It was going to be the shortest blog entry I'd ever written for my Distance Education Skillshare site. I sat down to compose a couple sentence intro to an exciting list of predictions for blended learning that I'd come across in The Journal magazine. But as I reviewed the list that had captured my imagination, it started to click that advancing blended learning isn't just a job for early adopters anymore. We will all need to mobilize effective technology to help tens of thousands pass the GED in each of our states during 2013. We will need to help countless learners embrace computer-based instruction to be better prepared for a computer-based test.
Without a doubt, 2013 is shaping up to be a big year for blended learning. But, as many adjustments as we educators will have to make, it's the success of our blended learners that should be championed. The apprehensions of expanding learning opportunities beyond the traditional classroom are nothing compared to the initiative and sacrifice that our learners will contribute with their own drive to reach their goals using a variety of learning platforms. If the changes coming to adult ed seem insurmountable or paralyzingingly uncertain, I think we can look to our learners for a clear way forward. Engaging and accessible computer-based instruction to fuel independent learning. Responsive facilitators who can help keep the learning on track between classes or assessments. Flexible learning options, but also a clear structure. Digital literacy skills that cut across a range of credentials and longterm and shortterm goals.
In short, I see the field of adult ed making a great leap forward in the coming year(s), and it will be lead by adult learners rising the the occasion.
Here's more on the topic from my blog. That list from The Journal is linked there, of course. Thanks to my graphic designer wife for doctoring that Time mag cover at my request.
Jason Guard, MPA Account Manager and GED and Distance Education Specialist GED Academy and Essential Education Direct:(800)390-9307 jason@passged.com Twitter: @jkguard
Comments
Jason Guard wrote: We will all need to mobilize effective technology to help tens of thousands pass the GED in each of our states during 2013. We will need to help countless learners embrace computer-based instruction to be better prepared for a computer-based test.
I agree, and think it's worth explaining why I think so. In addition to requiring good keyboard and computer navigation skills -- needed to take the GED® tests on a computer -- the standards, especially the career and college-ready standards, are significantly higher than those for the 2002 series GED® tests. The math, science and writing thinking skills and understandings that will be needed to pass those tests will require for many (most?) test-takers much more study, much more time on task. Most high school equivalency exam programs don't have the capacity to expand the hours of current teachers or to hire more teachers. Many working students couldn't attend more hours of class per week in any case. So the options, it appears to me are an increased amount of (integrated) independent study time, or students and programs accepting increasing the number of months (years?) of high school equivalency preparation. Online and blended learning technology offers some good (but not the only) solutions to increasing integrated independent study.
There’s something else important in Jason’s observation. He starts with a need – a learner and program instructional need, a real and urgent need that has important consequences for adult learners and for teachers and programs -- passing the GED2014 exam . This is not an isolated, trivial, or marginal need in our field. It is a family-consequential, mainstream need that will affect learners in many or all states. While some view technology as a high school equivalency student’s enemy, making it more difficult to take or pass the tests, Jason suggests that blended learning technology may offer a good solution to this problem, and that we need to mobilize effective technology to assure that it is a good solution. I like this approach: start with a real and palpable instructional problem, then look to see if there are good solutions afforded by technology. Of course, it isn’t necessarily easy to “mobilize effective technology.” It may require financial resources to assure that all students have access, and it will definitely require significant professional development (not just a few one-time workshops, but ongoing introduction of good practices in using technology as well as planned follow-up opportunities for practice, reflection, and discussion.
David J. Rosen
Djrosen123@gmail.com
Thanks for those comments, David. And I'm assuming that you weren't just inspired by seeing your name in my blog post.
More than simply employing technology, I think we're talking about putting the tools in the hands of our learners and giving them more ownership of their educational journey. The time and place for those blended learning activities necessarily extend beyond the classroom space and schedule. So, it's important that our instructional tools actually teach and support self-directed learning rather than a completely dependent dynamic. Hence, it's the blended learner who's going to see us through this intense period of transition.
But, it's also like a trust-fall. Will educators be there to catch their learners and facilitate their computer-based instruction process? I know the answer is yes, but the learners don't know that. And it takes some bravery and faith on their part to make that initial leap.
Also, in terms of barriers to participation in blended learning... I think the digital literacy skills necessary for successful online learning are an important catalyst for more outcomes than just the GED test. Developing effective blended learners at all levels of ABE/GED/ESOL opens doors and accelerates the process for college transitioning, career pathways, and EFL gains.
Jason Guard
jason@passged.com
800-390-9307