Are books considered 'learning technology' in adult ed? Probably not, but it's difficult to deny the appropriate functionalities of workbooks in the building of critical thinking skills and Depth of Knowledge. As Essential Education launches its new trilogy of workbooks for the 2014 high school equivalency tests, I've got a number of open questions that I'd like to kick around with my fellow adult educators.
- What should the role be of print materials when preparing for a computer-based test?
- Should states allow time spent using a prep book to be counted as proxy contact hours (aka distance education time-on-task)?
- When Arne Duncan suggested that text books should become obsolite in favor of emersive learning environments, does that apply to the field of adult education too?
- What value do books and print materials have over computer-based preparation methods, if any?
My latest Distance Education Skill Share blog entry touches on these topics as part of my effort to alert the field of adult education to the release of our Essential Skills workbooks that were developed with the oversite of GEDTS trainers Bonnie Goonen and Susan Pittman-Shetler. As a BIG proponent of online learning, I'm really impressed by how much can be accomplished with adult-focused lessons in workbooks. But, how do you find the proper balance between online, face-to-face, and print-based? And how best to customize that prescription for each learner...
I look forward to your input here and/or on the blog.
Jason Guard
Essential Education and GED Academy
jason@essentialed.com
Comments
Jason -
I am one of the teachers torn between on-line and hard copy materials.Teaching developmental math at a community college, I see the value of both.
Positives:
1) On-line materials can allow a student to accelerate past what they already know well.
2) The good on-line math materials I have seen offer some repetition of practice and "helps" for students who are having difficulties.
Negatives:
1) Even good on-line materials can become "plug and play" practice. Students use the "helps" as a model that they follow without having to think about what they are doing.
2) There is no good feedback for instructors about the small bits that students are missing. Students may continue to make the same mistakes over and over and not know why.
For example, some students will do this quesion: 2344 - 657 and arrive at an incorrect answer of 2313. No on-line math program that I have seen picks out why the student gets this answer and instructs in the correct method.
3) Concepts get brushed aside for students who are only looking to "get the answer."
The value of hard copy workbooks:
1) The teacher sees all the details and can offer direct, person-to-person instruction to correct the error.
2) LEARNING STYLES: On-line may be all right for visual learners. Tactile/kinesthetic learners need to touch things and move in some way. Holding the book and moving the pencil on the paper is more in line with their natural way of learning. The class I'm currently teaching would rather get up and go to the board to practice a new problem set than do the same problem set at their seats. They feel they learn better by getting up and moving around.
How many of the adults we serve are tactile/kinesthetic learners who didn't "get it" in the K-12 system because they were taught in a way that did not match their learning style?
Dorothea Steinke
Front Range Community College, Westminster, CO
Good points, Dorothea.
I have to admit that I want computers/software to make learning easy. I want the experience to draw me in and lead me to concepts and connections that I wouldn't have made on my own. Studying out of books is usually more reading, notetaking, and generally more work. The content in books is static (although layers are revealed as you move through the lessons). And books require more organized study habbits. But those are just my reactions and preferences when I put myself in the shoes of our learners (probably what I liked most about the computer-adaptive GED Academy and drew me to Essential Education).
What makes me bring up the topics in this thread are the bold statements I've heard from educators. Such as, "We don't need books, because we have computer-based content and classroom activities." Others have said, "We don't need computer-based because we've always been successful with traditional teaching." In response, I usually wind up suggesting that blended learning is the consensus best practice or ideal learning scenario that we should strive for with every learner. But, are we moving away from books? If so, it's a gradual shift. What is it that makes workbooks irreplacable for learning and instruction?
I look forward to more responses.
Jason Guard
Is getting the right answer the same as learning?
I'm sitting here watching students plug away at getting the right answer with ALEKS. Concepts? faghetaboutit.
Fortunately they've got face-to-face class that is more conceptual. They actually *do* stuff, and talk about stuff, and make it make sense. Even there, it's not the book that makes it happen.
A huge advantage to printed stuff is that I can pick it up and take it with me... and look back over what *I* wrote. I'm not even that kinesthetic a learner, but if I had to remember what to write long enough to write it, I've thought about it. (This is variable, though -- I've watched students copy a spelling word five times and cover it up and spell it wrong.)
I think it would be an egregious mistake to talk about print materials and computer materials as if it was whether or not they were in print or on the computer that made the difference. Let's talk about what elements in the material effect student understanding of the material, and inspire active cognitive engagement and learning.
Hello Jason, and others,
I'm not sure the distinction between books and online learning is the most important or only important distinction. Neither books nor online text seem to me to be intrinsically better for all learners. And both, at least in the discussion so far, fail to recognize other "learning technology" such as instructional videos, which may trump all text-based learning resources. And then there is the context in which learning resources are used. Is there a face-to-face or online tutor or teacher? Is this a learner who is highly motivated and skilled in self-directed learning, or one who is less clear about her/his goals, and who needs a lot of personal support and encouragement? In some ways this is like asking which screwdriver is better, an electric screwdriver or an old-fashioned manual screwdriver? Both are useful, depending on the task, and well-designed screwdrivers that use good materials are, in nearly every case, better than those that are made poorly and failk after just a few uses.
I would like to see the question changed a bit, to: With what kinds of learners, and in what contexts are books most useful? With what kinds of learners and in what contexts are websites most useful? And drilling down a bit, what web site features are most useful to what kinds of learners and in what learning contexts?
For example:
I wonder if there is a sub-group -- perhaps a small one -- of people here interested enough in learning and technology to take on some serious exploration of these questions, perhaps in a LINCS micro group or other online work group. If so, I think we could all benefit from their exploration.
