Presented By: Coach Smedley

This webinar will discuss the reasons why virtual field trips are effective learning opportunities. Coach Smedley will demonstrate how to create interesting and effective virtual field trip experiences. Topics covered will include selecting “destinations” to visit, matching materials to learning styles, and extending activities beyond the classroom.

Presented By: Amanda Bergson-Shilcock

Even before the COVID pandemic accelerated the need for technology skills among learners and educators alike, adult educators were on the frontlines of digital skill development. Now, new research on US employers’ need for digital skills can help educators understand how the labor market facing their learners has changed—and what educators can do to advocate for effective policies and practices in response. 

This webinar will share topline findings from National Skills Coalition’s new report Closing the Digital Skill Divide, produced in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Based on an analysis of 43 million recent job postings, the report is a groundbreaking, real-time snapshot of employer demand for digital skills. It finds that 92% of jobs require digital skills, spanning all industries and occupations. It also finds that states that target public resources toward digital skill building could generate measurable monetary benefits for workers, small businesses, and the broader economy.

Webinar attendees will get a practical overview of key statistics from the report and advice about how to use those statistics to advocate for greater investment in education and workforce development programs. An experienced presenter will explain how the new federal Digital Equity Act funds flowing to each state can help adult educators respond to learners’ needs and interests in building technology skills. Bring your questions!

Presented By: Peter Simon & Jennie Mollica

The Equitable Apprenticeship Toolkit was developed to help those designing and running pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs to intentionally encourage and support the inclusion of apprentices who reflect the full diversity of our communities. Come learn what is included in the toolkit and how the information-gathering and action-planning tools could be a resource for your team. Concrete examples of how programs have successfully utilized this toolkit and linked adult education to apprenticeship will be shared.

Presented By: Carmine Stewart & Sudie Whalen

This webinar will focus on ways in which LINCS is actively furthering access to resources and content, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This webinar will include an overview of LINCS resources specific to DEI, including a new course to help participants learn more about looking at programs and practices through a DEI lens.

Presented By: Alex Beene

For many instructors, finding the right balance of teaching the mathematical skills needed to pass mandatory exams and the numeracy skills needed to navigate personal and professional life can be very challenging. This webinar will provide strategies for classroom use and examples of successful attempts to merge these ideas into a mathematical blend that will be compelling for students and stay with them long after they graduate.

Presented By: Sarah Lonberg-Lew

Reasoning with percents is an essential life skill, but is often frustrating and confusing for students, especially when they have to memorize different procedures for different types of problems. In this webinar, you will work with visual models to deepen your understanding of the meaning of percents and leave with tools for helping your students to reason with percents in ways that make sense to them.

Presented By: Melinda Holt

Name an online system that does not require sign on to access and share information. Without an email, students are cut off from resources like health care, banking, and class assignments. Unfortunately, unconnected students still exist. Attend this webinar to learn how easy it is to setup a Gmail or use another email to use with Google. The time to get students connected has passed—catch them up! Easy handouts provided.

Presented By: Dan Griffith & Jen Denton

Improve your adult student learning outcomes! Discover current educational research and intentional instruction strategies to target the progress and performance of adult students. Get proven techniques to enhance skills for problem-solving and life-long learning. Join the conversation as we discuss the unique characteristics and needs of adult learners, as well as ways to enhance student engagement and confidence.

Presented By: Joey Lehrman, Caroline McKinnon & Lea Downing

Micro-credentials are quite the buzzword. What are they? Do employers recognize them? And how can adult-learning organizations integrate micro-credentials into programming? In this session, we will explore case studies of successful micro-credentials and discuss what the future of skills-based hiring can look like. By the end of this session, participants will understand the potential of micro-credentials and the role programs can play in supporting their adoption to create more equitable opportunities for job seekers.

