8.0 Conclusion and Implications
This study has reported how 10 ALBE practitioners in 9 sites in TAFE and Community Education extended their on-line technology skills and used them with learners. Data were collected during October-December 1997 from teachers whose on-line skills ranged along a continuum from Starters to Developers. Findings suggest that access, support networks and a sense of purpose for the use of NLTs are key factors facilitating transition from Starter to Developer and effective use of on-line technology with learners in ALBE classes.
Access is central to acquisition and use of on-line skills which lead to Developer level competence. Access involves both availability of infrastructure, hardware and software, and flexibility and choice in using it.
All participants had access to Internet from work, but Developers also had home access. They could, consequently, explore Internet more fully and develop their confidence and skill. Many sites had Internet service from community-based Internet companies which provided training and support to participating staff, as well as access and space on a company Server for Web publishing. Unrestricted access to Internet from home allowed participants the choice to download and test new versions of Internet software. They were able to find free and shareware Internet applications for communication, graphic designing and Web publishing.
A majority of participants in this study, as in Rosen (1996), indicated that time involved in learning to use and apply NLTs played a key role in mastering skills. Those with access from home were able to devote more time to building their Internet skills whereas those accessing from work only could not learn these skills due to other work pressures.
Development of Internet skills and expertise was accelerated when participants had an explicit goal in using the Internet. Websites, for example, promoted their activities and work through it. On-line publishing also provided opportunities for sites to publicise their efforts with NLTs. Participants explored the use of Internet with ALBE learners and generated Internet-based learning activities using e-mail, MOO and Web designing. Participants who were able to articulate clear personal and professional purposes for accessing Internet were able to progress to Developer level competence.
The findings confirm Starr and Milheim (1996) in showing that professionals prefer self-directed learning using print and Net resources to learn skills of Internet, though peer support and mentoring are also important. Initially, all participants attended workshops and relied on peer and face-to-face support. Later, they became more self-directed learners relying on Internet based resources and on-line network. Most Developers relied predominantly on Internet based resources. Starters and Users relied more on face-to-face support from mentors and experts.
Developers were able to offer learners more opportunity to exploit the potential of the technology. This argues for further professional development opportunities of a type appropriate to level of development to speed the process of transition along the continuum.
Learners' engagement with computers resulted in increased computer confidence. They spent more time on computers and increased their skills in keyboarding, using a mouse, navigating, saving and printing.
In addition, learners also engaged with the process of communicating, socialising, researching and publishing. The evidence confirms findings from recent work by Davies, Shield and Weininger (1998), Pobega (1997) and Butler (1997), that Internet provides an ideal base for collaborative work and peer learning. Teachers also reported a general increase in the volume of reading and writing undertaken by learners. However, there is little hard evidence or agreement on whether these increases in reading and writing activities are translated into reading and writing proficiency off-line. Teachers claim that the important gains are affective and participatory. Learners feel part of a new learning and communication medium and begin to use technology more confidently.
The study also confirms Anderson et.al's (1990) findings that ALBE learners at all levels of CGEA are able to benefit from accessing the technology. The nature of that benefit reflects the professional level of the teacher and the resources available. Participants were able to point to the repertoire of technology that learners could exploit and, although they were unwilling to make a direct connection between levels of use of technology and gains in reading and writing skills, there is evidence of increase confidence and higher and more varied literacy outputs. Some learners also assume roles of teachers of peers and become leaders "developers" in the application of technology, suggesting parallel development paths of teachers and students.
In relation to the research questions posed in Section 3, the findings from this small-scale study are illuminative rather than conclusive. They do, however, have potentially important implications:
1. On-line technology is as significant for the modern world as Caxton's printing press for the 15th Century. Adult literacy provision in Australia is increasingly going on-line, with consequent expectation from the field that the system's on-line capability will be developed to promote networking, access to, and provision of resources, and research and professional growth opportunities at both national and international levels.
Language Australia's Adult Literacy Research Network Nodes have provided an important professional focus over the past few years, but urgently need to develop their on-line capability if they are to stay abreast of, let alone lead, developments in the field. The Network - assuming it survives - needs to be electronically linked and professionally supported from a Node or Nodes which can provide a focal point for exploiting the potential of the new resources.
2. Professionals "developed" in skills of on-line technology have the potential to provide their learners with qualitatively superior learning experiences than professionals at earlier levels of development. For the potential of on-line technology to be exploited for the benefit of the substantial numbers of adults in Australia with limited literacy skills, it is desirable to find cost-effective ways of assisting ALBE professionals to progress through the stages identified in this report. If the findings of the study are acted on, a targetted professional development strategy is required which provides an appropriate mix of professional experiences, workshops for those new to on-line technology leading to the fostering of networks, support for home purchase of computers and free Internet access for a limited period, in recognition of the personal time costs incurred by professionals who seek to master the skills, and provision of centralised on-line support - from "developed" Nodes, or a national Centre - to which professionals who are "Developers" could contribute to and benefit from.
3. The impressionistic evidence that on-line technology both motivates many learners and results in extended engagement in literacy text production requires more focussed research into such issues as: the content that motivates, the quality of texts being produced, the literacy skills being acquired, the developmental paths of individual learners, and the effects of access on retention of current learners and the recruitment of new ones.