In a series of upcoming EdTech Maker Space projects, we’ll develop free, open resources that support the implementation of Teaching Skills That Matter. The EdTech Maker Space professional development model brings educators together to learn technology tools and apply their learning by designing resources and activities that they can use and that can also be shared and adapted by other educators across the nation. It’s professional development with purpose! Learn more at the information session this Friday, April 29th at 1PM Eastern. 

How can we leverage technology to make real-world connections to learning and help learners make progress? Next month’s Distance Education Strategy Session on Friday, May 13th at 1PM EST sponsored by Essential Education, focuses on keeping learners motivated and moving forward. Ann Marie Przybyl of Literacy New York delivers the first lightning talk, sharing strategies for teaching soft skills by Incorporating Workplace Readiness Skills Into Adult Education. Then, James Brown III of Guilford Tech Community College (NC) will share about Using Formative Assessment and Seat Time Data for Engagement and Retention. After these two lightning talks, join the speakers in a breakout room for 30 minutes to dig deeper and discuss how these strategies relate to your practice. 

Together with our partners, World Education co-leads the CREATE Adult Skills Network. Our goal is to create two-way communication between researchers and practitioners who strive to provide quality technology-rich instruction. This new brief responds to requests made by both to have a better understanding of how digital skills are defined and measured in adult education in the US today. 

In partnership with Florida Literacy Coalition, we ran the Staying Healthy! EdTech Maker Space in which educators adapted activities from the Staying Healthy ESOL Health Literacy curriculum using Jamboard, Quizlet, and Wakelet, and aligned other language learning, reading, and listening resources to the curriculum. Now, you can use the Staying Healthy curriculum and these supplemental activities with learners! On May 6th at 12PM EST, we’ll showcase what was accomplished and how you can use it. (As a bonus, we’ll be sharing some exciting news about future EdTech Maker Space opportunities!) 

At the 2022 Skoll World Forum last month, World Education joined partners Readability Matters, Adobe, Google, University of Central Florida, ReadWorks and others to present on building better reading through personalized digital text. Experts from nonprofits, tech, academia and education presented the latest research and tech developments supporting better reading experiences; the lightning talks were followed by facilitated group discussions on moving proof points to implementation and scaling promising practices for greater impact. Watch all session recordings and access resources below.