Instructor Implementation Guide for the Digital Literacy Framework for Adult Learners
This resource provides an outline for how to implement technology tools that are standards-based and meet the instructional needs of adult educators and learners.
The Digital Literacy Framework for Adult Learners was created to provide definition, structure, and support to adult learners as they pursue increased digital literacy. The Framework outlines seven interconnected elements for an adult learner to be digitally literate: Technical, Civic, Communicative, Collaborative, Computational Thinking, Investigative, and Productive. Within the Framework, practitioners can find definitions, guiding questions, descriptions, and situational examples. To further support the pursuit of increased digital literacy, Maryland Department of Labor's Adult Education created a Digital Literacy Framework: Instructor Implementation Guide. This Guide, created in 2020, supplements the Framework by offering applicable, implemented lesson activities and curated resources that align with the Framework. The lesson activities are content area driven and support adult educators as they integrate digital literacy in instruction. The curated online resources provide online tools effective in supporting digital literacy.
The strength of this resource is that it takes a digital literacy framework and shows instructors how to apply the framework in planning and implementing instruction. For each of the lesson activities, the materials and resources needed to implement the lesson activity are provided, along with the steps for the digital literacy portion of the lesson activity. Each lesson activity includes objectives, competencies and/or standards materials/resources, instructions, extension activities, and key observations. Some of the lesson activities have helpful features such as vocabulary to pre-teach, ways to adapt the lesson activity to virtual settings, and more detailed instructions.
It is important to note that all instructors will need to adapt the lesson activity to their students and their subject. For the most part, the lesson activities describe the digital literacy portion of the lesson, not the content/subject and the scaffolding that students will need.
No prior training required
This guide is a must for adult educators trying to increase digital literacy in the classroom. The framework outlines seven interconnected elements for an adult learner to be digitally literate: Technical, Civic, Communicative, Collaborative, Computational Thinking, Investigative, and Productive. Within the framework, instructors can find definitions, guiding questions, descriptions, and situational examples. Individual lessons include objectives, competencies and/or standards materials/resources, instructions, extension activities, and key observations. The authors have done a wonderful job pulling together resources and thinking through the steps to digital literacy lesson activities.
It is important to note that this resource is the Instructor Implementation Guide meant to accompany the Maryland Digital Literacy Framework for Adult Learners. Users should read the Digital Literacy Framework first when using this Instructor Implementation Guide.
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