There are 36 million adults lacking basic literacy in the United States. Many of them might be considered relics of the industrial age supplanted by an era of knowledge work, but an estimated 12 million are under the age of And quite a few struggle to find work--at least of the meaningful, sustainable variety. The 24 million holding down employment are mostly in menial positions replete with the kind of long commutes, inflexible hours and low pay that all too often characterize living paycheck to paycheck, rather than improving one's quality of life.
These adults are extremely diverse by conventional standards and life experiences. Some may have fallen off track in the K system due to circumstances at home or unidentified learning needs, while others are immigrants--some with college degrees from their native country--facing language barriers to better job prospects. The only common ground is the learning gaps which separate them from building vocational skills--and the socioeconomic benefits they afford.
And there is little evidence to suggest these gaps are easily filled. For all of the hardworking adult learning professionals and volunteers, the diversity and quantity of adult learning needs far outpace the accessibility and availability of adult learning programs.
When it come to addressing these gaps through technology, many of the challenges run parallel to K education: 1 there is still a dearth of broadband access and robust devices, 2 the learning needs and academic goals are equally diverse and evasive, and 3 no one can agree exactly what problems are best solved through technology.
But what makes adult learners unique--and hopefully attractive to education reform innovators--is that they are grown-ups. They have life experiences well beyond the confines of the academy. Rather than participate in education as a necessary event, adult learners already act as consumers--presumably ready to act on a compelling learning proposition.
