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Examples of mini-projects focused on community and school connections are shared, along with outcomes related to digital skill development, family engagement, and learner confidence in supporting their children's education. In an era where digital literacy is increasingly essential for success in work, family, and community life, many adult English language learners (ELLs) confront a digital divide. Purpose of Digital Literacy in Family Learning Adult learners who feel confident in both their English language and digital literacy skills will email a child's teacher requesting a parent-teacher conference. "English language skills and digital literacy are essential for obtaining and keeping a family sustaining job, supporting children at school, participating in community life, obtaining community services, and accessing further education and training" (Harris, 2015).
ABSTRACT
Keywords: adult education, digital literacy, English as a second language, family learning, project-based learning, student-centered approaches, technology
This article discusses how educators can bridge the digital divide for adult English language learners (ELLs) through mini-projects that are tied to family learning. These family motivated projects aim to boost learners' English language proficiency and digital skills necessary for job readiness, and, most significantly, create stronger connections with their families. This article provides an overview of the learner demographics and programs at one nonprofit organization, the English Empowerment Center, and explains the key factors considered in designing the mini-projects. The authors discuss how the digital skills were chosen, common barriers to digital access, the importance of student motivation and digital resilience, and the role of weaving together multiple literacies. Examples of mini-projects focused on community and school connections are shared, along with outcomes related to digital skill development, family engagement, and learner confidence in supporting their children's education.
INTRODUCTION
What motivates adult learners to walk into our English classrooms besides the obvious desire for language instruction? In an era where digital literacy is increasingly essential for success in work, family, and community life, many adult English language learners (ELLs) confront a digital divide. This digital divide, combined with linguistic barriers, "can create a multigenerational rift between parents and their children" (Machado-Casas et al., 2014, p. 29) as immigrant parents may struggle to keep up with their more tech-savvy children. Additionally, digital literacy is a determining factor in the job industry with 92% of jobs requiring digital skills (Bergson-Shilcock & Taylor, 2023). To address this multifaceted challenge, educators can create opportunities for learners to develop digital skills (see Table 1) alongside English proficiency through the use of family motivated mini-projects. These projects are directly relevant to their goals as parents and community members, as we will demonstrate in the context of the English Empowerment Center, a community-based literacy organization.
CONTEXT
EEC Learners
The English Empowerment Center (EEC), formerly the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, serves 2,000 adult ELLs a year, teaching them the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking, and understanding English so they can access employment and educational opportunities and more fully and equitably participate in the community. EEC learners are immigrants- individuals who were not U.S. citizens at birth, such as refugees, naturalized U.S. citizens, and others. In 2022-2023, 73% of EEC learners were female, 64% had household incomes below the poverty level, 39% completed 9 or fewer years of prior formal schooling, and 60% supported 1,932 dependent children.
Our Programs
The English Empowerment Center (EEC) offers beginning-level English classes, Family Learning Program classes, tutoring, skills-based classes, and a Destination Workforce® program. In our Family Learning Program, which follows the four-component family literacy model (National Center for Families Learning, 2023), parents and caregivers learn English while their children participate in reading and writing activities and receive homework help. Family Learning Program classes are an ideal environment to incorporate this instructional approach of mini-projects, and it was where some of these first projects were created and completed.
However, it is important to acknowledge that parents and caregivers participate not only in family literacy classes but also in other adult education programming, such as EEC's Destination Workforce® program, which helps adult ELLs develop the skills needed to obtain a position, succeed, and advance in the workplace. Within Destination Workforce®, we use mini-projects with the online beginning-level Intensive English and Workforce Readiness classes, serving adult ELLs at NRS ESL Levels 2-3 (low and high beginning). Mini-projects that incorporate family learning and digital literacy skills can be applicable to a variety of adult language-learning classes.