Presented By: Katie Brown

As a bridge between classrooms and careers, the U.S. adult education system is a driver of economic mobility for 1.5 million adult learners each year, at least half of whom are English language learners (ELLs). Yet even with this commitment and capacity to connect adult learners with career pathways, English proficiency remains a core barrier to workforce inclusion: The U.S. is meeting the educational needs of just 4% of adult ELLs. Scaling access to effective language instruction is urgent, and adult education is an important part of the solution. Join veteran linguistics researcher Dr. Katie Brown, founder of EnGen, in a science-based, solutions-oriented discussion about how a proven approach—contextualized, career-aligned language upskilling—can help more adult learners meet both educational and career goals.

Presented By: Margaret E. Bowman & Cesar Ruiz

In September of 2022, Sam was an unemployed, 23-year-old ex-offender residing in a rural community, with many hurdles and few opportunities. He discovered Learning Alliance (LAC), a workforce training institute that offers accelerated pathways to high-wage skills through a job search. Just two months later, Sam has multiple industry certifications under his belt and is employed as a cell tower technician with a base hourly wage of $22, overtime pay, full benefits, and career advancement opportunities. Sam is one of nearly 1,000 students who graduate from LAC each year and are placed into high-quality jobs, either before or within weeks following graduation. Sam’s story is not unique. Nearly 75% of LAC students are from underserved populations, justice-impacted, veterans, and/or not college-bound. Almost all are living in poverty. In this webinar, you will discover:

• how Learning Alliance leverages apprenticeship pathways and employer, community, and education partnerships to connect adult learners to the middle class through a student-centric model;
• why the telecom industry is one that should top the list for adult learners seeking an accelerated option to family-sustaining careers; and
• how adult education providers can partner with Learning Alliance to create a seamless transition for their program completers into a fully supported pre-apprentice or apprenticeship program.

Presented By: Janene Kelley Erne

Learn what modern registered apprenticeship really is, how it functions, why it is a very viable career path for anyone in almost any occupation, and how to prepare for RA opportunities.

Presented By: Peter Simon, Jennie Mollica & Colleen Beck

The Equitable Apprenticeship Toolkit is a resource intended to help those designing and running pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs to intentionally encourage and support the inclusion of apprentices who reflect the full diversity of our communities. Come learn what is included in the toolkit, some examples of its applications in adult education settings, and how it could be a resource for your team.

Presented By: Dan Griffith & Jen Denton

Adult learners are unique individuals with different backgrounds, identities, beliefs, experiences, and learning needs. With so many variables in the mix, how can teachers provide effective differentiated instruction that enables their students to achieve their particular goals? Join us as we present research, strategies, and assessments that will help you to provide more effective differentiation for adult learners. As a bonus, all live attendees will receive the link to download our exciting, new guide about differentiation for FREE!

What you’ll learn:

*Current research on differentiation for adult learners
*Differentiation strategies to enhance instruction and student outcomes
*Assessment tools to evaluate and promote effective practices

Presented By: Ji Soo Song & Jessica Ch’ng

The Office of Educational Technology released a guidance resource, Advancing Digital Equity for All: Community-Based Recommendations for Developing Effective Digital Equity Plans to Close the Digital Divide and Enable Technology-Empowered Learning. As states prepare to develop and implement digital equity plans under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Digital Equity Act programs, this resource supports leaders in developing effective digital equity plans by: (1) exploring the three components of access—availability, affordability, and adoption; (2) highlighting existing barriers to achieving digital equity for learners, families/caregivers, and communities; (3) providing promising strategies to overcome these barriers, particularly human-level barriers to broadband and technology adoption; (4) identifying key action steps for leaders.
In this webinar, the Office of Educational Technology will discuss the findings from the guidance resource and the next phase of their digital equity work.

In this webinar, the Office of Educational Technology will discuss findings from the guidance resource and the next phase of their digital equity work.

