workplace digital essential skills in rural small businesses pilot project
DESCRIPTION
Workplace Digital Essential Skills in Rural Small Businesses Pilot Project SDRC – Digital Essential Skills Assessment Orientation Session, October 30, 2013, Campbellton , New Brunswick. Preliminary Steps. Identifying the occupations where participants would be trained in - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Workplace Digital Essential Skills in Rural Small Businesses Pilot Project
SDRC – Digital Essential Skills Assessment
Orientation Session, October 30, 2013, Campbellton, New Brunswick
Preliminary Steps Identifying the occupations where participants would
be trained in
Identifying the digital tasks participants would be trained to perform
Targeted Occupations -1 Identified occupations where there were would
be large numbers of lower literacy workers who use Information and Communications Technologies
Based to some extent on the National
Occupational Classification system and the OLES website – identifying required skills relating to Information and Communication Technologies
Confirmed in the pre-ONA conducted in the summer that these were the “right” occupations3
Targeted Occupations - 2 Administrative (all sectors): general office,
administrative, accounting, purchasing, and production clerks
Production (manufacturing sector): machine operators, assemblers, inspectors, material handlers, labourers, cleaners
Operations (service sector): cleaners, housekeepers, cooks, material handlers, labourers, patient service associates
Client service (all sectors): customer service clerks, receptionists, client service assistance, sales associates
4
Digital Tasks – Desired Attributes
Examined past research – external validity
Advised by Satya Brink, an expert in the field
Derived a framework: a continuum of tasks covering the range of digital activities workers perform in their job
Tasks are common across, but contextualized to,
occupational groups
Confirmed in the pre-ONA with participating organizations5
Digital Tasks Use
1. Consult/read documents to the Web or other digital media2. Use documents/databases on the web or other digital
media3. Complete forms on the Web or other digital media
Understand4. Perform online commercial transactions 5. Search databases on the Web or other digital media6. Seek, find choose information on the Web
Communicate/Create/Do7. Use a calendar on the Web or other digital media8. Communicate electronically with co-workers, suppliers,
clients to coordinate workplace activities6
Assessments - Purpose Administrative purpose (pre-training
assessment): to determine which digital tasks an employee lacks the skills to perform and therefore needs digital skills training for
Employer indicates what tasks the employee does and thus needs to be assessed in
Results contribute to “skills map” of the organization shown to employer
Research purpose (with post-training assessment): to measure the effectiveness of training in increasing digital skills levels
by comparing pre- to post-training levels7
Assessments - Considerations Pre & post training assessments should be very
similar Reason: to ensure measured gains in skills between
pre- and post-training are due to the training and not the assessment instrument (easier or harder)
Risks:1. potential for participant to remember the pre-test2. can’t be totally certain skills gains are due to only the
training (may have been other causes) Common to all training evaluations where there is
no control group (individuals who were not trained) Should not “teach to the test” - assessment should
not have exactly same content as the training otherwise would be testing memory, rather than ability
8
Creating Assessments Creating an assessment for each of the 8 digital
tasks, with some tasks having up to 3 sub-tasks
This means a lot of assessments: for each occupational group each with 4 or 5 component detailed occupations, there are up to 80 cells for which assessments must be produced
However, once a “generic” assessment question set is produced for a digital task, it can fairly easily be contextualized across detailed occupations
By adapting positions and documents applicable to the particular occupation9
Contextualizing to OccupationsDigital Tasks Administration Production/Operations Client Service1. Refer to documents on the Internet or by using other digital media
notes, letters, procedures manuals, schedules
notes, letters, service or user manuals
notes, customer info sheets, delivery schedules
2. Use documents and databases on the Internet or by other digital media
address books, inventories, suppliers lists
lists, parts catalogues, user manuals
client lists, price lists, competitor catalogues
3. Complete forms on the Internet or by other digital media
invoices, purchase orders, shipping slips (or waybills), time sheets
production reports, purchase orders, time sheets
client complaints forms, sales reports
4. Perform online commercial transactions
order, pay order, pay order, pay
5. Search databases (…) on the Internet or other digital media to find useful information (…)
supplier lists, supplies lists prices, quantities, contact info
suppliers’ part/product lists. dimensions, quantities, contact info
client and competitor lists addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses
6. Seek, find and choose information on the Internet
prices, government policies, regulations
equipment operation or repair specifications
competitor prices and products
7. Use a calendar to schedule … on the Web or other digital media
activities, meetings, orders production, delivery schedules sales, delivery
8. Communicate electronically with co-workers, suppliers and clients to coordinate workplace activities
nothing specific to this occupation nothing specific to this occupation nothing specific to this occupation
Digital Skills Score To measure skills gains, need to measure gradations
of skill not just whether or not one has a skill Skills gains = difference between pre and post-
training skills scores Skill score depends on 3 dimensions of complexity:
closed/open and well/un-defined, and complexity of sub-tasks required for each task
Complexity – 2 Dimensions Closed/open:
◦ Closed problem has limited solutions: “Identify the number of employees that left the company in April”
◦ Open problem has unlimited solutions: “Improve the system for waste disposal that meets municipal green policies”
Well/not (or un)-defined: ◦ Well-defined problem is directive and clearly tells employee
what they are supposed to do: “Find and download government form x”.
