Last Friday, I attended the Web conference, "Introducing Google's Digital Literacy Curriculum for Problem Solving and Job Skills," which provided an overview of a wonderful Google service, also referenced by David Rosen in the Integrating Technology CoP. The Webinar was sponsored by the National Center for Families Learning, a great resource in itself for those of us committed to supporting family literacy. NCFL works to eradicate poverty through education solutions for families. You will enjoy exploring the rich resources on their site as well!
You can listen to the whole presentation on Google's Digital curriculum on YouTube!
The video-based curriculum currently offers 120 hours of lessons, with more to come. All aspects of the curriculum are free. Instructors can open a class and guide students through a variety of activities, some interactive, and track progress once they enroll students if they wish. The curriculum can be covered independently or facilitated by instructors, who have full access to a "classroom" and facilitator resources that include lesson plans, tips and tricks, rubrics and more, all customizable to meet specific instructional needs. For students who don't have connectivity, instructors are welcome to download video clips and other content to be "consumed" offline. Do students have to had a Google account? Well, no... However, they are highly encouraged to do so.
Different content is designed both K-12 and adults. Many of the titles titles labeled K-12 are also very useful to adults and vice-versa. And here is another good piece of news: the Google rep who presented the session said that they made every attempt to keep the reading level down. She said that the targeted 4th-grade levels as much as possible! According to the presenter, there is also a strong focus on the employability skills and critical thinking required in the workplace.
The digital skills are taught within the Google-tools environment, but those skills are also highly transferrable to other applications.
In response to David's request in another forum in the Integrating Technology CoP for comments on a specific course, take a look at "Digital Tools for Everyday Life." It incorporates many writing activities, including taking notes, setting up an email account, composing emails, searching for items, and much more. CLICK HERE for a sample video from that lesson "Making Your Document Easier to Read."