teachers and others will post the needs, issues and problems they are wrestling with, and perhaps get some solutions here.

 

For example, a common problem, especially for part-time evening adult education teachers who work at other jobs during the day, is not being able to attend face-to-face professional development. A technology-based solution might be (the now large number of) online or blended professional development resources. (See http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/AlePDOnline for a good list of these.)

 

My second purpose has to do with the Harnessing Technology web pages that I created in the late 1990’s. Their purpose is to “help adult literacy education (ABE/GED/ESL/ESOL) teachers and learners to use computers, tablets, smart phones, television, CD-Roms, DVDs, audio and video cassettes, and other electronic technology to help solve learning and instructional problems.   The Web pages grow and improve as practitioners and learners describe problems and contribute good solutions which use technology. “ I am beginning to revise these pages, and am hoping to add relevant adult education teaching problems and good  technology-based solutions to them. http://home.comcast.net/~djrosen/newsome/harness.html

You could take a look to see what kinds of problems and solutions are already listed.

 

Please post your issues or problems here and if you have a good technology-based solution to suggest feel free to add that, too.

 

David J. Rosen

Djrosen123@gmail.com

Comments

Here are some suggestions to update the site

Lesson Plans - Eureka Agora http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/tradebooks/thematic_coll.html

Offers Trade Books Thematic Collections are intended to facilitate the use of thematic text sets in developing lesson plans. Some of the collections are appropriate for planning GED instruction (e.g. World War II), some are constructed around a certain topic (e.g. Whales), and some are for a particular group of students (e.g. Easy Reading Books). In addition to the titles and authors of the books, each collection may have information about the type of book, the setting of the story, or the themes in the story. Teaching ideas for using the collection are also included.

Health - The National Library of Medicine offers information on vairous health concerns called "Easy-to-Read"

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/all_easytoread.html

Note also the information on how to write "Easy-to-Read" health manuals

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/etr.html

Lois Gordon

Mohawk Valley Library System

858 Duanesburg Road

Schenectady, NY 12306

Phone: 518-355-2010 x 233

Fax: 518-355-0674

lgordon@mvls.info

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Lois for providing the descriptions of the resources.

The Harnessing Technology web site http://home.comcast.net/%7Edjrosen/newsome/harness.html is different from most lists of adult education resources:

1. In every case, in a wide range of problem areas,  it starts with an actual adult education instructional problem, from the perspective of a teacher;

2. It offers solutions afforded by technology for this problem; and

3. Most of the technology solutions are free or inexpensive.

 

Can you tell us what the instructional problem(s) are that the solutions you have provided address?

Are the solutions hard-copy text-based resources or web-based resources?

Are they free or commercial?

 

Thanks,

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

In New York State our Education Department has surveyed the adult education field using the Technology Integration Self Assessment (TISA).  You can find the survey here.  In planning technology workshops, I am using the survey items as the beginning of a list of competencies that we should be addressing.  I would be interested in hearing from others regarding what competencies are missing from the survey.

 

best,

Nell 

Hello Nell,

As one of the people who helped to develop the Technology Integration Self Assessment (TISA) competencies and to select the online learning resources that accompany them, in the years that have intervened since TISA was created, I think mobile technology has greatly expanded in adult education. I would like to see more attention given to how teachers and their students use smart phones and electronic tablets. I also think that teachers need to develop competence in finding, judging the quality of, and integrating web-based learning resources, especially video resources such as those one can now find in abundance on YouTube and elsewhere. Specifically, teachers need to know how to find reviewed compilations of adult-appropriate instructional videos and also how to review individual instructional videos themselves.

I think the availability of good (often free) tools for those who have learning disabilities, including specific reading disabilities, has expanded, and the resources for the Assistive Technology (and Universal Design) competencies area need to be expanded.

For those who want to see a list of the TISA competencies, register (free) at adultedonline.org , then go to www.adultedonline.org/tisaResources.cfm#r4


David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

Do you have any suggestions for preparing for the new 2014 GED computer based test?  I am interested in professional development opportunities as well as student preparation software and materials???

Technology and Professional Development Colleagues,

On December 31st -- when few people may have been reading their email I would guess -- I posted a request here that asked for responses. I got a few, but not nearly what I had hoped for. Below are excerpts with the key ideas and requests -- this time in bold.  I am posting this again hoping to enage more people in this conversation:

I wrote:

My main purpose in bringing this to your attention is to start discussions in the Technology and Professional Development CoPs in which we explore what needs, issues and problems adult education teachers have for which there may be some useful solutions from technology. I hope teachers and others will post the needs, issues and problems they are wrestling with, and perhaps get some solutions here.

For example, a common problem, especially for part-time evening adult education teachers who work at other jobs during the day, is not being able to attend face-to-face professional development. A technology-based solution might be (the now large number of) online or blended professional development resources. (See http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/AlePDOnline for a good list of these.)

My second purpose has to do with the Harnessing Technology web pages that I created in the late 1990’s. Their purpose is to “help adult literacy education (ABE/GED/ESL/ESOL) teachers and learners to use computers, tablets, smart phones, television, CD-Roms, DVDs, audio and video cassettes, and other electronic technology to help solve learning and instructional problems.   The Web pages grow and improve as practitioners and learners describe problems and contribute good solutions which use technology.I am beginning to revise these pages, and am hoping to add relevant adult education teaching problems and good  technology-based solutions to them. http://home.comcast.net/~djrosen/newsome/harness.html

Please look at the Harnessing Technology web pages and suggest new problems, ideally new problems with good technology solutions. To do that, just reply to this message , so others here may benefit from your thinking immediately. I will review what people suggest and may add them to the Harnessing Technology web pages, crediting those whose technology solutions I add.

Thanks for your help.


David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com