Digital Literacy Efforts in Family Literacy Programs
Other family literacy programs have recognized the importance of teaching digital literacy. One program in Washington, D.C. (Nobles, 2016a) started offering digital literacy classes, from beginner to advanced technology levels, to complement the English and parenting components of the curriculum. In Maine (Nobles, 2016b), one program created an online learning environment for rural participants to participate in family literacy and other classes, thereby integrating digital literacy into how they study other subjects. And other examples have been documented (Lynch & Prins, 2022) that involve immigrant parents and children in digital storytelling and provide separate and combined technology workshops for adults and children. While these efforts have made important strides in addressing the digital literacy of adult ELLs, the field needs more examples within family learning classes. Our mini-projects build upon these examples and add to the literature by demonstrating how to combine language learning with digital skills development for parents and caregivers at a beginning level using short projects contextualized to curricular themes.
STUDENT-CENTERED PROJECT DESIGN
Project-based learning is an instructional approach where "students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects" (PBL Works). It is a rigorous and engaging approach that prepares learners for postsecondary and career transitions (LINCS, 2023). Each mini-project was designed as an authentic, student-centered assignment that requires digital tasks. Within each 8-week session, the English Empowerment Center's curriculum covers three different topics such as nutrition, daily routines, health, employment, or community. At least one mini-project was created for each of the three topics in the session. Projects were designed in a way to include family motivated components. Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time, "an essential strategy to maximize the benefits of families learning together" (Jacobs et al., 2018), was part of the project itself or included as an extension activity.
A key factor in the success of the mini-projects is that the learners have to be invested in the process as well as the outcome. To foster this investment, the project planning incorporates learner choice, input, and voice. With student-centered approaches, learners actively engage in learning that is relevant to them and connected to their lives outside the classroom. (Peyton et al., 2010). Furthermore, families may have different goals for digital literacy instruction than those of the adult education program (Nogueron-Liu, 2017), underscoring the importance of understanding and incorporating learners' perspectives. When introducing the curriculum topics for each session, we solicit learner input through discussions and surveys about how the topics relate to their lives. Do they have any personal, professional, or family related goals pertaining to these topics? What barriers are they confronting? Is technology an obstacle? By centering the learners' lived experiences, this approach fosters a sense of ownership and relevance that enhances motivation and engagement.
Successful implementation of student-centered projects also depends on the learner's "sense of competence" (Brown, 2001, p. 47). Knowing that some learners were concerned about learning digital skills alongside English, we needed to demonstrate how these projects allow them to make gains in both English language proficiency and digital skills through a series of manageable tasks that break down the digital skills. As learners added to their digital literacy toolkit, scaffolding was essential in helping them see their progress without feeling too overwhelmed while attempting to master basic digital skills. For example, learners create a bulleted list in a Google Doc. Then, they practice that skill in a scaffolded sequence that results in a real-world outcome such as a "Back to School" supplies list, a grocery list, or listing skills on a resume.
KEY DESIGN PRINCIPLES
When designing and implementing these mini-projects, we focused on six factors to ensure their effectiveness for adult ELLs. These included access to technology, the role of digital literacy in families, project adaptability, level-appropriate digital skills, intergenerational digital literacy, and standards alignment.
Digital Access
For digital literacy projects, learners need access to technology and a reliable internet connection. Learners in the online Family Learning Program classes are expected to have their own internet access and a smartphone or laptop. For in-person classes, teachers are able to borrow a Wi-Fi hotspot and projector. For the intensive classes, EEC has received multiyear funding from the Virginia Department of Social Services to establish and sustain a laptop and Wi-Fi hotspot lending program for all three intensive class levels. Digital access directly influenced the "Neighborhood Walk" mini-project. By ensuring learners had access to devices with cameras and internet connectivity, we could design a project that involved taking and sharing digital photos of community locations.
