PROGRESS Winter/Spring 2009 A publication of the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center Vol. 21, No. 2 Digital Literacy 1 PlugGED In 3 A Letter from Elizabeth Hawa 3 VALRC Online st 4 21 Century Skills 6 Blending Classroom and Online Learning 6 Facilitating Online Learning 8 REEP Battles the Jim Tiscornia, Program Manager of Northrop Grumman’s Southwest Enterprise Solutions Digital Divide Center, speaks at the PlugGED In Kick-off Celebration in Lebanon, Virginia. Other speakers 10 The Magic of Google (left to right, facing the audience) included Dr. Robert Tomlinson, Vice President of Instruction at Southwest Virginia Community College; the Honorable Aneesh Chopra, Virginia Secretary 14 Book Review: The of Technology; Dr. Richard Sebastian, PlugGED In Project Manager; United States Senator Global Achievement Gap James Webb; Dr. Mark Emblidge, Director of The Literacy Institute at VCU; and Dr. Patricia Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Virginia Department of Education. 15 Book Review: Engaging the Online Learner Back Online Training Videos for Volunteer Tutors by Dr. Richard Sebastian a response to the current adult literacy n a cold Tuesday evening only the first of several significant crisis and the increased need to prepare in February, a handful of milestones a student must achieve adults for jobs in the technology-driven adults, bundled in warm during the six-month program. O economy. The idea for PlugGED In was coats and hats, braved the heavy The PlugGED In curriculum is proposed to The Literacy Institute at falling snow to gather in a comput- designed to provide learners who have VCU by Virginia Secretary of Education er lab at the Southwest Technol- not completed high school with a GED Aneesh Chopra as an innovative way to ogy Development Center (SWTDC) course that incorporates technical train- quickly prepare high-school dropouts in Lebanon, Virginia. It was the first ing as a means to develop the workplace for available and well-paying technol- night of their new GED class. This skills essential for entry-level employ- ogy sector jobs. With funds provided was not a typical GED class, howev- ment in global, knowledge-driven, tech- through The Governor’s Productivity er. This class, called PlugGED In, was nology-rich jobs. These skills include Investment Fund, The Literacy Institute a new and innovative contextual- both “hard” skills, such as the specialized joined with Southwest Virginia Re- ized GED technology curriculum, technology knowledge reflected in earned gional Adult Education, SVCC, indus- developed in collaboration with Microsoft certifications, and “soft” skills, try partners Northrop Grumman and area businesses and the local com- such as communication, workplace eth- CGI, UVA-Wise, the Virginia Depart- munity college, Southwest Virginia ics, collaboration, and innovation. ment of Education, the Center for In- Community College (SVCC). This The PlugGED In curriculum was novative Technology, and Microsoft to was the pilot class. In the PlugGED created through a partnership of educa- create a new model of adult education In curriculum, acquiring a GED is tional and governmental institutions as Continued on page 5 ... PROGRESS A Few Words on Progress Progress is published by: Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center Virginia Commonwealth University 3600 West Broad Street, Suite 669 Richmond, VA 23230-4930 hose of us who have worked in adult education www.valrc.org for any length of time know the power of our Permission is granted to reproduce articles students’ stories – the trials they have endured, theT challenges they have overcome, and the dreams they from this newsletter. Please credit the author and Progress. cling to. When four students spoke at the kick-off of the PlugGED In program in Russell County in February, they Subscriptions are free to Virginia residents. shared their stories and told of their hopes for a career in To subscribe, contact the Calendar Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center technology, further education, and a better life for their at: children. We know these stories well, but they never fail (800) 237-0178 to inspire and humble us. April (804) 828-6521 Today, more than ever, we in adult education have enor- 12-18 [email protected] National Library Week or subscribe online at: mous challenges beyond inadequate funding and second class www.valrc.org/publications/newsletter.html status within education. Our challenges now have to do with 18-22 helping our students to be successful in a world in which many Commission on Adult Submissions and letters to the editor are of us are ill-prepared to fully participate much less to serve as Basic Education (COABE) National Conference welcome. Contact: guides and mentors to others. Technological innovation cre- Hillary Major, Louisville, KY Progress Editor, at: ates changes at speeds that have never been experienced before. (804) 828-6521 or For those of us who went through 16 years or more of educa- 22-25 (800) 237-0178. tion