Members' Introductions

If you haven't yet, please introduce yourself by replying with a comment to this post. You can do that in any way you like, but here are some possible things to mention:

  • Your name
  • Your role(s) in adult basic skills education, and/or in other types of education
  • Your program and agency/organization/institution and state
  • Your interests in using technology -- what you would like to learn, what you would like to share with colleagues here
  • What you are hoping to get from being a member of this CoP

Thanks. We look forward to seeing your introduction.

David J. Rosen

Technology and Learning CoP Moderator

djrosen123@gmail.com

Comments

Hello,

My name is Mr. James Painchaud although my students usually call me Mr. PC.

This is my third year in the position of Computer Science teacher for Oxford High School, 8th - 12th grade, and I am very excited and happy to have been given the opportunity to continue an aggressive, engaging, and challenging Computer Science program for the students and staff within the Oxford Public School District.

This is my first year working with the Webster school district evenings as a technologist for ESOL and ABE students in Southbridge, MA.

This is my 17th year overall teaching computer science and robotics to middle and high school students.

Before becoming a teacher I worked as a software engineer for many years and have been fortunate enough to watch technology evolve over the past couple of decades.

I hold a Master's Degree in Education with a concentration in Instructional Technology Leadership from Fitchburg State University, and a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Assumption College.

I look forward to sharing many learning experiences with all of you this year!

I hope to hear of and share new ideas and resources for integrating technology into the high school computer science and robotics area and other tools that may be used for my adult ESOL and ABE students.

Thanks and glad to meet all of you.

James

 

 

Hello James or, if you prefer, Mr. PC (a nice reference to both your last name and your technology interest!)

Thanks for introducing yourself, and welcome to the Integrating Technology group. It will be interesting for us to hear your observations and questions about how teaching adult learners differs from teaching high school students.

I would be interested to know if you are able to include lessons on robotics in your adult learner classes. This is an area that isn't often discussed in the Integrating Technology group, or perhaps in our field generally, and is having, or will have, a huge impact on adult learners' and their families' lives. Learners may want to know what the impact of robotics will be on jobs and careers (both new job and career opportunities and jobs lost to automation, specifically robotization). How is the impact of robotics playing out in Central Massachusetts?

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

 

Hello everyone! My name is Kirstin Thomas and I'm happy to join you in this CoP. I am a recent M.A. graduate from UMBC's TESOL program. I currently work at Baltimore City Community College where I coordinate online & lab-based programs for ESL/ABE and teach Computer Literacy. One of my interests is making sure ESL/ABE teachers are receiving adequate training to independently develop technology-enriched lessons. In our ESL classrooms especially, it can be challenging when language and technology abilities are mixed. I recently developed a PD workshop on some techniques for classroom management and introducing or scaling technology in ESL lessons. I haven't had a chance to present this yet so perhaps its something I can share with you more. I look forward to learning more about how other programs are meeting the challenge of teaching digital skills. 

Best regards,

Kirstin Thomas

Hello Kirstin, and others,

We're glad you have joined us, Kirstin, in the LINCS Integrating Technology group. I have some questions for you:

  • You wrote, "One of my interests is making sure ESL/ABE teachers are receiving adequate training to independently develop technology-enriched lessons." Tell us what you are currently doing to address that need. For example, for the ESL teachers, are you familiar with, or do you already use ESL Pro, https://lincs.ed.gov/state-resources/federal-initiatives/esl-pro, especially the Integrating Digital Literacy into English Language Instruction section, https://lincs.ed.gov/state-resources/federal-initiatives/esl-pro/integrating-digital-literacy-into-english-language-instruction? Also, are you familiar with the OTAN free online Lesson Plan Builder tool? https://www.otan.us/members/lessonPlanBuilder/index.cfm?fuseaction=index To access OTAN you have to register, and although it is focused on California adult basic Skills (Including ESL) teachers, others are welcome to join. It is a fabulous free set of resources for adult basic skills (including ESL) teachers and administrators. Anyone else have suggestions for Kirstin to enable ESL/ABE teachers to receive adequate training to independently develop technology-enriched lessons?
  • You wrote, "I recently developed a PD workshop on some techniques for classroom management and introducing or scaling technology in ESL lessons. I haven't had a chance to present this yet so perhaps its something I can share with you more." Please share information about your workshop, perhaps as a separate post in the Integrating Technology group. Perhaps we can give you some comments or questions and, in any case, we can learn from what you are doing.
  • You wrote, "I look forward to learning more about how other programs are meeting the challenge of teaching digital skills." Everyone, how are you trying to meet the challenges of teaching adults digital skills?  I'll post a new thread in Integrating Technology with this title where you can respond.
  • Kirstin, by "digital skills" do you mean digital literacy skills, as we are beginning to define them here, i.e. "The ability to successfully and ethically use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create and communicate information, and solve relevant problems, in a person's daily living, education and work", or something else?

