What’s New

Fall 2013

  • Members of the Literacy, Language, & Technology Research Group (LLTR), Jill Castek, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers, Drew Pizzolato, and Kimberly Pendell of Portland State University developed a presentation for the U.S Conference on Adult Literacy (USCAL) called Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition: Helping Diverse Adult Learners Bridge the Digital Divide. It was presented by Jill Castek and Stephen Reder who shared initial results and insights about the learning processes of adults who come to public access computer labs in various community settings for tutor-facilitated digital literacy support. Implications from this research will help community organizations design programs and instructional services that meet the needs of diverse adult learners.

    Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition:
    Helping Diverse Adult Learners Bridge the Digital Divide
    FRI November 1st — SLIDES pdf
    Presenters: Stephen Reder, Jill Castek

  • The BTOP project collected responses to its fifth and final follow up survey. Official project activities will wind up on 9/30/13. We are glad to report that nearly all of our partners will continue offering tutor facilitated digital literacy trained beyond the grant period.

  • Learner Web staff participated in Multnomah County Library's celebration of International Literacy Day. We spent the afternoon telling other local educators and social service providers about out work, learning about theirs and brainstorming new partnerships that will benefit our communities.

Summer 2013


  • It's been a busy time with the IMLS research!

    Case Studies. Seven individuals who were interviewed in the Spring were selected as case study subjects. These case study interviews will occur twice and will provide data about the ways participation in BTOP may have impacted these learners' lives.

Spring 2013

  • IMLS Spring Field Visits. In May, our team conducted interviews with more than 30 learners at three partner sites (New Orleans, Minnesota, and Richmond, CA).

  • Learner Web staff attended the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) conference in New Orleans from March 25-28. A booth in the exhibition hall highlighted Learner Web and our digital literacy project. Attendees were able to explore the Learning Plans used in that project as well as others.

    Members of the Learner Web's Digital Literacy Project, a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) project and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded companion research project presented a series of five conference sessions focused on the innovative digital literacy work they are doing across the country.

    Those sessions were (slide presentations forthcoming):

    Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition: An Overview
    MON March 25th — SLIDES pdf
    Presenters: Stephen Reder, Jill Castek, Elizabeth Withers, Drew Pizzolato

    Engaging Community Organizations in Digital Literacy Work
     TUE March 26th
    Presenter: Petrice Sams-Abiodun

    Incorporating Digital Literacy into Traditional Literacy Classrooms and in Support of Wait-Listed Students
    TUE March 26th
    Presenters: James E. Matt, Central Southern Tier Regional Adult Education Network/Cayuga Community College, Marsha Tait, Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse, Rosemary Matt, NYS Office of Acct./Cayuga Community College

    Digital Literacy On-Ramps to Career Pathways
    WED March 27th - SLIDES pdf
    Presenters: Jenifer Vanek, University of MN/MN Literacy Council/MN DEED, Judy Mortrude, MN FastTRAC & MN Department of Employment and Economic Development, Eric Nesheim, Minnesota Literacy Council

    Tutor-Facilitation and Blended Learning for Digital Literacy: A Discussion of Key Issues and Future Directions in Digital Literacy
    WED March 27th - SLIDES pdf
    Presenters: Stephen Reder, Portland State University, David J. Rosen, Newsome Associates, Heide Spruck Wrigley, Literacywork International, Jon Engel, Community Action Inc.

  • In March of 2013, The PSU team and representatives from three Learner Web partner sites will present a strand of five sessions focused on digital literacy at the COABE 2013 conference in New Orleans, LA. The introductory session will include reflections about tutor-facilitated and blended learning approaches from the IMLS project.The second session will address working with community organizations to support digital literacy. The third, session will focus on incorporating digital literacy into traditional literacy classroom focused on Adult Basic Education. The fourth session will explore digital literacy on-ramps to career pathways. The final session is a panel discussion of key issues and future directions in digital literacy.

Winter 2012-2013

  • In February of 2013, Elizabeth Withers and Kimberly Pendell presented a portion of the IMLS research at the Online Northwest 2013 conference in Corvallis, OR. In their session, Elizabeth and Kim discussed emerging insights regarding a self-paced, tutor-facilitated digital literacy-learning model from their fieldwork in the Central Texas area.

  • In January of 2013, members of Literacy, Language, & Technology Research Group (LLTR) attended the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Conference. They gave a short presentation to the Public Library Association (PLA) board to explore the possibility of a partnership between Learner Web's Digital Literacy Project and PLA's effort to support libraries in anticipation of the Connect2Compete initiative and forthcoming Ad Council Campaign, which are both set to launch in late March 2013.

  • In January of 2013 ELL-U.org launchched their Emergent Readers Online Course Club and Learning Plan, a professional development for teachers working with English language learners in the beginning states of acquiring print literacy.

    The BTOP project has begun it's third calendar year. To date, our digital literacy project partners have offered over 40,000 tutors hours to more than 10,000 eligible participants. All together, these learners have completed almost 28,000 learning plans!

Fall 2012

  • On September 19th, 2012, The U.S. Department of Education released the "Adult College Completion Toolkit," a collection of resources designed to connect state administrators and local practitioners to the strategies, resources, and technical assistance tools resulting from the Department's work in the area of adult education. The toolkit focuses on three key areas: access, quality, and completion. Four target student populations include veterans, adult basic education students, incarcerated individuals, and skilled immigrants.

    Learner Web is featured on page 25 of the report.
    Download/View Adult College Completion Toolkit pdf


Summer 2012

  • Learner Web and the Literacy, Language, & Technology Research Group (LLTR) are pleased to announce the addition of our new Research Assistant Professor Jill Castek.

  • GED Academy and Learner Web are working together to explore ways in which the two software platforms can provide support for GED preparation in Learning Plans for career and postsecondary pathways.

  • Learner Web and Wiggio have teamed up to provide social networking features for Learners within a Learner Web region as well as for Learners who are working on the same Learning Plan.

  • In response to learner interest, LEAP Richmond designed a new digital literacy plan that gets learners started making online phone calls focusing on use of Google Talk and Skype. The plan was developed in partnership with the Learner Web BTOP team and is available for use in all Learner Web regions.

  • Learner Web welcomes the Long Island Regional Adult Education Network (LI-RAEN) to our community of partners. The LI-RAEN is working to develop a set of customizable and personalized learning plans to facilitate access to job training, employment, and long term career pathways.

  • Learner Web has partnered with Catholic Charities to implement BTOP Learning Plans at their Kateri Park Apartments and Esperanza Court locations in Southeast Portland. Kateri Park and Esperanza Court are two affordable housing communities which are home to many refugee families.The largest group are Somali and Somali Bantu, followed by a growing Burmese community, several Ethiopian families, as well as some Nepali and American families. The Somalis, and particularly the Somali Bantu, face formidable obstacles now that they live in Portland. Most of the adults speak very little English, and are illiterate in any language. The Resident Services office provides support and programming through a variety of programs and volunteer opportunities which Learner Web is proud to be a part of.

  • The Learner Web has revamped the college writing Learning Plans (LPs) to include more aspects of the writing process, from the steps of building a strong argument, to polishing up a thesis, to the ins and outs of grammar and punctuation. The latest bundle of Writing LPs includes LPs and LP customizations designed for non-native English speakers. In addition to expanding the bundle of Writing LP from twelve to twenty, the recent revisions include a redesign by Learner Web graphic designer, Tom Curtis, and have a much more interactive look and feel.

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Updated 11.7.2013