- 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.
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Abstract:
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.
Benefits and Uses
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.
Required Training
No prior training required
What the experts say
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.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
Publication Year
2020
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Abstract:
This report from the Digital US coalition is the result of a six-month landscape analysis and strategic planning period, laying the groundwork for a new collective impact approach to support both on-ramps to digital skills as well as pathways to new opportunities.
Highlighting the urgent need to support digital skills development for all Americans, this report argues that designing, building, and scaling the on-ramps and supports that millions of adult learners and workers need is a social impact imperative.
Benefits and Uses
This resource includes eye-opening data about digital literacy and the need for digital resiliency. It is extremely applicable, with useful features which include key data, a full gap analysis, important and meaningful graphics, learner worker stories, and specific strategies that can be used to expand digital access and build digital resilience, and recommended resources. Adult education leaders would greatly benefit the from this resource as it offers solutions to the existing gaps that are a result of digital inequity in the United States. Additionally, it provides great resources to help adult educators bridge the digital inequity, digital literacy, and digital resiliency gaps. It can be used as a part of a professional development program or curriculum development training for adult education professionals or digital navigators by outlining a research-based framework for the intentional development of digital inclusion strategies.
Required Training
No training is required.
What the experts say
Often, the terms digital literacy, digital inclusion, digital equity, and digital resilience are used interchangeably. This report builds on the changing social, educational, and workforce landscape as it applies to digital inclusion and provides an evidence-based depiction of the need for improved digital literacy, equity, and resiliency in the American workforce. There is a clearly outlined roadmap that includes both strategies and resources to help adult educators expand access to instruction (places, devices, time, and people), embed digital literacy in other supports through a digital navigator, and improve the effectiveness of instruction and supports. The report concludes with a model ecosystem for developing digital resilience through networking and stakeholder support.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
Publication Year
2020
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Abstract:
The TBCAE Toolkit was developed 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 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:
Required Training
No prior training required.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
Publication Year
2021
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Abstract:
This publication provides information about the implementation of and findings from the Technology-Based Coaching in Adult Education (TBCAE) project.
The Nurturing and Nudging Adult Learners through Text Messaging: Final Report for the Technology-Based Coaching in Adult Education (TBCAE) Project describes the results from the TBCAE project, which explored the use of individual and personalized text messaging to support more than 400 learners’ participation in 10 adult education programs. The final report provides information about approaches to using individual text messaging with adult education learners, the types of assistance that staff provided in their text messages to learners, the immediate and near-term outcomes learners achieved during their participation in text messaging, and the perceptions of program leadership and staff about the utility of text messaging in adult education programs.
Benefits and Uses
The Technology-Based Coaching in Adult Education (TBCAE) Final Report provides the context for the increased interest in the use of text messaging with adult basic education learners and describes the results from the TBCAE project. The project explored how text messaging can be used to support adult basic education learners’ program participation and success and involved 420 adult learners from 10 adult basic education programs in four states. The final report discusses how the use of individual and personalized text messaging with adult basic education learners supported them in working toward their education goals, including earning a high-school equivalency credential, completing an Integrating Education and Training Program, and enrolling in postsecondary education. The report provides data about the types of text messages that adult education program staff sent to adult learners, the range of content addressed in those text messages, staff’s approach to using text messages to support learners, and the types of progress toward their goals that learners achieved. A key finding was that individual and personalized text messages can support and prompt learners to engage in the myriad activities that they must complete to achieve their longer-term education goals. Adult basic education program leadership and staff can use the report to stimulate discussion about the ways in which individual and personalized text messaging could assist their program participants in remaining engaged and in making progress toward their goals. This report can also be used in conjunction with the TBCAE Toolkit, which provides detailed guidance for planning and implementing individual and customized text messaging as an integral part of an adult basic education program.
Adult educators can use this resource to learn about the ways in which individual and personalized text messaging has been use with adult basic education learners, including the types of text messages that were exchanged between learners and staff and the types of progress that learners made in working to earn a high-school equivalency credential, participate in an Integrated Education and Training Program, and enroll in postsecondary education. Program leadership and staff can use this document to guide a discussion about the potential use of individual and personalized text messaging as a formal part of the operation of an adult basic education program. Adult education program leadership and would benefit from reading this resource along with the TBCAE Toolkit that is also in the LINCS Resource Collection.
The document is succinct so that adult educators can read the whole document. The section of the document that provides the results from the use of text-messaging is the most significant.
Required Training
Prior training is not required for this resource.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
Publication Year
2022
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Abstract:
This resource explores the technical, instructional, and other components necessary for expanding the use of technology in correctional education programs.
This resource is designed to help education and corrections leaders understand key issues in adopting and integrating technology to support instruction in jails and prisons. It describes the components of a state correctional education technology ecosystem (the who, what, why, and how of technology use), profiles four state ecosystems, and provides a discussion guide for exploring the policy and technical components needed to further expand the use of technology in correctional education programs.
Benefits and Uses
This resource is an update to Educational Technology in Corrections 2015, which described how correctional facilities provide access to technology for education programs. With the acceleration of technology use due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reinstatement of Pell Grants, and other legislation, this updated brief and discussion guide focuses on technology access and use in correctional education (e.g., adult education, career and technical education, and postsecondary education). It illustrates how technology use should be student-centered and aligned to instructional goals. The final section, the Discussion Guide, provides a tool for guiding state-level conversations about the policy and technical components needed to develop a state correctional education technology ecosystem. Corrections and education leaders can use this resource to understand the technical and other components necessary to further expand the use of technology in correctional education programs. For example, they also can use it to answer questions related to device selection/maintenance, funding, security, staffing and teacher development, student preparation, teaching and learning, and vendor selection.
Required Training
Prior training is not required for this resource.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
Publication Year
2022
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Abstract:
We DID it—and we’re just getting started! Digital Inclusion Day (DID) kicks off a nationwide day celebrating the power of technology to transform adult education and open new doors for learners. This kickoff session spotlights funding opportunities that fuel digital equity for your local program and learners and showcases innovative education practices that equip every adult with the skills to succeed in a connected world. By breaking down barriers to access and accelerating transformation, DID reminds us that when we invest in digital inclusion, we invest in brighter futures for learners, families, and communities.
Original webinar date: October 6, 2025
Webinar recording link: https://youtu.be/WmnJyLZenfI
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Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping education, work, and the skills needed for success. For adult education, AI offers tools to personalize learning, support digital literacy, and create stronger pathways to employment. This webinar will highlight strategies for integrating AI into programs, with examples of readily available tools that teachers and students can use immediately to enhance instruction and engagement. Participants will learn how AI can expand opportunities, improve outcomes, and prepare learners for the future. Original webinar date: October 17, 2025 Webinar recording link: https://youtu.be/Qc27vPlqxHQ
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Abstract:
Busy teachers often need more time to plan lessons and find materials for teaching reading skills to students. Embracing AI can be a game changer for planning lessons and gathering materials to deliver instruction in each of the four components of reading. Participants will learn about free AI tools for teaching phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Save time and tailor instruction to meet your students' needs with tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and more. Original webinar date: October 9, 2025 Webinar recording link: https://youtu.be/BNZhj5zsaK0