The Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program Brief details how one program struck a balance between meeting the needs of learners and maximizing limited program resources. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs

Castek, Jill

Jacobs, Gloria

Pendell, Kimberly D.

Pizzolato, Drew

Reder, Stephen

Withers, Elizabeth

PDXScholar (Portland State University)

Portland State UniversityPDXScholarResearch Briefs and Case Studies Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition inHard-to-Serve Populations: A Research Project2015Program Design: Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited ProgramJill CastekPortland State UniversityGloria JacobsPortland State UniversityKimberly D. PendellPortland State UniversityDrew PizzolatoPortland State UniversityStephen RederPortland State UniversityElizabeth WithersPortland State UniversityLet us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/dla_research_briefsPart of the Applied Linguistics Commons, and the Information Literacy CommonsThis Research Brief is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research Briefs and Case Studies by an authorizedadministrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact pdxscholar@pdx.edu.Recommended CitationCastek, J., Jacobs, G., Pendell, K., Pizzolato, D., Reder S., & Withers, E. (2015). Program Design: Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program. http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/16483Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited ProgramCastek, J., Jacobs, G., Pendell, K., Pizzolato, D., Reder S., & Withers, E. (2015). Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition in Hard-to-Serve Populations:.  A Research Project Funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). •	 curriculum	on	the	Learner	Web,	an	online	platform	designed	specifically	for	adult	learners,	which	included		digital	literacy	material	in	English	and	Spanish•	 in-person	tutor	support•	 the	opportunity	for	learners	to	work	at	their	own	pace	and	identify	their	own	goalsThese findings are from an Institute of Museum and Library Services funded research project that interviewed more than 100 participants within a multi-state Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) Sustainable Broadband Adoption (SBA) project. The BTOP project  included six lead partners who developed local networks of community organizations to provide adults with an opportunity to learn to use computers and the Internet. While these networks created a variety of implementation strategies and ways to serve learners’ needs, they shared these key features: OverviewDigital Literacy Acquisition in Brief:What Research Tells Us about Program Design1This brief examines an approach to providing digital literacy acquisition support to learners who entered a cohort group that met together on a regular schedule, but worked at their own pace through the available content over the course of a fixed time frame.  The key discoveries that follow summarize one partner’s time-limited program design; however, time-limited approaches were explored by other partners as well. In this example, the program director devised a time-limited design using highly skilled paid tutors as a means of serving a large number of learners without compromising learning support. Specifically, the program served primarily Spanish speaking learners who required bilingual tutors with specialized language skills who were also closely connected to the community. Enlisting less-skilled or monolingual volunteer tutors would not achieve program goals or meet learners’ needs. As a result, resources were used to staff labs with paid bilingual tutors who guided the learning process and provided individualized support. Furthermore, the tutors followed the same group of learners through the duration of their learning time, which provided continuity for the learners. At the close of the allotted time,  all learners received a certificate and were encouraged to take part in a graduation ceremony celebrating their accomplishments. Often, this success prompted continued participation in other classes. As illustrated in the diagram, this program offered high-quality, self-paced, tutor-facilitated instruction, but limited the time learners could participate. Moving learners through the program within a defined time-frame made room for additional learners to participate. Time-limited programs must strike a balance between meeting the needs of learners and maximizing limited program resources.•	 Self-paced, time-limited programs may encourage learners to locate materials that are of greatest relevance to them as they work within a bounded timeframe to accomplish their goals.•	 Building familiarity with a common tutor and following a similar daily routine in the learning environment provides learners a level of comfort and stability in the learning process. •	 Learners complete differing amounts of digital literacy content based on their incoming skills and the goals they select. Some learners come with very specific goals in mind and once those goals are met, appreciate the opportunity to move on.Key DiscoveriesOn the Ground2Voices from the Field“Some	learners	come	with	very	specific	goals	in	mind	and	they	go	through	a	couple	of	learning	plans	in	digital	literacy	and	say:	‘This	is	it,	this	is	all	I	needed.’		It’s	not	because	of	a	lack	of	interest	or	the	nature	of	the	learning,	or	the	instructional	dynamic,	it’s	just	that	they	got	all	they	needed	and	are	able	to	move	on	to	something	else.		Our	[time	limited]	program	allows	us	to	move	them	on	to	other	learning	opportunities	more	quickly,	helping	them	see	the	relevance	of	these	learning	experiences		to	their	life	goals.”		~ TutorLearning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program“We	tell		learners,	you	can	continue	with	us.	We	tell	them,	come	and	join	the	digital	literacy	program,	this	is	just	the	beginning	of	your	pathway.	As	they’re	learning,	we	entice	them	and	tell	them	they’re	not	just	offered	one	learning	component	in	isolation,	but	it’s	all	connected	to	bigger	and	better	things.		Continuing	education	is	a	learner’s	gateway	to	lifelong	learning.	Learners	come	back	and	continue	bettering	themselves.	They	better	themselves,	and	the	community	is	better	overall,	collectively.”	 ~ Program Director What Do These Findings Mean For Your Work?“We went in with the goal of empowering our 1,750 participants with knowledge and skills, and we never lost sight of that. They wanted to learn skills that they didn’t have, and it’s amazing the large number of participants that came through the doors. None of them had any [digital literacy] skills before coming here. The volume of participants that we were able to serve made it worth it. We limited the program time, so that we could offer the opportunity to many [learners in our community].” ~ Program DirectorLanguage Learners•	 Tutors’ Perspectives•	 The Role of Online Materials•	 The Learner/Tutor Relationship•	 Learners’ PerspectivesProgram Design•	 Tutor-facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition•	 The Learner Path•	 Volunteering in a Digital Literacy Program•	 Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program•	 Learning Digital Skills in a Corrections Setting Tutors•	 Personal Qualities of Tutors•	 Tutoring Strategies and Organizing Learning•	 The Tutor/Learner RelationshipLearners•	 Development of Self-confidence•	 Measuring Success•	 Impact•	 Learners Who Become Tutors•	 Self-paced LearningThese research efforts were informed and supported by a National Advisory Committee and a Research Applications Committee made up of professionals who support adult learners.More information about the project, research findings, publications, and project data can be found in PDX Scholar at:http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/digital_literacy_acquisition/This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant # LG-06-11-0340-11.Acknowledgements & Further InformationDigital Literacy Acquisition in Brief: What Research Tells Us about...Castek, J., Jacobs, G., Pendell, K., Pizzolato, D., Reder S., & Withers, E. (2015). Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition in Hard-to-Serve Populations.  A Research Project Funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program3

Program Design: Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program

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Program Design: Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program

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