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

Hello from Arizona,

My name is Marit Runyon. I am an Education Program Manager at Arizona Department of Correction, Florence. We were awarded a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity grant in 2017 to educate incarcerated men, to offer career planning and occupational training to Adult Basic Education students in close community partnership with workforce, colleges and businesses. Some of the students continue in post secondary education before and after release. We are in the process of providing all 40,000 Arizona state inmates with Tablets, and I believe there has been contact with Ashland University to provide Second Chance Pell courses on the tablets.  I'm curious about the switch from no online access to a general access to emailing loved ones and with opportunity to chose free education or pay for other online entertainment. Years ago, I was involved in an Open and Distant Learning project in Europe. I'm an online optimist and would like to learn, to promote best practice to our students. 

My name is Benny Williams, and I am a part-time GED in Spanish instructor at a community college in the Dallas, TX area. I have always used the document camera and the projector for my lessons. However, I would like to start using Google docs and other internet resources in the classroom. However, I have to take the appropriate courses online to feel comfortable and be able to use them in my classes. My students have difficulty with the English language in addition to their limited computer literacy. I look forward to learning from this course and from all of you and hopefully sharing my opinions and experiences with you. 

I'm Joanna and I teach adult ESL at a community center. My students are from all over the globe. I teach a level 3/4 class, but most of my students are not at level.My job wants me to emphasize learning English integrated with workforce preparation and/or continuing education. Many just need to get some keyboard skills, while others are quite adept at technology. I would like to incorporate more video and TED Talks into my lessons. 

Hello Joanna,

Welcome to the LINCS Community's Integrating Technology group, and thanks for your interesting post about your experience with the LINCS online course, Integrating Technology in the Adult Education Classroom. Your post has inspired me to launch a new discussion thread here about peer teaching and learning for digital literacy that you may want to contribute to.

Feel free to post your ideas, questions, and links to useful articles, audio files (podcasts), videos and other resources you have found helpful.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

Hello, my name is Jay, and I am a math teacher operating throughout the southern Connecticut River Valley region of Vermont. I am currently researching interactive smart/white boards/panels and am interested in the experiences folks have had with them. Particularly comparisons of Smart/Promethean/Mimio/Jamboard....

In fact, anyone who has used these for remote instruction, this is an idea which I am really working to develop.

Hi ~ I'm Brandon Olszewski, Director of Research at ISTE. I support several professional development projects for educators, and one in particular for adult educators = SkillRise (www.skillrise.org). Although the International Society for Technology in Education historically has focused on K-12 education, we're excited to explore the power of edtech for adult learning outside the formal K-12 space. I'm looking forward to the discussions in this group!

Hi everyone,

For many decades, I worked as journalist, even though I had a degree in secondary education. Now I'm teaching adults pursuing high school equivalency diplomas. Student teaching was tough, but my adult students are inspiring. After my first class, I thought, "Oh, these are the high school students I was meant to teach!"  These days, online teaching is a challenge for teachers and students. For example, I just wish I could master keeping my Google Drive/Docs tidy. It's worse than my junk drawer! Luckily, I can't get bread bag twisties in my computer. My goal is knowledge and inspiration, plus any handy hints. I like the universal design idea and the idea that pedagogy must drive technology and not vice versa.

Jane Von Bergen   (janevonbergen@gmail.com)

Hi All,

I am Leslie Baker and I am currently the director of Webster ABE Linkages in Webster, MA. We offer day and evening programming for all levels of English for Speakers of Other Languages, Adult Basic Skills and Adult Secondary Education. We also have an Integrated Education and Training Program which introduces learners to the world of 21st Century Manufacturing. 

As a lifelong learner and someone who earned a Masters degree in a hybrid program, I understand the opportunity for barrier removal in blended learning along with the need for solid technology skills. What I am hoping to learn from all of you are better ways to connect our adults, how to most effectively build their skills, and what we can do as educators to bridge the digital divide.

Thanks for having this resource!

Leslie

Hello Leslie, and others,

Glad you have joined Integrating Technology and posted your introduction, Leslie. I hope you will post some specific questions about your interests, for example "better ways to connect adults". Connecting them to your program? Connecting them with each other, for example by introducing and enabling peer learning support?  Connecting them to other community resources in Webster? Something else?

What kinds of skills would you like to build? Digital literacy? Other technology skills? Integrating technology with English language learning, or with preparing for a HiSET or GED exam? Other skills?

Bridging the digital divide is a great topic to re-visit, especially now during the pandemic when nearly all classes are online. I am going to post a separate thread next for that discussion because many teachers and program administrators are wrestling with that now, in both rural and urban areas. Thanks for raising this topic!

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology Group

 

Education Consultant, Connecticut State Department of Education, Adult Education. Former Technology Coordinator, K-12. We have been assisting our practitioners with the move to remote learning, and I am interested in learning more about best practice for effective distance learning to bring to the field.

