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The volume addresses the ways that the field of adult basic education has already been impacted by changes in technology and what needs to happen for learners and teachers to take full advantage of newly developing resources. The analysis is organized around three main themes: learning, teaching, and organizing. Each section reviews relevant research and sample instructional resources, drawing on work done from around the world. A key concern is moving beyond the hype to look for the specifics of practice - what exactly is new about contemporary adult basic education? Rather than a celebration of technology for technology's sake, the analysis asks a series of questions. What do we want learning to look like? What do teachers expect of themselves as professionals and learners? Finally, how is technology being used to shape the field, and how can we use it to work for changes we believe in? This book is essential reading for pre-service and in-service teachers, as well as instructors in a variety of fields relating to technology and learning.

Published abstract.

Chapters are divided into three sections: Part one, 'Learning', includes: Adult basic education (ABE) and the affordances of digital technologies - structures for learning; modalities of learning; the impact on learning; Learning to be literate in a digital age - new ways to learn; new things to learn; old questions to ask. Part two, 'Teaching', includes: Teaching ABE in the age of new literacies - perspectives on literacy pedagogy; supporting active learning; some thoughts on lesson planning; Learning to teach new literacies - teacher expectations around their own development; formal structures for professional development; developing nonformal structures; participation patters in professional development. Part three, 'Organising', includes: Shaping the field - the nature of education; the nature of identity; the nature of participation; Shaping the world - the political economy of new literacies; new literacies and development; possibilities for change. Show less

Purpose: This paper discusses the technology gap in today's newer hires where younger employees are often believed to be more technologically astute than they really are. Younger employees are consumers of technology, but they have limited skills in using technology to solve business problems. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reflects a review of theory and research on technology training and practice. Findings: Three recommendations are presented that could aid employers in bridging the gap between technology literacy perceptions and actual practice: build proficiency of business software, be the convener of learning in digitally focused training programs, and applying design thinking in business settings. Originality/value: Due to the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have been forced to incorporate more technology applications in their operations. This has exposed a paradoxical gap between perceived technology knowledge in their younger employees and actual skill sets. This article describes practical suggestions for enhancing corporate training programs to address this challenge.

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These are uncertain times, and this uncertainty is being particularly felt in the world of education. We have seen unprecedented global closures of schools, colleges and universities, all of which have directly impacted on the way we now conceptualise the practice of teaching and learning. As the world responds to concatenated waves of technological innovation, adult learners in all areas will need to take a more active role in their own learning, with programme designers placing them at the centre of their human capability development interventions (Albrahim 2020). This paper explores the impact of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic on 'educators' and 'trainers' across the further education and training sector in Indonesia as a result of the rapid deployment of e-learning. The discussion will further examine the expansion of communities of practice, and undertake an assessment of institutional support provisioned to move learning to an online context. It will particularly explore participant responses to the technical challenges faced by educators and learners transitioning to e-learning. Finally, the authors investigate the nature of the paradigm shift required at an institutional level to ensure appropriate future development of an agile and responsive Indonesian administrative management and special technological support infrastructure requirements (Kardinasari 2015).

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For the European Union and its Member States to remain successful in a global economy characterised by rapid technological change, more efforts will be needed to raise and widen the level of e-skills of our workforce and our citizens, which is one of the foundations of a knowledge-based society. This will require major, sustained efforts by both Member States and stakeholders applied to a range of policy issues.

The long-term e-skills agenda proposed in this Communication includes key components to serve as an inspiration for the development and implementation by Member States and stakeholders of consistent and long-term e-skills policies and measures.

The Commission will support the implementation of five action lines by concentrating on activities bringing addedvalue at EU level. The Commission will organise a major conference in 2008 to report on progress, present the results of the actions and discuss the way forward. It will also release a report in 2010 based on the results of an independent evaluation and the assessment of the stakeholders.

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This study aims to measure girls' technical and vocational high school students' information and communication technology (ICT) skills and to investigate these in terms of different variables. The singular and relational survey model was used in this study. The sample composed of 119 technical and vocational high school students. The data were collected through a paper-based survey composed of two parts. In the first part of the survey, there are 15 items about personal information and demographic information about the participating students. In the second part, there is a scale about ICT skills. The data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21.0 by means of per cent, frequency, mean, mode, median, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskall-Wallis test. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the technical and vocational high school students' ICT skills with respect to gender, class level, experience in the use of computers, frequency of using the Internet, working style, learning style, and motivation style. As for the 'number of aim using the internet' variable, a significant difference in the ICT skills scale was observed.

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This review was designed as an initial phase to inform the parameters and direction of possible frameworks or models in staff capability towards flexible learning services using technologies. The study was conducted over two weeks, from 22 May to 1 June 2000, and was designed to find out what, if any, frameworks, models or approaches currently exist for reviewing staff capability towards flexible learning and the use of technologies to achieve business objectives.

