All posts by Nell Eckersley

About Nell Eckersley

Nell’s work on digital literacy and adult education includes being a member of the US Adult Digital Learning Advisory Group at the Ed Tech Center at World Ed, a Subject Matter Expert for the DRAW project, technology advisor for the CILIA-T project, and developing resources for the LINCS project. Her particular areas of interest are strengthening digital literacy skills for adult education practitioners and students, integrating technology into the adult education classroom via mobile devices, and digital inclusion for all.

Credly Give credit where credit is due

Micro-Credentials Using Digital Badges from Credly

In adult education, the main credentials available to students are often quite far off from where the student begins with us.  Whether it is a High School Equivalency Diploma, Citizenship or mastery of TOEFL, the tests these credentials require are difficult and require many hours of work in and outside of class.  This is where the idea of micro-credentialing comes in.  Much like Girl Scout badges, micro-credentials mark achievements along the way to the larger credential.  A micro-credential may be associated with mastery of a skill, time spent on a skill or task, or some other achievement. A common way to indicate a micro-credential is through the use of digital badges, an online image that is a “validated indicator of accomplishment.”   Continue reading Micro-Credentials Using Digital Badges from Credly

Cell-Ed

Hold the Phone! ESOL Instruction via Mobile Phone

At this point most of our students have access to some sort of mobile phone.  Are you using these in your instruction?  I have met teachers who send text messages to their students and have found tools that allow teachers to contact many students at once, but the idea of individualized instruction via cell phone has always seemed like it could be very time consuming. And that’s where Cell-Ed comes in. Continue reading Hold the Phone! ESOL Instruction via Mobile Phone

Embedding Questions in Videos

How often do you use video with your students? How often do you think your students access video? Perhaps you are using the Flipped Classroom model ( typical homework and in class work are flipped–students may read or watch a video outside of class and then time in class is used for discussion, exercises, and projects).

Continue reading Embedding Questions in Videos

All about Email

GCF stands for Goodwill Community Foundation and through their Learn Free website they share over 125 tutorials divided into sections Technology Basics, Living in the Online World, Microsoft Office, Essential Skills, and Work and Career. These are all worth exploring and the site is a useful toolkit whenever you need to brush up on information yourself, as well as a tool for students to use whenever they need more information. Continue reading All about Email

Free, Online Assessment of Computer Skills

Northstar Basic Computer Skills Assessment is a free online assessment of a person’s basic computer skills. After taking the assessment you can print out a personal learning plan that will help you improve in the areas you found more challenging. Continue reading Free, Online Assessment of Computer Skills