Next Steps

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Subject [PD 3929] Next Steps?
From: Nell Eckersley
Date: Fri Aug 7 04:20:34 EDT 2009

Hi all,

Thank you all for such great contributions this week. We have covered a lot of ground and shared a lot of resources with one another.

We started off the week with a couple of questions. How are "Technology Literacy" and "Virtual Literacy" similar? How are they different? What do these phrases mean to you as educators? What do they mean to adult learners?

Perhaps Anne Murr helped to illustrate the difference between "Technology Literacy" and "Virtual Literacy" most clearly in her post on Wednesday, "Let's use text to speech technology as a learning tool. Good instruction from teachers is still necessary. Could Virtual Literacy be considered "learning tools" for students while all the outstanding technology uses being described be "instructional tools" for teachers?"

The discussion this week is actually the second in a three part series. The series of discussions was originally described this way: "The Workforce Investment Act is up for reauthorization and some recommendations include expanding the use of technology in teaching and learning and in professional development. But what are the language and literacy skills required for adults' independent online learning? How can technologies both assist instruction and also open access to information for adult learners? What knowledge and skills do teachers say they need in order to use these technologies? How can professional development help?"

Certainly we have illustrated that one of the challenges in working with technology is the TIME it takes to keep up with what's new in our own lives, never mind practicing ways of using it with adult learners. As in another post this week, Duren Thompson so eloquently put it, "Anyone else concerned about the human beings' ability to keep up with the pace of technological change and the accompanying onslaught of information? I'm thinking time management and prioritization skills, as well as information management skills are critical elements of virtual literacy."

Acknowledging that time is a major factor, what are the next steps for yourselves as individuals? And what are the next steps for your program or state, and for us as a field, including policy implications?

My next steps personally are to practice using social networking sites like Ning and Wiki so I can better understand how to use them with adult learners. I will also continue to contribute to the ALE Wiki and create a Wiki for my book group so I can see how other less technology interested folks respond. I'm setting up a Ning to help provide support to some of the people I work with and we'll see how that goes. I am already on Twitter and Facebook, both personally and professionally, which I enjoy immensely, and will continue to explore ways of using these tools with students. For my agency, all that has been said so far in this series of discussions underscores the importance of providing more technology focused PD to the field. On the policy side, on Tuesday, Judith Kossy posted a study of state educational strategies and the use of technology which was very interesting but focused on youth. Where is the one for adult learners?

Looking forward to hearing your next steps,

Nell

Nell Eckersley
ALIES/ASISTS Program Operations Coordinator,
Literacy Assistance Center

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