On March 30, 2018, Google announced it was starting to wind down support for their goo.gl URL shortener. As of March 30, 2019, goo.gl will be discontinued, but previously created links will continue to redirect to their intended destination. While I use bit.ly to customize links for things like my presentation folders, I use my […]

The Open Badges project has had a tumultuous legacy. Many of us working in the open education space who imagined the potential of digital badges were excited to follow the launch of the Mozilla and MacArthur backed project, but then dismayed watching the project’s later twists and turns as both of these early backers backed

As my trip down the plain language rabbit hole continues, I’ve added Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words to my book wishlist. From the Wikipedia page about the book: “In Thing Explainer, Randall Munroe explains the function and mechanics of 54 subjects using only the 1,000 most commonly used words in the English language.”  

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, I’m trying to get my head around plain language as a way to not only support adults struggling with low literacy but also as a tool to support accessibility. I wasn’t able to attend today’s session by Literacy Works on Plain Language 101, but Jeff sent me a link

I was excited to see the Chicago Foundation for Education (CFE) will be moving to the Literacenter this month! Before I founded Designers for Learning, I was a volunteer with the CFE. Coming full circle, Designers for Learning is part of the coworking space within the Literacenter operated by the Chicago Literacy Alliance, a 130+

h/t to Cara North for resurrecting this blog post from 2017 titled, “Teaching Students to Legally Use Images Online” by Jennifer Gonzalez. It’s full of tips for creating or using images. I love how she starts with the obvious (but underutilized) option of making your own! When I teach instructional material design courses, I make

I’m unable to attend this year’s National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) Net Inclusion conference in Charlotte on April 1-3, but I want to highlight the Closing Plenary addressing the proposed Digital Equity Act. On Wednesday, April 3rd, NDIA’s Board Chair Laura Breeden will discuss with Ben Merkel and Hart Clements from Senator Patty Murray’s office

Our last three quarterly Chicago Literacy Alliance confabs have explored issues highlighted in the International Literacy Association (ILA) “What’s hot in literacy 2018 Report”, a global survey of nearly 2,100 respondents from 91 countries and territories. While many of the findings are related to children/early literacy, there’s overlap with adult literacy issues and hot topics. For

Reliance on smartphones for online access varies based on a range of factors, including educational attainment and income. According to the Pew Research Center, 39% of adults without a high school diploma are smartphone dependent (i.e., don’t use home broadband but own a smartphone) as compared to 10% of college graduates. Likewise, 31% of adults

I had the AMAZING pleasure of sitting among adult educators at the #IACEA conference this week. Looking around the room, it’s no stretch to say it’s majority female. Therefore, on this International Women’s Day I’d like to salute the adult educators in Illinois, including the 66% who are paid part-time, the 27% who are volunteers,