David J. Rosen
Djrposen123@gmail.com
I like David Rosen's reply on this. There is so much variety in adult learners that needs to be taken into consideration.
I am most intersted in what tools are best for the lowest level learners, those who read below 6th grade.
I am also intersted in tools that are the best ones to be provided by public libraries and would like to see recommenations for a public library literacy collection. I know some have Learning Express. What other technology do public libraries provide?
Is there a source out there that provides reviews of material that go into public libraries? I know that many librareis do not add workbooks to there automated catalog. I think that is too bad--because it means tutors do not know about the material. I know that there is a difference between consumables --but, there should still be workbooks in a library's collection because so much of an adult eduction collection is in that format.
I would like to hear thoughts on these topics.
Thanks,
Sandy Newell
Hello Sandy,
Thanks for your reply. Let's focus on resources for low level adult readers. I can suggest a few. I hope others can suggest some too.
Tools for adult learners who read below sixth grade
Tools used by Public Libraries
Everyone: what other online tools are low-literate adult learners using, and how are they being used?
David J. Rosen
djrosen123@gmail.com
I've been interested in this for a while... taking Java I now because I've decided I might as well just learn it and see where I can go with it. When I see students becoming absolutely convinced that math is a hopeless venture based on their collisions with what's currently available, and I imagine what we should at *least* give a try with... one of our peer tutors was explaining how great it was that, thanks to Mathematica, she could look at most equations and visualize them. We do that for higher math. But for a person trying to figure out exponents, do we show them a cube? No. We tell them "DO NOT JUST MULTIPLY> DO NOT JUST MULTIPLY!!! Here.... practice 50 problems...
David, this is an interesting question I've been thinking about a lot. My experience with adult learners at the college level in online, cohort-based classes is that they really do like having a book. It's a kind of security blanket. So at the college level, books as well as online materials are assigned for each online course as a general rule.
What I love about using online materials, however, is that when you read online, you can download and save, add your notes; cut and save memorable passages, annotate them, etc. etc., so it makes doing essays and studying for tests SO much easier, because all the materials are easily accessible, can be reordered, and etc. to suit the need of the moment. I have often thought I wish I could do a dissertation again, now, when I could probably do the whole thing in the comfort of my jammies from my desktop at home, and never have the agony of finding a note card in my illegible handwriting for which I'd forgotten to note the full citation, when the book in question was read in the British Library 3000 miles away and doesn't exist on this continent.
So my question is, will the low literate learner also want the security blanket of a physical book while doing all the studying online too? Or will the online exercises be sufficient? I'm thinking of doing some exercises that include getting physical books out of the library, and perhaps even getting class sets of books for library borrowing by our online readers, but that's different from obtaining and owning a book.
I'll continue to ruminate on this question.
Cheers,
Judith Rényi
Judith, Jason, Susan, and others,
Here are some variables that may make a difference in whether or not -- and if so, how -- adult learners use or prefer to use online learning and/or hard copy learning materials such as books:
Are there other key variables that anyone would like to add?
I added age based on my experience last year interviewing high school equivalency exam preparation students in California, Florida and Pennsylvania. I asked them how they studied for the GED(r) exam and there was a striking difference based on their age (not gender). Older students said they went to class and used books (workbooks). Younger students said that in addition to class they used web sites. I asked how they found good web sites. In some cases they said their teacher recommended them. In other cases they found them on their own. I asked how they found them, for example by Googling them? Most said their search engine of choice is YouTube. That was an eye-opener. They studied for their HSE exam by watching free online videos. I didn't have a chance to pursue this but if I could have, I would have asked if they just watched the videos, or if they also did the text-based exercises or quizzes (if there were some). I would then have asked what helped them best? This is the sort of information adult ed teachers need, I think, and I wonder if there are teachers in this CoP who would be interested, if someone put together a survey of questions, in asking their students to take it. Perhaps the findings could be compiled and shared here. Anyone interested in this project?
David J. Rosen
djrosen123@gmail.com
David, I think you need to consider that digital literacy is a basic literacy, and that it must be taught part and parcel with teaching the academic content. Age is only important when we are discussing digital natives (those born since the ubiquitousness of digital tools) and digital immigrants (us old folks), and add to that whether or not the adults in question have grown up with the technology at work or not. If not, then we must teach them. You Tube is a major feature of online cohort-based, facilitated learning at the school and college level, so it is not surprizing that that's where the digitally adept learners go. The only reason I would not use You Tube a lot in online curriculum building is that it is ephemeral, and you don't want to have to constantly be searching for equivalent current materials every time you clone your course.
For me, it is not a question of the comfort level of the adult learner with digital materials: it's a question of giving that learner the opportunity to get used to using these tools, and to get positive experiences using them. We should not be making that an option, since joining in the digital world is essential to their future. I think the question is not whether we induct learners into the digital world, it's whether they also need the book as security blanket while they ease into the virtual world. Reading skill levels can be enormously boosted online very easily, using assistive audio functions along with text, and levelling all materials to the levels + stretch of each learner.
In short: these are not either/or questions!
Cheers,
Judith
Thank you Judith, I had been going to make this argument, but hadn't had time to develop a response (and probably wouldn't have done as good a job)... Common Core (and GED 2014) expects digital literacy to be integrated throughout the curriculum, it has to be modeled in more than 'computer time'.
Thank you everyone else for sharing, this discussion has had a lot of good points and information that I've copied out.
-Marshall