From Amanda Bergson-Shilcock via the National Skills Coalition Blog

​States are leading the way on digital equity
"Congress passed the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act as part of the infrastructure legislation last November, and funding will begin rolling out to states later this spring. But some states aren’t waiting for federal action to get going on digital equity. These examples from Colorado, Hawai’i, and North Carolina can help workforce and adult education advocates identify potentially useful ideas or tactics for their own communities. This post is part of a larger series of research and policy resources that NSC is providing to help skills advocates incorporate digital upskilling into their education and workforce development policy agendas, and to prepare for the Digital Equity Planning process that every state will be undertaking starting in Summer 2022.

NSC will be highlighting other state innovations on digital equity in the months to come, as well as sharing information on the rollout of federal funding. Make sure to sign on to NSC’s Digital Skills @ Work principles to ensure you get all the latest updates on this important topic."

• Hawai’i: A national trailblazer on digital skills assessment
• North Carolina: Laying the local groundwork for statewide digital equity
• Colorado: A faster, cheaper way to get data on state residents’ digital skills

Read more

Check out this online resource: Skills for In Demand Jobs https://opportunity.linkedin.com/skills-for-in-demand-jobs

Developed by LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, and the GitHub Learning Lab, this website offers a variety of resources for adult learners, instructors and case managers.  These include:

• Learn relevant skills for jobs in-demand including critical soft skills and ways to use current virtual collaboration tools
• Start developing your skills for free with learning paths from LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn, then practice tech skills in the GitHub Learning Lab.
• See the 10 jobs that have been identified as having the greatest number of job openings*, have had steady growth over the past four years, pay a livable wage, and require skills that can be learned online.
• Explore resources to help you find just the right job 

LINCS has added a new publication to its resource collection.  It is called Technology-Based Coaching in Adult Education Toolkit. 

“The TBCAE Toolkit is designed to assist adult education program administrators, program staff, and state staff in planning and implementing text messaging that supports adult education learners’ program participation and attainment of education outcomes. The information in the TBCAE Toolkit  is based on prior research on the use of text messaging with adult learners and lessons from the TBCAE project’s implementation of individualized and personalized text messaging with more than 400 adult education learners from 10 adult education programs in four states. 
 
Benefits and Uses
The TBCAE Toolkit is beneficial to adult education staff because it provides: (1) a process for integrating text messaging into adult education programs’ services to support learners’ persistence and development of knowledge and skills, and (2) tools to plan the intentional use of individualized and personalized text messaging as proactive communication with learners that anticipates and addresses challenges that they may encounter. The toolkit comprises five sections:

• Introduction to Toolkit and Overview of TBCAE Project: Overview of the TBCAE project approach and implementation and an overview of the tools, checklists, forms, and resources referenced in the Toolkit.
• Planning Text Messaging in Adult Education Programs: Descriptions of the steps staff can take in planning the use of text messaging with adult education learners.
• Implementing Text Messaging in Adult Education Programs: Information to help adult education staff implement and track activities in using text messaging.
• Adult Education State Leadership Support for the Use of Text Messaging: Suggestions for state staff on how to support adult education program staff in using text messaging.”

Read more here: https://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-8917

Philadelphia’s Digital Navigator Report
 
“With guidance from the National Digital Inclusion  Alliance (NDIA), the City of Philadelphia’s  Digital Literacy Alliance (DLA) launched the Digital Navigator program in  June 2020. The DLA is a broad coalition of  institutional stakeholders working to alleviate the digital divide in Philadelphia. Organizations selected to participate in the Digital Navigator program meet the following criteria:

• Have deep reach into the community they serve and the surrounding neighborhoods;
• Have an existing employee qualified to take on the role or direct volunteers, interns, or staff  to handle calls and a clear plan for setting up a Digital Navigator hotline or helpline; and
• Have existing digital literacy or digital inclusion programs.”

 
Read more:
https://www.phila.gov/media/20211206155728/DigitalNavigatorReport.pdf
​

Digital Learning Day is February 22, 2022
All4Ed started Digital Learning Day on 2011. Since then digital learning has become a lifeline that has supported educators in leveraging high-quality research-based strategies to teach students remotely and in hybrid environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This year the focus is on celebrating the Personal in Personalized Learning.   All4Ed has posted information on their website which include resources events and learning activities.  They ask you to share yours!  See their message below: 

Join Us to Celebrate the Personal in Personalized Learning Digital Learning Day (#DLDay) 2022 will take place on Tuesday, February 22. We know you are working incredibly hard to ensure that learning is personalized. Don’t keep your amazing lessons, activities, events, and resources a secret. Help make our network stronger by sharing digital learning activities, events, instructional tools, tips, and tricks in the DLDay resource library.
 
Join The Network and Share Your Resources!

Additional  Resources
https://applieddigitalskills.withgoogle.com/c/en/digitallearningday