Technology becomes part of adult education standards

James H. Groves Adult High School has embraced technology in its adult education curriculum. Not only are iPads and printers available at its main campus at Sussex Technical High School, but also they are now at all of its satellite locations. With the help and cooperation of the Department of Labor; Delaware State Housing Authority; Philadelphia Pentecostal Holiness Church in Ellendale; and Woodbridge, Cape Henlopen, Seaford, and Laurel school districts, technology is available at those satellite locations, too. This new technology is also being used in the Family Literacy Program, Federal 21st Century Community Learning Center and English as a Second Language classes.

Level 4 ESL teacher Janine Reed has found some creative ways to weave iPads into her ESL instruction. She puts the students into teams of four. By rotating team use on the iPads, every student gets at least 10 minutes each week to work on the iPad.

Reed has also designed six stations in her classroom that the teams rotate around. Station 1 is always the iPad station. There is also the Smartboard station. Another is the Conversation station to practice English dialogues taught in previous classes. The rotation also includes an Alphabetical Order station, a Dictation station, and a Letter Writing station.

According to an article in e-Synergy newsletter, from information processing skills to technical expertise and even big data, the forecast opportunity for future careers is technology. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates that employment in computer systems design and related services will grow by 47 percent through 2020.