Hello colleagues,
There were 2006 Members of the Integrating Technology group as of July 31, 2019
The following were a few of the most substantive discussions:
Discussion : Does research evidence affect policy and practice? 883 views, 32 comments (all in July)
In another LINCS group Paul Rogers asked , “"if there were evidence / research to prove that using smart phones etc. could enhance learning, then what? Would teachers and administrators change their policies?" David Rosen started a new thread with this question on July 11th that had 32 comments as of July 31st. Di Baycich weighed in with the first comment, offering two examples of where research in adult basic skills education has affected practice positively, the STAR Reading PD project, and the Adult Numeracy Initiative. Michelle Candy commented on how difficult it is for teachers who are not part of universities to get access to research without paying high costs of published articles. Researcher Margaret Patterson recommended three of her favorite research databases available at no cost: ERIC, Google Scholar and Research Gate. Rachel Donelson pointed out some challenges doing research in education, and mentioned some professional development resources she has found useful. Michelle Candy agreed with Rachel that COABE has useful research-based professional development resources. David Rosen added that the World Education and Harvard University sponsored NCSALL website includes studies on program retention and student persistence research. Corlis Webb agreed with Michelle Candy that, as a graduate student it was difficult for her to find much research in adult basic skills education, especially after 2008, when NCSALL ended. Susan Finn-Miller offered several resources on research with low-level English learners health literacy topics, as well as many excellent NCSALL resources. Pam Meader joined in to recommend NCSALL’s network of adult numeracy practitioners, the Practitioner Research and Dissemination Network. Paul Jurmo offered a new archive of work readiness and workplace basic skills studies on the Open Door Collective website at http://www.opendoorcollective.org/workforce-basic-skills-resources.html . Brooke Istas and Lynda Ginsburg both offered that the Adult Numeracy Initiative was indeed based on research evidence. Margaret Patterson added information about a new initiative organized by the Open Door Collective on building an Evidence-Based Adult Education System (E-BAES) and how to get involved. John Comings, former Director of NCSALL, commented on the importance of the adult basic skills field having a national research and development center that is well connected with practitioners.
Discussion : The role of Artificial Intelligence in Adult Basic Skills Education began in June, 2019. 384 viewa and 6 comments, including one new comment on July 2nd
David Rosen began the discussion with a summary of LINCS discussions on artificial intelligence. Bayo Adetunji asked about Algorithms and how they are being applied to create personalized and adaptive learning paths for individual learners, and Art Graesser, an AI researcher and AI Tutoring tool developer from the University of Memphis answered his question. Lei Lani Michel wrote that she’s interested in analytics and how algorithms could be used to streamline the process for students to reach their goals.. David Rosen posted a link to a short article "What Is Artificial Intelligence? Examples and News in 2019", from TheStreet, that gives a readable summary of what AI is, its major types, its history, how we currently use it, and major news about AI in 2019.
Discussion : What definition of digital literacy do you use? Began May 12th, with 8 comments, including a new comment on July 6th. The discussion began by referencing the widely-used American Library Association definition of digital literacy, and two others. By early July a definition was proposed building on the ALA definition but adding new parts to bring it up to date in 2019.
Discussion : Are our Career Pathways already out-of-date? Do workers and employers need a Careers "Waze" ? 412 views with 8 comments (2 new in July, 2019)
Elena Taylor-Garcia observed that in Omaha, Nebraska “many populations of workers are unable and/or unwilling to pay for any education or training at all.” She continued, “In the adult education world, it had always been our hope to feed GED and ESL graduates into our community college as certificate and degree seekers. With a handful of exceptions, it isn't happening. Wages are so low for service workers that cash-starved households see expenditures for education and training as unrealistic. We are having some success with newly launched IETs. Young workers are willing to participate in training or retraining more often when they are being paid to do so. In our first IET, the company pays for a summer of training for a new, young workforce. The student/worker pays nothing, receives 18 college credits (4 classes) and 3 industry-recognized certifications. The student/worker is paid minimum wage as a training wage, and then upon completion of training, graduates from the training program, gets the first in a series of raises and continues with the sponsoring employer. In my humble experience, shifting training and education costs onto workers and their families is usually not working. Construction in this region has a shortage of workers and it has the potential to slow production to unacceptable levels. “
Susan Jones added, “Tressie McMillan Cottom wrote a book called Lower_Ed about this trend (and how it doesn't work). “
Discussion : Learn here about learning circles 909 views with 35 comments (4 new in July, 2019) The Learning Circles discussion that began in late June continued into July with three new replies. Kathleen O’Connell wrote about the World Education English Now! learning circles project Scale-up that included an EdTech Center/WEI blog post by teacher Linda Beliveau.
Discussion : The Digital Divide in 2016 2,496 views with 10 comments (1 new in July 2019)
David Rosen added to the comments on the digital divide in 2019 calling attention to an interview held in May with adult basic skills practitioner, researcher and National Skills Coalition public policy advocate, Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, "The digital divide is also about the policies that affect ordinary people’s lives"
Bulletin : Exploring Media Literacy for Adult Learners Began June 11 with 38 comments as of July 31st, including 35 comments in July.
On June 11th Michael Cruse, the moderator of the Career Pathways group, cross posted an announcement of an upcoming discussion on Media Literacy for Adult Learners. This led to a thoughtful discussion about media literacy, clearly a topic of great interest to many LINCS members.
David J. Rosen, Moderator
LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group