Computer Adult Learner An employee is terminated after 23 years of service. Suddenly thrust into the work arena without the skills to make a smooth transition. In order to make a transition into the computerized workforce it will be necessary to get educational skills up to speed. (The employee has never had the need to learn the basics such as the use of a mouse, word, excel, power point or even basic e-mail.)

The employee now finds that in order to obtain a job it is necessary to get the skills that will get the job. This task will be completed through the use of Educational Interactive Technology. The employee will be able to learn from home how to use the basic software packages. Or even through an employment agency or with a new company there may be the possibility to take interactive classes in order to get the skills up to speed.

It is clear that in recent years programs have become available to the adult learner that were never offered before. The technological training one needs to develop even the most basic ability to use a computer system to function within a minimally computerized system has recently been updated to meet the needs of the adult learner, who through the isolation of a non-computerized vocation has previously avoided computer training.

There are many reasons, stated by individuals that computer skills might have been consciously avoided, not the least of which is simple fear of the unknown, yet to a large degree these individuals have simply slipped through the cracks, attending school at a time before these skills were considered basic and working in a non-computerized vocation for most of their working career. Due to the very rapid way in which technology has infiltrated the work environment these individuals have been left behind by it. They may have believed that their length of service or exemplary ability to function without computers would allow them to continue to be employable in their present, or another non-computerized job, until retirement.

Yet, sadly this is not the case any longer as the average length of service in one job continues to decline and the movement form one workplace to another becomes increasingly fluid. Additionally the accepted level of computer knowledge and functioning increases as younger workers, taught the basics in school take the place of older workers when computer dependency increases in almost every field and level of work.

Today even some of the very most basic entry level job roles require basic or even advanced computer skills and abilities. Though in most fields computerized systems are specialized, such as new computerized cash registers and transaction systems there is still a growing need for the simple ability to be able to communicate with superiors via email or access a computer, and go online to check daily sales statistics and goals. In a non-retail setting inventories and other such things are becoming exclusively electronic, rather than ledger-based hardcopies. The work environment is still changing and evolving as more and more technology infiltrates the workforce.

Educational Interactive Technology is self-guided software that helps and individual process new information about computer literacy. The use of this technology is widely accepted as one of the best possible solutions to the problem of employable-aged individuals who have gotten lost in the information technology boom. Most colleges, universities and community-based training systems employ some type of EIT in their training systems and some are more accessible and useful than others. EIT can take the form of a basic skills assessment and training tool, assuming no previous computer knowledge with a beginning point that requires very little guidance from an instructor, or it may take the form of a software specific tutorial that helps intermediate to skilled computer users both refresher and initial training on programs that are frequently used in their job role. Examples of software specific EIT can of coarse be found at www.videoprofessor.com, possibly a good choice for the individual learner, or the self-teaching learner as the level of need is addressed through free software that enables the learner to begin at the basic level and then advance through more specific programs that have a minimal cost.

The current state of this technology is dependant upon the growth of the computer dependency of the work place and is at a relatively high level of development. At least one example of such technology will be detailed in the body of this work. In the work there will be links to information for obtaining and costing such EIT material and also for the implementation of a training program using it.

Objectives and Scope of Proposed Change:

Taking into account...

The work will examine possible software and hardware solutions and develop a cost benefits analysis with regard to an individual case and possibly a company wide strategy for the acquisition of updated and greater knowledge for the general employee. It will focus first on the strategy of basic skills acquisition and then develop an outlined plan for continued, annual learning of all employees.
With regards to adult learners the system will be individually driven so individuals at any skill level will be offered and entry point and continued growth within the skill set will be available for use by all employees and potential employees. Each step in the educational outline will take into consideration the level the individual brings to the educational setting and then build on this concept until individuals are able to develop advanced skills with individual software and hardware.

The work will offer concrete solutions to adult training needs, with special attention given to adults with absolutely no computer skills. The most basic use of a computer is foundational for placement in any firm and good loyal, hardworking employees are being squeezed out of the workforce long before it is necessary. This work will identify concrete solutions and demonstrate ways in which they can be implemented in order for this or any company to retain valuable employees without undermining their integrity.

Identified Solutions:

Within the quickly advancing job market in the United States there has been a distinguishable gap in the knowledge base of the adult population. Adults who are leaving work they have done for years, where no computer knowledge has been necessary to complete the job tasks are having a difficult time reentering an increasingly technologically driven work environment. Regardless of the reason why these jobs are disappearing the situation can be dire for the worker, as they attempt to go back to work, even at the same level of pay and supposedly skill level.

New workers entering the workforce are at a concrete advantage as they have even the most basic skills of computer operation, while those who did not attend school during the last twenty years are completely computer illiterate. These older adults are not yet at retirement age, and more importantly not in a financial position to retire but jobs they are qualified to do without computer skills are disappearing rapidly, as more and more skill levels of job classification become more and more dependant upon the use of computer technology. These people are capable of obtaining the necessary skill set to demonstrate proficiency in a job that requires computer skills but may be at a loss as to how to obtain the necessary non-traditional education.

Many colleges and universities, as well as job training programs and senior citizens programs provide very basic computer literacy programs so that individuals in this age group and in disadvantaged situations may gain enough knowledge to above all feel confident about their ability to learn to perform new job tasks that require computer basics.

This proposal will demonstrate the different options available for implementation and will also offer a summary of the most cost effective plans available. Within the scope of the project the issues of cost implementation will be made with regards to how each individual can most effectively access the needed information, be that through an already established educational system, outsourced to an employment or community-based system or through the purchase of hardware and software for the plan to be implemented within an already functioning corporate entity.

The recognition of this need has become much more wide spread, as those adults who have previously resisted such training become more and more dependant upon gaining it. There are many highly useful internet sites directed toward the learning of the most basic computer skills, one very comprehensive site can be found at http://pediatrics.med.miami.edu/mailman/basic.htm#tutorial.At this site an individual might learn through the guidance of another Internet proficient computer user the most basic skills through interactive tutorials and information sheets. Other sites that offers links to other organizations offering free and low cost tutorials for both basic and direct software proficiency can be accessed at http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/english/office.shtml, http://www.findtutorials.com/and http://aect.ed.psu.edu/viewlets/prerequisite.htm. All three of the…