Purpose of Digital Literacy in Family Learning
Adult learners who feel confident in both their English language and digital literacy skills will email a child's teacher requesting a parent-teacher conference. They will scan a QR code to fill out a student absence form. They will choose to comment on social media about an event happening at school. "English language skills and digital literacy are essential for obtaining and keeping a family sustaining job, supporting children at school, participating in community life, obtaining community services, and accessing further education and training" (Harris, 2015). Having the confidence to navigate the digital world allows parents to take on a greater role in their children's educational experiences. Just as parents have the role as their child's most influential teacher (Jacobs et al., 2018), strengthening their digital abilities will ensure long-term benefits for both parent and child. Parents can move from the desire to be more involved to proactively engaging in multiple aspects of family life. This family learning focus led to the "Children's School Website" mini-project, where parents learn to access and use their children's school websites, directly supporting their involvement in their children's education.
Adaptability
The majority of the mini-projects were created for online, synchronous classes. Still, the projects proved to be adaptable based on the class level and current digital abilities of the learners. Project outcomes could be adjusted on a learner-by-learner basis, which may be necessary within a multilevel class. Another factor in choosing the number of digital skills included in the project is class length. We have facilitated these mini-projects in 128-hour sessions and 48-hour sessions, with learners improving their English language proficiency in both class lengths and across in-person and online formats. The duration of the mini-projects range from 2 class days (School Social Media) to 8 class days (The Library).
Survival Digital Literacy Skills
Given the English Empowerment Center's historical focus on the most beginning-level learner, we designed these projects to be accessible to adult ELLs at the low-beginner level and for those learners needing foundational digital literacy skills. For those learners who enter the classroom with little to no digital literacy skills, it is important that teachers prioritize teaching foundational or survival digital literacy skills. "Learners at even the lowest levels of literacy and language proficiency can engage with online learning content" (National Institute for Literacy, 2008, p. 1). Digital skills can be as simple as turning on and off devices, typing on a keyboard, navigating websites, or sending an email. These "survival" digital skills-a critical foundation to a learner's digital resilience-should be combined with explicit demonstration of the versatility of these basic skills, as well as how they translate to workforce-related tasks.
Intergenerational Digital Literacy
The mini-projects were designed to address three areas of implementation that have been documented (Lynch & Prins, 2022) relating to how programs involve families in digital literacy and technology use. These areas include developing the adult's digital skills, teaching caregivers to use technology to support their children's education, and fostering positive interactions between adults and children. As learners successfully gain foundational digital skills, they are taking steps to lessen the intergenerational digital divide. There is no expectation that adult learners will catch up to or surpass their children's digital abilities. Engaging in digital problem solving is part of lifelong learning that begins in childhood, presenting unique challenges for adult learners (Jacobs & Castek, 2018). However, by acquiring digital skills, adult learners can better support their children as they use technology for community and educational purposes. The mini-projects (e.g., School Social Media) also encourage positive intergenerational connections related to technology and navigating the digital world together as a family. In essence, these are interactive digital literacy activities- an updated version of PACT Time activities that moves beyond strictly print-based literacy.
Choosing the Digital Literacy Skills
The individual digital skills were chosen so that they would support the curriculum topics and the family motivated project ideas. Throughout the mini-projects, learners build digital skills that span the three overarching categories identified in the BRIDGES Digital Skills Framework: Foundational Skills, Productivity Skills, and Independent Learning Skills (World Education, 2024). In each mini-project description below, we specify the relevant domains addressed. By aligning our skills focus with standards and competencies, we ensure that we strategically address digital inequities for adult learners.
THE MINI-PROJECTS
By applying these six principles within our student-centered approach, the English Empowerment Center implemented several mini-projects. In our classes, learners voiced interest in two categories: community and school. They described wanting to have greater connections to their communities and knowing what resources were available to them. They also said they wanted to be more informed and involved in their children's education. Based on this input and in alignment with the program's curriculum, we designed the mini-projects described in detail below to boost both digital and English skills while strengthening family and community ties. See Table 2 for a crosswalk of the digital skills with Northstar Digital Literacy and BRIDGES frameworks.