The study includes the following findings: (1) a Staff Capability Review Framework involves an initial assessment phase that informs change management planning; (2) whilst many useful frameworks or models have been developed, evidence of a fully integrated, clearly articulated system that reviews both individual and organisational capability in flexible learning using technologies is difficult to find; (3) a wealth of characteristics derived from all sources was identified, which could be drawn upon to develop a conceptual framework; (4) some detailed, useful models with extensive inventories in relation to staff competency and capability in the use of technology for flexible learning were located in the project. The best examples were found in publicly funded education and training systems. TAFE SA is perhaps the most advanced in integrating all levels, macro and micro, of capability review in relation to online education. This model could provide the basis for a systemic and individual capability review framework for staff in vocational education and training (VET); (5) the application of a change management model (Concerns-Based Adoption Model, CBAM) to staff development in relation to flexible learning using technologies proved to be effective; and (6) the case study examples from the Staff Capability Review Network workshop/focus group and the telephone interviews show strong adoption of exemplar models of organisational change management. Staff competency and capability were incorporated into the review mechanisms and link the results to training and development.

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The scientific literature identifies five challenges related to training teachers: the basics of the constructivist approach, the problematization of mathematical knowledge to be taught, the promotion of interdisciplinarity, the use of digital pedagogical resources in planning teaching, and new skills to be developed due to the arrival of artificial intelligence. Considering the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, it is appropriate to consider a sixth challenge, notably, training teachers capable of delivering mathematical distance learning courses focused on students' conceptual understanding. It therefore is necessary to link the stakes of initial training with that of distance learning, which can enhance conceptual understanding. Linking the need to construct knowledge among students with technological tools used for distance learning allows new challenges faced in the planning of mathematics teaching to be highlighted. These new challenges give rise to the anticipation genesis that helps in situating the planning of mathematics teaching between three variables: artifact variables, arrangement variables, and variables related to the nature of the data to be used. These variables are a major asset for the training of the preservice mathematics teacher. Their study in this article allows us to recognize that the choice of technological tools to be used in mathematics distance learning depends greatly on the conceptual analysis of the mathematical knowledge to be taught. This study shows that it is important to rethink and question distance learning for each mathematical concept.

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Things are changing fast. Over the next 20 years it's estimated that 90 per cent of jobs will require digital skills. Outside of work, digital confidence is needed to access local and national services, use social media, shop and bank online, search for jobs, solve problems, keep in touch with others and find news or information. What are digital skills? These are the skills needed to use basic technology such as phones, laptops, tablets and computers to carry out a range of everyday activities. This guide is for unions and union learning reps (ULRs) to support digital learning and the benefits it brings for colleagues at home and in work. It sets out the case for change to encourage employers to support workers to gain digital skills and confidence. It contains ideas and good practice, and provides some tips developed from a range of unions and ULRs. An interactive version of the guide is also available to download. Quick links in this version mean you can click and move around different sections of the guide and open up other websites to see more resources and information.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

The House of Lords appointed an ad hoc committee to 'consider information and communications technology, competitiveness and skills in the United Kingdom'. The whole economy has become digitised and digital skills, i.e. the skills needed to interact with digital technologies, are life skills, necessary for most aspects of life. The digital revolution is changing the labour market fundamentally and altering the nature of work across industries and occupations. The digital revolution so far has mainly created jobs for highly-skilled workers in entirely new occupations and industries. The benefits of recent technological innovations have not been widely shared. The committee notes evidence that the level of automation that has occurred already is one contributing factor in new inequalities that are emerging. Government will have a major role, especially in providing resources for science, infrastructure, education and skills training. This report of the committee focuses on: (1) the core pre-conditions: hard infrastructure, soft infrastructure and cyber risk management; (2) fostering and developing talent: digital ability levels, medium- and high-level skills, future-proofing youth, and filling the immediate skills gap; (3) the business environment: connecting and supporting business, and regional ecosystems and clustering; and (4) making it happen: a leading government and a digital agenda for the UK.

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This US report uses data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to focus attention on young adults born after 1980 who were 16-34 years of age at the time of the assessment. The authors chose to center attention on this cohort for several key reasons. First, these young adults include the most recent products of US educational systems. Second, according to recent reports, they have attained the most years of schooling of any cohort in American history. And, finally, these young 'millennials' will shape the economic and social landscape of the US for many years to come.

The report highlights that, although millennials may be on track to be the most educated generation ever, they consistently score below many of their international peers in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments (PS-TRE). This report disaggregates the PIAAC data for millennials, the cohort born after 1980. It contains a summary of key findings and detailed supporting data. The results help to shed light on the growing inequality of opportunity in the US and the impact this has on both skills acquisition and outcomes for both current and future generations. Key questions addressed are: How do the average scores of US millennials compare with those in other participating countries? How do US top-performing and lower-performing millennials compare to their international peers? What is the degree of inequality in the score distribution? How do millennials with different levels of educational attainment perform over time and in relation to their peers internationally? The report also examines the impact of demographic characteristics on the performance of US millennials.

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