Hello Marcy,

Thanks for introducing yourself. You mentioned that you are interested in learning more about "best practice for effective distance learning to bring to the field." LINCS is a great source for that information. You may already know that LINCS has several online professional development components: 1) Free online courses, including one on integrating technology, 2) Professionally reviewed resources, some of which focus on distance learning/education, and 3) the Community of Practice with its m,any discussion groups, such as the Integrating Technology group, whose focus is ways to use technology in service of teaching and learning.

Please feel free to post specific questions about distance learning here. I wonder, however, how you might be using the term "distance learning", whether you are using it in a broad way to include virtual learning, online learning, remote learning and/or distance education, or if you have something more specific in mind.

If you are interested in distance education in adult basic skills education (including ESL/ESOL,) I wonder if you know about the IDEAL Consortium, sponsored by World Education's Ed Tech Center -- now with seventeen member states. Check out their web pages at https://edtech.worlded.org/professional-development/ideal-consortium/ and take a look at the IDEAL Distance Education and Blended Learning Handbook

You might also be interested in the now twice-monthly World Education Ed Tech Distance Education Strategy Sessions offered free at 1:00 EDT on Fridays. These are also archived on the Ed Tech Center Site here: https://edtech.worlded.org/events/edtech-center-distance-learning-strategy-sessions/

If you are particularly interested in good or best practices with the (rapid) transition from in-person to online/remote/virtual adult education teaching and learning, there is a discussion I launched here in the Integrating Technology group in March that is still going, and that might be informative and helpful. As part of that discussion I created a list of resources that had been suggested that you may also find useful. You will find it at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LRfzTKoL49tyFkRd0Tq66vhe5H-lD577CSzMxxe4wNg/edit

Please feel free to post questions in any of these discussions.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

Hello Integrating Technology colleagues,

This post has more than one page of introductions; to see the most recent introductions and comments, scroll to the very bottom of this page choose the next or last page.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

Hello LINCS Integrating Technology group member,

Please (re)introduce yourself by replying to this message in LINCS. You can do that in any way you like, but here are some possible things to mention:

  • Your name
  • Your role(s) in adult basic skills education, and/or in other types of education
  • Your program and agency/organization/institution and state
  • Your interests in using technology -- what you would like to learn, what you would like to share with colleagues here
  • What you hope to get from being a member of this CoP

Thanks! We look forward to seeing your introduction.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

My name is Earline Banks.  I am an Adult Educator for HCDE.  I am interested in technology because I love learning new things and I want my students to be informed about all the new and innovative things available to them.

Hello Earline,

Thanks for introducing yourself, and for your post about the LINCS Integrating Technology course. You indicated in that post that you know what percentages of your students have access to smartphones and to computers at home. It may seem obvious that this is important information -- and it is kimportant -- but not every teacher takes the time to collect this. It makes a big difference in what a teacher can do remotely, and with which students.

There is an accelerating level of new technology -- hardware and software, including apps -- and teachers cannot possibly keep up with it all, nor should they have to. This is where the LINCS Integrating Technology group can be especially helpful. Feel free to post your questions here, and the Integrating Technology group members will try to help. It's especially good to post it in terms of what you are trying to help your students learn, and then we can suggest what hardware or software might be helpful to look at to help them . Also, information about your teaching context can be useful, for example the kind and level of your class(es), whether you are teaching in-person, remotely or using a hybrid model, and if hybrid, describing it a bit since there are now many variations would be useful in providing you with suggestions.

LINCS has a search engine across the whole site and within each Community group -- the white box at the upper right side of the page -- that has a small magnifying glass icon. You can often find past discussions through the search tool that will be helpful. For example, suppose you wonder if there are any adult literacy apps that have been discussed here; you could type  "app" in the search window and you'll find over 30 pages of links to discussions and other resources about apps. If you are focusing on apps designed specifically for adult literacy or adult ESL, type "adult literacy xprize" and you will find six pages of links to discussions about the Adult Literacy XPRIZE competition to develop proven apps for adults wanting to improve their literacy or English language skills.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS Community Integrating Technology group

Hi. My name is Susan Hopkins and I am the College and Career Navigator Coordinator for KY Skills U in Kentucky.

Prior to joining adult education in August 2018, I served 28 years with the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, most recently as the Director of Outreach Services. In that role, I guided 13 regional outreach counselors and oversaw the activities of a statewide mobile unit, tasked with helping students and families plan, prepare and pay for higher education.

Our state adult education office oversees 27 provider programs in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In my role as Coordinator, I oversee and provide professional learning opportunities and technical assistance for a group of nearly 70 College and Career Navigators (CCNs). Our CCNs are responsible for helping recruit, develop relationships with, retain, and refer adult students on to postsecondary education or the workforce, thereby improving the performance results of our agency.

Given that the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated a sharp digital divide, we are transforming our CCNs into digitally-literate Navigators, able to help students embrace and master the digitally literacy skills needed to succeed in the modern classroom and/or workplace.

I am excited to learn about best practices, tools and other information from this group!