Community Mini-Project: Neighborhood Walk
To encourage stronger community connections, learners completed a series of mini-projects that encouraged them to explore their own neighborhoods. Certain learners, specifically newcomers to the United States, said the projects encouraged them to explore their new neighborhoods with purpose. Learners completed a neighborhood walk mini-project where they needed to find five important places in their community that related to their daily lives. They were encouraged to choose locations where they go as a family. These places often included schools, grocery and convenience stores, and religious centers. Learners took photos of these locations on their phones. Within the BRIDGES framework, this assignment was tied to the "Workplace and Productivity Skills," "Communication," and "Creation" domains. Learners utilized digital skills such as creating new documents in Google Docs, using word processing skills, learning to format and edit text, applying bullets and automatic numbering, inserting images into a document, and collaborating and sharing documents. Learners presented their projects to the class, sharing the important places in their neighborhood. They completed this assignment within 4 days, with an hour of dedicated project work time each class. There was one additional day for presentations and one "flex" day for those who had missed class during the project to make up work. English language and literacy skills related to this topic were taught 2 days before the project began and continued during the remaining class time on project days. The mini-project was created in class, accounting for 70% of the project time. Thirty percent of the project was completed outside of class time, which included the actual neighborhood walk.
Community Mini-Project: The Library
Learners had also expressed a strong desire to want to read to their children and to find age-appropriate materials for their children to read. It became clear that a number of learners were not at all familiar with libraries and the resources available within the library system. This became the focus of another mini-project. Learners completed an online library card application form, obtained a library card, and visited their local library with their children on a routine basis. The digital skills required for this mini-project focused on three areas: using navigation applications to locate the closest library, learning how to navigate a library's website, and completing online application forms. Additionally, as the application form information is sent to an email account, learners had to become proficient in using Gmail. These digital skills are found within the BRIDGES framework under "Gateway Skills" and "Online Life." Learners completed this assignment within 8 days, an hour each day, with one "flex" day for those who had missed class during the project to make up work. The mini-project was completed 90% in class. The 10% outside-of-class time included learners going to the library to obtain their library card and checking out books with their children. The English language and literacy skills within the curriculum were taught over a span of 4 days, accounting for the rest of class time for the first week of the project.
School Mini-Project: Children's School Website
To encourage stronger school connections, learners worked on mini-projects related to their children's school and how to locate important school information. The project was completed over a 4-day period, with dedicated class time of an hour per day on the project. Within the BRIDGES framework, it includes digital skills in the domains of "Gateway Skills," "Information Skills," and "Online Life." The project focused on obtaining the digital literacy skills needed to navigate websites. Learners navigated internet browsers, identified specific search terms, used browser tools, and worked within different tabs and windows. They used these skills to locate important information on a school's website, including how to access the school calendar, how to speak with an interpreter, and how to change the language on the site to their native language; 100% of the mini-project was completed during class time, requiring three 1-hour blocks of time over consecutive days.
School Mini-Project: School Social Media
Learners also requested additional ways to get information about what's happening at their child's school, which led to the creation of a social media mini-project. With skills taken from the BRIDGES domains of "Communication," "Gateway Skills," and "Privacy and Security," learners explored the social media platforms offered by the school and chose at least one to follow. This also lent itself to the basic elements of internet privacy. Beyond social media, some learners wanted to sign up for electronic school-related communications that required them to practice digital skills related to email; 100% of the mini-project was completed during class time. The mini-project took 2 days and a total of 2 hours to complete.
School Mini-Project: Emailing the Child's Teacher
As a follow-up to the social media project, learners continued to practice using email with a mini-project related to contacting a child's teacher. This mini-project incorporated digital skills from the BRIDGES domains of "Gateway Skills" and "Communication." Learners created professional emails that they could send to their child's teacher for a variety of reasons. This required digital literacy skills of email etiquette, managing their inbox, and knowing how to reply to an email. Learners practiced sending the email with a template that they could use for future email correspondence with their children's teachers.
