Workplace friends,
A question was posted on the Professional Development list about
difficulties encountered in delivering mandatory health care staff
development via computer.  A series of posts has ensued, and I think you
may be interested in it.  Start from the first question posed at the
bottom of this latest post and work your way up to the most recent post.
Donna

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Steve
Quann
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 10:43 AM
To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 619] Re: FW: Initial computer
literacyassessment

Hi Dorothy,

I do hope if the online course is mandated that some sort of orientation
to computer skills to use it is also part of the plan.  I am passing on
some suggestions from Diana Satin that might help demonstrate how that
might be accomplished.

I haven't seen the curriculum so I can't speak to the language issue,
but as David mentioned, accessible language level is key to workers
being able to comprehend the material independently. Otherwise, they'll
need tutors or teachers to adapt the material to their level.

As far as the computer competency, I can tell you how it's worked out in
my online course. When I recruit students, I explain that it's an online
course. I don't assess for particular computer skills. Students
self-select--those who join the online course are people who already
feel comfortable with computers , as well as those who aren't familiar
with using computers but are motivated to learn how to. Those who don't
feel comfortable choose a face-to-face course. Is a face-to-face course
possible at your hospital? Online learning isn't for everyone, and
motivation to progress through the course and retention of course
information can be negatively affected if people aren't comfortable with
the course.

I have two face-to-face orientation sessions one week apart. In the
first, I walk people through accessing and navigating the course,
allowing time for them to work a bit on a lesson so they gain enough
comfort to be able to work on it independently. I offer support in the
week in between (and through the entire course), both via telephone and
in person at the school's computer lab. I also phone each student during
the week to check in to see how they're doing on their own. The reason I
do this is because some students, either because of personality or
culture, don't feel comfortable 'bothering' the teacher to ask
questions. I don't want them to drop out of the course because of
something we can easily iron out. Do your workers work on the course
on-site, or at home (or at a library, computer technology center, or
some other place in the community) as well? If they work on it outside
of the workplace, you can ask if there's anyone at home or a friend who
can help them out with problems they may have. If they work on it at the
workplace, are there staff available to help them out if they have
problems?

This approach has worked well. Of my students who weren't comfortable
with computers before the course, all have stuck with the course,
motivated by their desire to learn the course materials and improve
their computer skills.

I hope this helps in some way.

Diana Satin
ESL DL Coordinator/Instructor
Jamaica Plain Community Centers
Adult Learning Program
Boston, MA

~Steve Quann
Steve Quann
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA
617.482.9485


>>> djrosen at comcast.net 10/12/06 6:23 PM >>>

Dorothy,

It sounds like the employees who are having difficulty do not have
college-level skills.  Is Healthstream designed to provide healthcare
work-related instruction to adults who need to learn English and/or who
are at a basic skills level?  From a quick look at their web site, it
appears that the answer is no.  If so, the problem is the match between
your education provision system and the employees'  
needs.  But perhaps, the Healthstream website does not give a full
picture of what they offer.

While it may seem logical that if someone is learning English and  
also learning how to use a computer, one or the other must suffer.   
But not necessarily.  There is a basic literacy approach pioneered by
Antonia Stone in her book _Keystrokes to Literacy_, and an English
language and technology learning approach developed by Quann and Satin
in _Learning Computers, Speaking English_ http://tinyurl.com/
y6oyn9 where learning technology skills and learning literacy and
language skills are complementary.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net


On Oct 12, 2006, at 10:39 AM, Taylor, Jackie wrote:


> Hi All:

>

> Dorothy Kinley, Education Coordinator in Alaska, kindly held her 

> question last week until our guest discussion on Action Research was 

> over. Dorothy works for a healthcare system that has implemented an 

> online learning management system (Healthstream) for delivery and 

> documentation of staff education.  As a result, some system-wide 

> mandated education is delivered via computer.  One of the issues 

> they've encountered is that they have workers from many levels of 

> education and cultural backgrounds.  She tells me that while most 

> English speaking employees manage to get through with a minimal number



> of problems overall, the ELL folks often have not been exposed to web 

> based learning and may not have adequate reading vocabulary to make 

> the lessons meaningful.

>

>

>

> 1) How much does their struggling to use the computer diminsh their 

> actual learning?  (Similarly, have you encountered instances in 

> teacher staff development where computer skills and comfort level 

> needed for the online PD were not at the level you hoped?) Are there 

> tools out there to measure the learners ability to navigate through 

> basic windows settings?

>

>

>

> 2) Are there other approaches that staff developers or program 

> directors have used to facilitate learning of computer skills by staff



> that have little to no hands on use of computer other than at work?

>

>

>

> Please see Dorothy's email below. Best*Jackie Taylor

>

>

>

>

>

> From: kinley [mailto:kinley at mtaonline.net]

> Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 11:41 AM

> To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List

> Subject: Initial computer literacy assessment

>

>

>

> Jackie,

>

>

>

> Thanks for the first of the morning inspiration from Wheatley.   

> Starts my week off with a bit of reflection.

>

>

>

> In healthcare facilities there are many 'mandatory' educational 

> requirements that must be delivered to a very diverse group of 

> learners.  In my facility for example many of the staff in 

> housekeeping, dietary, and sterile processing speak either Korean or 

> Filipino as their native language.  Our facility relies heavily on 

> Healthstream--a learning management system for delivery and 

> documentation of staff ed.  As it is a computer based methodology-- 

> the concern for me is are we getting the message across adequately?

>

>

>

> While these jobs are not highly dependant on formal education, they 

> have the potential to significantly impact the outcomes of our 

> patients.  We have literally had educators sit down with some of these



> staff members to ensure they were able to complete the education 

> modules.

>

>

>

>  How do others  assess initial computer (windows/language/task) 

> literacy for English speaking and ESL workers?

>

>

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

> Dorothy Kinley

>

> Education Coordinator

>

> Providence Alaska Medical Center

>

>

>

> dorothy.kinley at providence.org

>

>

>

>