A Technology Learning Community: Collaborative Learning and Development for Practitioners in Adult Education

• In Event: Adult Literacy and Adult Education Posters

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the role of technology in adult education, in terms of both the need for more technology access and skills training, and potential negative consequences of technology use. This study contributes to adult education in the COVID era by exploring how educators learn to navigate the increasingly complex digital world. Specifically, a group of ABE practitioners grappled with integrating technology into their programs as they participated in an 18-month professional development initiative focused on collaborative inquiry. Findings focus on the need to understand learners’ digital literacy practices to improve pedagogy, embracing failure and experimentation, and taking time to critically investigate claims made by technology companies.

Author

• Jennifer Kobrin, University of Pennsylvania