Future Mini-Projects
Seeing the relevance of these mini-projects to their own lives, learners have embraced their agency in the classroom and have begun to make suggestions and requests for future mini-projects. Their ideas so far include the following:
* A local playground and park project where they utilize navigational applications and social media to map out the locations of playgrounds and parks in the community. Learners can also highlight the amenities at each location and share on social media.
* A QR code project where they learn how to use QR codes to fill out school-related forms about absences or to indicate a change in the child's school transportation, such as a parent pickup instead of riding the bus.
Educators can also brainstorm and collaborate about future mini-projects that would apply to their programs. In a recent professional development webinar about this topic, educators put forth ideas such as learners participating in a local volunteer opportunity with their children, as well as creating a "favorites" restaurant map within a learner's community.
LEARNER IMPACT AND OUTCOMES
In order to assess mastery of the objectives and skills for each mini-project, a combination of formative and summative assessments were used throughout the project cycle. This included a skills checklist, individual self-assessment, student observation, practice forms and skill review activities, daily student check-ins, student feedback, and the final project outcome. By involving learners in the assessment process, these strategies foster learner autonomy, metacognition, and ownership of their learning progress, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of the mini-projects. To assess overall learning gains, the English Empowerment Center administered BEST Plus 2.0 pre- and post-tests and offered learners the opportunity to take Northstar Digital Literacy assessments.
To assess the impact of the mini-projects, the teacher asked learners to provide feedback following the completion of each project. To complement these student interviews, the teacher logged observations of student performance on a skills checklist. From this, three themes emerged from the feedback: digital skills development, family engagement, and confidence in supporting children's education.
Digital Skills Development
Learners identified which digital skills they learned that they can most readily apply to their current lives and future goals. They also identified which digital skills were the most difficult to learn and whether they felt that they needed more practice. They reported being able to apply their new digital skills beyond the original scope of the mini-projects. For example, one learner shared that she learned how to communicate with her children's school and send emails, including requesting permission for her child's absence. Another learner highlighted that, besides learning how to use Google Docs and Gmail, the most important digital skill she learned was how to search for specific information online, which she can apply in her daily life.
Beyond the immediate scope of the mini-projects, learners reached other notable milestones. In the past year, more than nine of the learners demonstrated mastery of essential digital skills by passing one or more Northstar Digital Literacy assessments: Basic Computer Skills, Internet Basics, Using Email, and Google Docs. Another learner subsequently passed her driver's permit exam. As she wrote, "Last week I went to [the] DMV for the knowledge test to get my driving learners permit. The knowledge test was on a computer and the computer class [the digital skills instruction in Intensive] helped me to use [the] computer and successfully pass the test. Without the computer class I would not be able to use [the] computer for my knowledge test." These two outcomes underscore how mini-projects can be an effective instructional practice in support of other digital literacy training and can build adult learners' digital resilience.
Family Engagement
As each mini-project was tied to family learning, either within the project itself or through an extension activity, learners provided feedback about how the project impacted their relationship with their children, their role as a parent or caretaker, and their ability to be better engaged in their children's lives. Learners reported increased family engagement as a result of participating in the mini-projects. The strengthening of family connections was evident in the community mini-projects, which saw 100% participation in both the neighborhood walk and library card mini-projects, and 99% of learners got their own library card by the end of the project. Learners proudly shared photo documentation of themselves with their new library cards, reading with their children at the library, and checking out books together. These experiences foster meaningful family learning opportunities, nurture parent-child relationships, and allow adult learners to model the practical application of digital skills for their young children, such as using navigation apps and completing online forms.
Confidence in Supporting Children's Education
The school-related mini-projects positively influenced the adult learners' confidence in supporting their children's education. Learners reported increased time working with their children on schoolwork, using school websites to access information about the school calendar, checking social media for school-related events, joining parent-teacher conferences, and communicating with their child's teacher via email. These outcomes highlight how the digital skills acquired through the mini-projects have empowered immigrant parents and caregivers to be more actively involved in their children's education and advocate for their success as well as navigate the digital world together as a family.