Presented By: Katie Brown

With a national focus on reskilling and upskilling job seekers and incumbent workers for in-demand careers, many organizations are turning to apprenticeship programs to deliver this training. Earn-and-learn models are excellent ways to increase access to careers with family sustaining wages. Unfortunately, many immigrants, refugees, and speakers of other languages are unable to access these programs, simply because English is a barrier. In this webinar, you’ll learn how institutions can offer flexible, blended English onramps to apprenticeship programs. The discussion will center on practical, evidence-based ways of delivering career-specific English language training at scale with a focus on models that can work across sectors and contexts. The presentation will include time for questions so participants can discuss how to adapt these models for their own contexts.

Presented By: Greg Watkins & Stephenie Rittberger

This webinar will highlight the importance of collaborative action to achieve sustainable impact and present ways in which you can take action in your community. As Manager of National Delivery at the Markle Foundation, Greg Watkins will share how the organization is engaging partners through the Rework America Network to help people without a college degree move into better paying jobs with opportunities for career growth. He will explain the Alliance’s systemwide approach to change, which includes career coaching, employer practice change, and establishing new talent pipelines. This webinar will summarize the Alliance’s human-centered, equity-driven, and skills-based approach to career coaching. Additionally, it will cover strategies promoting effective workforce ecosystems that embrace skills-based practices, as well as an overview of the multiple free tools and trainings the Alliance offers to both employers and coaches to further this exciting work.

Presented By: Aaron Morlock & Stephenie Rittberger

Join us for a webinar on a groundbreaking delivery service known as Participants Reaching Employment Potential (PREP), a strategy developed by the Department of Labor and Regulation in partnership with adult education providers across South Dakota. PREP combines holistic case management with financial services to provide robust support for learners seeking their GED® credential to encourage higher success and completion rates overall.

Presented By: Dr. Carol Clymer & Elizabeth Severson-Irby

Family literacy is a critical inter-generational strategy to help adult learners and their children build literacy and language skills. Its importance has been accentuated throughout the pandemic as students who are parents or caregivers dealt with the challenges of remote instruction. This webinar will examine how states are using their WIOA Title-II funding and other resources for family literacy programming.

Please join us for a webinar on September 1st at 2 pm ET. The webinar will prepare advocates to contact their mayors, governors, and federal members of congress during Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. Talk to your legislator to help move the needle for funding for adult education at the local, state, and federal levels. At a time when funding is so critically needed, we need YOU to join us for this important work.

Presented By:Jessica Strickland

This webinar shows a tried method of incorporating Guided Pathways into BEdA programs meant to assist students throughout their time earning their high school completion and preparing them to smoothly transition into college courses.

Presented By: Heather Martin & Tara Schwab

Heather Martin and Tara Schwab from the Southern Illinois Professional Development Center will briefly recap some of the partnerships between adult education and apprenticeship programs that were highlighted during their first presentation. They will be highlighting additional programs and giving representatives from those programs and partnerships an opportunity to share their experiences and answer your questions. Programs represented are from Joliet Junior College, Kishwaukee College, Lincoln Land Community College, Literacy Chicago, and St. Clair County Illinois Intergovernmental Grants.

Presented By:  Katie Brown, PhD & Marc Goldberg

Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs are one way to create inclusive career pathways. By incorporating language and other foundational skills training with career and credential preparation, programs can help immigrants, refugees, and speakers of other languages quickly access the skills and qualifications they need for family-sustaining wages. However, one of the perceived challenges with these programs is that they often have learners with a wide range of educational and linguistic backgrounds. Fortunately, a flipped classroom model allows programs to meet the needs of diverse learners with strategic individualized instruction. This webinar brings together two experts in both workforce development and English language training to discuss how and why the flipped classroom is so successful with IET programs. After a brief discussion of how and why this model works, the webinar will include practical, contextualized examples of successful programs.

Presented By: Dr. Corinne Benedetto

The role of the transition advisor for adult education in the U.S. is changing in tandem with our “post-pandemic” society as a whole. To identify the most salient of these changes and adapt our advising practices accordingly, we are implementing a “Shift & Impact Inventory.” By naming the major cultural shifts of the 2020s and assessing likely impact on transitions advising, we can adapt responsively to the new behavioral, economic, and cultural realities in AE students’ lives.