Conquering the Computer: Digital Literacy Acquisition among Vulnerable Adult Learners

Authors

Jill Castek, Portland State UniversityFollow
Elizabeth Withers, Portland State UniversityFollow
Kimberly D. Pendell, Portland State UniversityFollow
Drew Pizzolato, Portland State UniversityFollow
Gloria Jacobs, Portland State UniversityFollow
Stephen Reder, Portland State UniversityFollow

Sponsor

This research was supported by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to Portland State University (LG-06-11-0340-11).

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

3-24-2014

Subjects

Information literacy, Computer-assisted instruction, Digital divide -- United States -- Case studies

Abstract

This paper investigated the digital literacy acquisition process among vulnerable adults and describes how a tutor-facilitated learning environment helped these individuals bridge the digital divide. Data collected from six sites over the course of a year include field notes, learner and tutor interviews. Analyses involved an inductive coding procedure. As new patterns emerged, inductive procedures were used to revise the coding scheme in order to capture themes that emerged. Analysis provided insights into the challenges faced and how those challenges were addressed by learners, tutors, and the program.

Description

Presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Applied Linguistics, Portland, OR.

The PowerPoint presentation is available below in the Additional Files section below

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/14769

Recommended Citation

Castek, J., Withers, E., Pendell, K., Pizzolato, D., Jacobs, G., & Reder, S. (2014, March). Conquering the computer: Digital literacy acquisition among vulnerable adult learners. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Applied Linguistics, Portland, OR.