Additional Outcomes
The learners also improved their English language proficiency. EEC learners are pre- and post-tested on the oral proficiency test BEST Plus, an NRS-approved assessment. In our classes utilizing mini-projects to date, learners have had a 79.75% post-test rate (63 out of 79 participants, those with 12 or more contact hours) with a 40.51% measurable skills gain rate (32 out of 79 participants, educational functioning level gain from pre- to post-test), which has exceeded the statewide performance of 30.25% in PY2021-22 and 35.89% in PY2022-23 in Virginia (National Reporting System for Adult Education, n.d.).
WEAVING MULTIPLE LITERACIES
The outcomes discussed in the previous section demonstrate the effectiveness of weaving together multiple literacy skills (e.g., digital literacy, civic literacy, family literacy) in mini-projects to create meaningful learning experiences for adult ELLs. Promoting multiple literacies is crucial for creating thriving communities and a more equitable society (Cacicio et al., 2023). The mini-projects exemplify this vision by recognizing the interconnectedness of different literacies and the importance of grounding learning experiences in learners' real-world contexts.
For example, the community mini-projects not only helped students develop digital skills like creating documents, formatting text, and inserting images but also fostered their sense of community engagement and civic literacy. By exploring their neighborhoods, documenting important places, and sharing their findings with classmates, students had the opportunity to get to know their surroundings, practice their communication skills, and build social connections.
Similarly, the school mini-projects equipped students with the digital skills needed to navigate school websites, locate important information, and communicate effectively with their children's teachers. These projects also promoted family literacy by empowering parents to take a more active role in their children's education and support their academic success.
By supporting multiple literacy skills in a contextualized, family centered manner, these mini-projects can create a ripple effect of positive outcomes for learners, their families, and their communities.
CONCLUSION
The mini-projects presented in this article offer an adaptable approach to integrating essential digital skills into adult English language classrooms for parents and caregivers. By connecting with learners' everyday lives, these projects meet the motivational needs of adult immigrants to become more empowered to promote their children's academic success and build stronger ties to the community; these projects are, therefore, family motivated.
The future success of these projects is tied to each project's ability to be adapted based on the needs and aspirations of the learners. To design family motivated mini-projects, educators should consider the following questions:
* What are the needs of the learners? Is there a common obstacle or opportunity?
* How does the project support English language acquisition and family literacy?
* What digital skills can be meaningfully integrated without being a cognitive overload for learners?
While the mini-projects were designed to weave together family learning and digital literacy skills in adult English language classes, they have the potential to make an even greater impact. Learners build digital skills and digital resilience that they can use for civic engagement and employment. Being connected to community and school life helps strengthen family involvement in children's education and bridges the multigenerational digital divide. It is the combination of these factors and results that we have found to be a purposeful and effective student-centered learning approach for an adult English classroom. From surviving to thriving, adult learners can confidently step forward and navigate the digital world knowing they are not alone in the process-it's a family affair.
Cassandra Kramer is a lead ESL instructor for the English Empowerment Center in northern Virginia. She teaches in the Destination Workforce® Intensive English Program and previously taught in the Family Learning Program. A former coordinator of K-12 and adult education English language programs, she holds an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master's degree in TESL. She has taught overseas in Israel, Nepal, and Ecuador. She received the 2023 Joan E. D. Kushnir Teacher of the Year award from the Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education. She may be reached at [email protected].
Xavier Muñoz (he/him) is senior director of academic programs and student services at the English Empowerment Center, managing classes (adult ESOL, family literacy, workplace literacy, and IET) and distance learning, digital inclusion, and student-advising initiatives. With 10+ years in adult education, he has worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer, instructor, teacher educator, and IELCE program manager. He also serves on the board of directors for Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA). He holds a TESOL Certificate and an MA in TESOL from the School for International Training. He may be reached at [email protected].
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