Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments
Additional Resources
Use Digital Technology Instructional Resources
The recording is no longer available but you can view the slides.
DLI Knowledge Sharing: Milestones and digital technology: Assessment and reporting practices (ASL session)
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See the Research Overview.
See the Full Report.
With the introduction of the OALCF (Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum Framework) and its aligned reporting system in 2012, Ontario’s Literacy and Basic Skills programs (LBS) have experienced extensive changes in the way they report program activity and demonstrate accountability.
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Full Research Report
In 2014-15, AlphaPlus was involved in a research project examining current assessment practices related to the OALCF Use Digital Technology Milestones, the alignment between the Milestones and program learning and reporting trends. Our study concludes that the Milestones and accompanying administration guidelines work counter to the ministry’s objective for the OALCF to “improve service delivery, learner experiences and learner outcomes” by introducing a series of challenges, contradictions and inequities.
EOIS-CaMS data and anecdotal information indicated that the OALCF Competency D – Use Digital Technology Milestones were often being selected. We wanted to know why there was a reliance on a limited number of Milestones and determine why assessors were making this choice. An investigation initially focused on digital technology Milestones grew to incorporate a broader investigation of Milestone use in general.
This SDNDF-funded project Assessment Use and Reporting: Investigating Data Integrity Issues gathered information from assessors in LBS programs by way of an online survey and in-person interviews focused on the digital technology Milestones as well as assessment and reporting practices and their impacts on programming. The insights of practitioners with experience using the OALCF Milestones were integral to the project.
Christine Pinsent-Johnson
Matthias Sturm
2015
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See the Research Overview.
See the Presentation.
Assessment Challenges, Contradictions and Inequities: An analysis of the use of digital technology and OALCF Milestones
Christine Pinsent-Johnson
Matthias Sturm
2015
See the Research Brief.
See the Full Report.
See the Presentation.
This overview of program data from LBS programs in Ontario was developed as part of a larger study that investigated the way that the OALCF Use Digital Technology, and Milestones in general, are used in LBS programs. The data was examined to provide a current program overview and a context for understanding the research findings.
This research brief describes program practices that have been put in place in response to the introduction of the OALCF Milestones. It is part of a larger study that investigated the digital technology and OALCF Milestones overseen by AlphaPlus.
Additional Resources
Use Digital Technology Instructional Resources
The recording is no longer available but you can view the slides.
Open Badges, a new online standard launched in March 2013 by Mozilla, is open source, free software, which any organization can use to create, issue and verify digital badges to recognize and verify learning.
Many of us are familiar with and likely earned some kind of physical badge in our lifetime. Who can forget all those colourful badges sewn or pinned on a sleeve, jacket or hat of a Girl Guide or Boy Scout? These badges represent the accomplishment of various achievements and are often proudly displayed by the recipients.
Digital badges, originally introduced in games, are also used to recognize achievements and completion of specific tasks, but they are issued and shared digitally.
They are often treated as rewards and recipients seek them to:
Digital badge issuers use digital badges for:
To provide a common system for the issuance, collection, and display of digital badges on multiple instructional sites, Mozilla Foundation developed Mozilla Open Badges – free software and an open technical standard any organization can use to create, issue and verify digital badges.
Many educational institutions and learning management system providers, such as Blackboard and Moodle, quickly partnered with Mozilla to enable online teachers and administrators to issue Open Badges for course and activity completions.
From June to July 2013, the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) On-line Field Trial was undertaken by the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC)1 and the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU) in Ontario.
PIAAC On-line is also known by the title The Education and Skills Online Assessment. It was developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as “an assessment tool designed to provide individual-level results that are linked to the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) measures of literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments.”
In September 2013, AlphaPlus gathered feedback from participants in the Field Trial, specifically to explore the perspectives of adult literacy practitioners on the impact of digital technology in individual assessment on-line such as PIAAC On-line.
Project officers from MTCU and CMEC indicated their interest in general feedback from participants. A short survey was designed that included items related to the perceived impact of technology as well as items based on communications provided by MTCU during the PIAAC On-line Field Trial.
This short report summarizes the results of two independent surveys.
The first was undertaken by AlphaPlus, surveying literacy practitioners about their own and adult learners’ experiences participating in the PIAAC On-line Field Trial.
The second was undertaken by PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs, surveying the learners in their program who participated in the Field Trial. We hope to contribute to the discussion about PIAAC On-line by providing some quantitative but foremost qualitative data that speaks to the data collected through the Field Trial.