As Aaron suggested, I tried to cast a fairly wide net when completing this research and data collection task.
My first instinct was to go straight to the UBC Library site to search for some of my key words. There, I came across some great resources and have included three of them in my collection.
1. Adult Learners and Technology: The Missing Voice by Judith Ellen Kizzie
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/305169451
This is a PhD thesis written by a community college instructor who taught adult learners for sixteen years. It shows preferences of adult learners and discusses issues dealing with their level of computer literacy.
2. “Google This! Using Google Apps for Collaboration and Productivity” by Dan R. Herrick
http://doi.acm.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1145/1629501.1629513
This article gives brief overview of the assorted application in the Google suite and provides some information on how to use them along with some critiques. I will definitely refer to this paper when working on my final project.
3. Incorporating Digital Technologies into Adult Basic Education: Concepts, Practices and Recommendations by Suzanne Smythe
This is a report in the form of an eBook available through the UBC Library. The report looks at the importance of digital literacies and their need in adult education. Again, this resource will prove extremely useful for my vision for the future.
Then, to broaden my search, I went to Twitter and used #adulted. This proved quite fruitful and added to my list of people I follow. From their profiles, I was able to visit some interesting websites, one of which I have included in my collection. From this Twitter search, I also came across some blogs that the #adulted Twitterers are following, again, I have included one of these blogs in my collection.
4. OTAN: Outreach and Technical Assistance Network for Adult Educators
This website has several useful resources for Adult Educators, including many links to incorporating technology into the classroom. Even if I don’t necessarily use this website for my final project, it will definitely be of use professionally to myself and my colleagues.
5. Inside the Classroom, outside the box!
http://insidetheclassroomoutsidethebox.wordpress.com/page/2/
This is an educational blog by Jill Thompson who is an Instructional Technology Specialist. Her blog features posts on 21st Century Learning and Educational Technologies presented in a concise, easy-to-read way.
I also did a quick Google search using the key words and was excited to find a blog devoted to Adult Education; unfortunately, the last post was in October of 2012, so I decided not to use this as a resource since new information is not forthcoming.
In addition to finding some really interesting resources from a variety of sources, I have also started to build my RSS feed and have added some interesting blogs. I just have to find time to read them all!
Overall, this was an interesting search experience for me. I used some new methods of finding resources and came across other people, blogs, and journals that I had not previously encountered. I am looking forward to returning to these sources and methods over the remainder of the course.
References
Herrick Dan, R. 2009. Google this!: using Google apps for collaboration and productivity. In Proceedings of the 37th annual ACM SIGUCCS fall conference (SIGUCCS ’09). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 55-64. DOI=10.1145/1629501.1629513
Kizzie, J. E. (2004). Adult learners and technology: The missing voice. (Order No. 3157992, The University of Iowa). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 122-122 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/305169451?accountid=14656. (305169451).
Smthe, Suzanne. Incorporating Digital Technologies into Adult Basic Education. Toronto: AlphaPlus, 2012. UBC Library eBook.
Thompson, Jill. “Inside the Classroom, outside the box!” Inside the Classroom, outside the box!. Web. 23 January 2014.
OTAN: Outreach and Technical Assistance Network for Adult Educators
I love your idea for using hash tags to search for information on your topic. I didn’t even think to use twitter as a source for research but it definitely makes sense. There are so many people using twitter who have excellent advice and resources to share. I’m going to try this next time!
Excellent work! I’m so glad you searched on social media and explored a little outside the usual boxes! Great list of resources that could prove very useful for not only this class, but in your professional roles. Good start to the evaluation that will continue in Phase 3. Also, very insightful self-reflection to help narrate your journey!