Digital literacy programs aim to improve students’ computer skills
The need for basic digital literacy has become increasingly important as computers become more ubiquitous in our daily lives, a need the Ventura County Adult Education Consortium (VCAEC) has seen and is addressing.
The consortium works with the private non-profit Economic Development Collaborative to provide a digital literacy program, officially known as The Ventura County Digital Upskilling Training Program. It actually consists of three components—computer basics, computer technologies upskilling and a course called “Get Your Small Business Online.”
Jaime Fall, EDC’s workforce and economic strategies director, says the need for these programs became particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It has helped bridge the digital divide by empowering our students with the tools they need to succeed in today’s digital world.”
Sean Abajian, Principal, Moorpark Adult School
“The EDC received so many calls from employers who wanted to get a PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] loan from the federal government, but they couldn’t even upload their paperwork,” Fall remembers. “They couldn’t complete the forms online, so the staff had to ramp up here and just take on that responsibility to try to help them.”
Fall says the EDC began developing the program to meet these needs after receiving a grant from the California Employment Training Panel. An important part of this development was reaching out to various parties to find out what was needed from such a program.
“We made a lot of calls to employers, to schools, to nonprofit organizations, and started asking questions,” Fall says. “What’s in the county now, what’s going well, what are some of the holes?”
After discovering what they needed to cover, EDC reached out to the VCAEC as an ideal partner for such a program. The consortium was receptive to the idea, and the two worked together to create the program as it exists today.
“The Ventura County adult schools have been amazing partners on our Digital Upskilling Initiative,” Fall said. “They helped us design the computer basics course, write the curriculum, deliver the course, measure the impact, revise the course materials, and help spread the word in the communities.”
The fruits of this partnership can be seen from the results of the computer basics program. To date, the program has trained over 400 students with 28 classes, which are taught in both English and Spanish.
“Before the course I looked for someone to help me complete computer tasks at work,” Maria R., a student who completed the program, says. “I recommend this class to get a better job and to climb and not stay where you are.”
The courses run from six to eight weeks and provide students with Chromebooks to use and keep once the course is completed. Students who have completed the course reported higher confidence in using computers, with 53% saying the skills they learned helped them find better jobs.
One of the schools to benefit from the consortium’s partnership with EDC is the Moorpark Adult School. Sean Abajian, the school’s principal, says he is already impressed with the effect the program has had on students’ digital literacy and overall confidence.
“Many of them now have the ability to do things they couldn’t before, like sending emails, creating documents and using the internet with confidence,” Abajian says. “It has helped bridge the digital divide by empowering our students with the tools they need to succeed in today’s digital world.”
To learn more about the The Ventura County Digital Upskilling Training Program and how to enroll, visit https://edcollaborative.com/edc-upskill/. For more about Moorpark Adult School go to adulted.mrpk.org, and information about the Ventura County Adult Education Consortium can be found at vcaec.org.
Written by Jacob Peterson
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | Careers in Business-Technology – Variety of Classes |