without ever using or even seeing a computer, this rate of National Council of We reserve the right to decline publication. change is beyond our comprehension. We may use computers, Teachers of Mathematics Washington, DC cell phones, and iPods, but our minds and spirits often linger Director of Adult Education and Literacy Elizabeth Hawa in another, less complex age. Yet it is in this constantly chang- 23 ing, ever more complex, world that our students must strive to Literacy Education VALRC Manager achieve their dreams. Advocacy Day Barbara E. Gibson This issue of Progress is devoted to information and strate- May st gies that will help us incorporate 21 century skills into in- 3-5 This product was paid for under the Adult struction, use technology in ways that effectively support learn- National Adult Learner Education and Family Literacy Act of ing, and begin to transform our own ways of thinking about Institute and Adult 1998; however, the opinions expressed technology and education. When Senator James Webb spoke Literacy Congress New Carrollton, MD herein do not necessarily represent the at the PlugGED In event, he called adult education a gateway position or policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorse- to careers and further education. That is an apt description. We 16-22 ment by the U.S. Department should be as adult educators can be the facilitators of the passage through Virginia Lifelong inferred. the gate, preparing our students for the world that is on the Learning Week other side, or we can hinder their way because we ourselves are GED is a registered trademark of the 21 American Council on Education and may not ready to accept that world. Whatever we choose to do, it is Literacy Fair not be used or reproduced without the our students who reap the rewards or pay the price. Keysville, VA express written permission of the American Council on Education. July 2 National Literacy Day 29-31 Virginia Institutes of Lifelong Learning (VAILL) Radford & Northern VA 2 Winter/Spring 2009 .:PROGRESS A Letter from Elizabeth Hawa, OAEL Director consider related to the concept of digital prepare them for the workforce. Perhaps literacy. I believe we are moving in the part of the contribution by adult educa- right direction in Virginia with initia- tion should be through a greater empha- tives such as eLearn Virginia, our Dis- sis on digital literacy in our programs tance Learning Center at Virginia Com- and services. It is worth considering that monwealth University, and PlugGED adult learners who acquire digital litera- In, the program in Russell County that cy skills simultaneously with basic skills combines GED preparation with train- will be better prepared for the workplace. ing for entry-level technology jobs. Our For a segment of our learners, especially goals are to increase the number of adult younger adults who are more computer learners participating in the alternative, and digitally savvy, distance learning or virtual classroom provided by eLearn a blended instructional program is pre- Virginia and to expand the PlugGED In ferred. he State Educational Tech- model to other areas of the state and to It is clear that adult education prac- nology Directors Association other career options. It is also exciting titioners are facing great challenges in (SETDA) defines computer literacy that long-standing programs, such as the meeting the changing social, cultural, Tas “the ability to use a com- puter Arlington Education and Employment and economic landscapes of our nation and its software to accomplish Program (REEP), have confronted the and the globe. The options for commu- practical tasks.” In contrast, SETDA challenges of the digital divide. More- nication are diverse in this digital age, has defined digital literacy as “more over, our online adult learners are receiv- and adult educators must step to the than just the technical ability to op- ing guidance and encouragement from forefront by offering more instructional erate digital devices properly; it com- mentors like Letisha Harris. options for the learners who need our prises a variety of cognitive skills In adult education we are being chal- services. We must build on that which that are utilized in executing tasks in lenged to play a stronger role in workforce works from our traditional toolkit and digital environments, such as surfing development. If this augmented role is to develop a new kit of tools that combine the Web, deciphering user interfaces, be a goal of our programs, the delivery the best of the past with the technologies working with databases, and chatting of basic skills instruction should be en- of today and the future. in chat rooms.” hanced with strategies to ensure that our This edition of Progress offers valu- adult learners are transitioned to higher able information for the adult educator to levels of education and training to better VALRC Online New Site, Same Address The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center is proud to announce the redesign of our website.