More than 5 million adults lack both functional literacy (below level 1) and numeracy (below entry level 3); an estimated 11.5 million adults do not have basic digital skills; and one in five adults do not have basic financial capabilities. Around 850,000 people have English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) needs. At the same time,…

Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 directs the federal government to conduct a national assessment of adult education, including activities to understand the extent to which adult education strategies positively affect learners. A systematic review of the research on the effectiveness of particular strategies in adult…

Economic analysis of the addition of a basic skills center to a word processing training center for unemployed adults showed that over three years the return on investment could be $14.00 to $1.00. (SK)

In 1997 the British Columbia Open University (BCOU) adopted a virtualization strategy based primarily on twinning off-line independent study distance education courses (textbook-based with study guide and telephone and e-mail tutor support) with alternate online versions (textbook-based with integrated conferencing and communications provided…

This guide builds on the framework for evaluating technology effectiveness in K-12 schools as described in the Council for Educational Development and Research's publication, "Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology." The revised framework is designed to provide encouragement and some rudimentary guidelines for critical thinking…

The Technology for Literacy Project was a three-year experimental project to explore the use of computers and other forms of technology with adults lacking basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. The project, which concentrated on St. Paul, Minnesota, and its surrounding counties, had four components: direct service, incentive grants,…

This report describes the general features of "online learning communities," community organizations that have constructed learning delivery systems that effectively combine elements of the distance learning and traditional models of instruction. It discusses the online learning community framework and explains the four features of these…

A project researched a process and generated a sample product to facilitate the teaching of English to adults who have limited proficiency in reading, speaking, or writing the language. Specific areas of interest included using a videocassette recorder (VCR) as a supplemental delivery system, using home video equipment to develop instructional…

Recognizing the pressing need to explore the issues surrounding education, incarceration, and reentry, the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Urban Institute hosted the Reentry Roundtable on Education on March 31 and April 1, 2008, at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. The two-day…

Evaluation studies conducted in 1978 at three sites yielded encouraging results regarding the ability of the Basic Skills Learning System (BSLS) to achieve the goals of adult basic education and demonstrated that effective curriculum models utilizing well-designed instructional paradigms can offer high quality instruction in the basic skills when…

An evaluation (involving questionnaires, telephone interviews, focus groups, site visits, e-mail questions, and lab observation) assessed the success in implementing a statewide technology plan for adult literacy programs in Massachusetts that grew out of a set of recommendations developed by the Massachusetts Adult Literacy Technology Team…

A project was conducted to determine if interactive video programs could produce positive results in literacy programs. During the project, staff from a technical college developed a task analysis, curriculum, and evaluation measures for the training of facilities maintenance workers in mathematical concepts. From this activity, an instructional…

This report contains abstracts of 29 projects funded under the Adult Education National Research Program. The projects are of six types: studies of effective practices and programs, national impact studies, descriptive studies, developmental and design studies, commissioned papers, and technical assistance. Some of the projects examined cover the…

Case study-based teacher education has been advocated since the mid-1980s. The evolution of technology-facilitated, case study-based professional development for adult education professionals may be traced by examining three projects involving the National Center on Adult Literacy and the International Literacy Institute at University of…

An analysis was conducted of the results of a formative evaluation of the LiteracyLink "Workplace Essential Skills" (WES) learning system conducted in the fall of 1998. (The WES learning system is a multimedia learning system integrating text, sound, graphics, animation, video, and images in a computer system and includes a videotape series, a…