◦ Undefined problem is less clear about what to do but more clear about the situation and what the employer needs: “Schedule the delivery of products to Calgary within the next 48 hours.”
Complexity of sub-tasks Complexity of sub-tasks in different domains required
to successfully carry out the task:◦ Prescriptiveness of instructions◦ Clarity of expected outcomes◦ Sophistication of technological applications◦ Complexity of digital info and needed info processing skills◦ Preciseness of task setting
Still working on details to formulate a skill score, but an example follows
Complexity Scale – Illustration
14
1 2 3
1. USE
Task: Use Digital Information for consultation purposes only simple instructions,
repetitive actions a few simple identified
technological applications within a precise task setting
Task: Use Digital Information to perform a simple task more complex instructions but
fixed actions using several identified simple
technological applications within a defined task setting
Task: Use Digital Information to perform multiple, undetermined and complex tasks several complex instructions or no
instructions and unidentified actions using unlimited and undetermined
complex technological applications (selection)
within a familiar task setting1. U
NDERSTAND
(ORGANIZE)
Task: Understand Digital Information for one specific, simple purpose clear instructions and
requirements a few simple well-known
technological applications within a less precise task
setting:
Task: Understand and Organize Digital Information for simple tasks more complex instructions and
requirements using several potential
technological applications (selection)
within a partially defined task setting
Task: Understand and Organize Digital Information to perform multiple, undetermined and complex tasks several complex instructions or no
instructions and requirements using unlimited and undetermined
technological application (selection) within an less determined task setting
1. CREATE,
COMMUNICATE
AND
DO
Task: Create Digital Information for one set or fixed outcomes simple instructions and a
simple process using a few simple
technological applications (selection)
within an imprecise task setting
:
Task: Create and Analyse Digital Information for several expected outcomes with complex instructions and
multiple yet simple processes (selection)
multiple identified potential technological applications (selection)
within undefined task setting:
Task: Create, analyse and communicate Digital Information for several self-selected potential outcomes several complex or no instructions using multiple undetermined and
unlimited processes and technological applications
within an open undefined task setting (selection)
CLOSED OPEN
NO
T DE
FIN
ED
DEF
INED
1 2 3
2 3 4
3 4 5
Example of an Assessment: Task 8 (Q1 & Q2), Coordinating activities with colleagues by email
Question 1: You received an email from the bookkeeper asking about the arrival of some merchandise. Forward the email to your colleague Michel Laurent to ask him if he received the merchandise. Insert a subject and copy (CC) the bookkeeper on the email. The message should say:
HelloPlease let me know if you remember receiving the merchandise.(your name)
Question 2: You received an email from the production logistics coordinator asking you to forward an attached notice about overtime policy change to two colleagues, Eric Bernard and Gabriel Robert, and to notify them about the upcoming meeting (to discuss the new policy). You need to CC the coordinator on the email, and BCC the director general, Charles Dubois. Insert a subject and write this message:
HelloPlease read the attached policy on overtime hours. Note that there is a meeting about the policy on Thursday the 14th at 12:30PM.(your name)
Example of an Assessment: Task 8 (Q3 & Q4), Coordinating activities with colleagues by email
Question 3: You received an email from the production logistics coordinator asking you to send your colleagues, Simon Fremont and Luc Thompson, the attached notice about the water service interruption. Forward the notice as an attachment to your colleagues. Then CC the sender, and BCC the director general, Charles Dubois. Indicate that the email is urgent. Insert a subject and write this email:
HelloPlease read the attached notice about the water service interruption. Make arrangements to avoid a delay in production.(your name)
Archive both the received and forwarded emails in the Management folder of your email application. Question 4: You received an email from the production logistics coordinator asking you to send an attached pamphlet about a new piece of production equipment. You must forward the attachment to your colleagues, Jean-Claude Petit and Yves Lefebvre, and notify them there is an information session about the machine on Wednesday at noon. Make sure you CC the email sender and BCC the director general Charles Dubois. Also, indicate the message is urgent, and archive both emails in the Management folder.
Example of How an Assessment Might be Scored: Task 8, Q1 and Q2Question 1 Complexity Score: 3 (Closed/Open: 1, Defined/Not defined: 3) Task description (domains): Simple and precise instructions (1),
defined outcome (1), defined technological application (1) and information (1), and defined task setting (1), routine task with definite steps.
Question 2 Complexity Score: 4 (Closed/Open: 2; Defined/Not defined axis: 3) Task description (domains): Simple task with more complex
instructions (2), defined outcome (1), moderately complex technological applications (2), defined pieces of digital information (2), and defined task setting (1), routine task with definite steps.
Example of How an Assessment Might be Scored: Task 8, Q3 and Q4Question 3 Complexity Score: 4 (Closed/Open: 2, Defined/Not defined: 3) Task description (domains): Simple task with more complex
instructions (2), less precise outcome (2), moderately complex technological applications (2), a few defined and more complex pieces of digital information (2), and defined task setting (1), less routine task with less definite steps
Question 4 Complexity Score: 4 (Closed/Open: 2, Defined/Not defined axis: 3) Task description (domains): Simple task with more complex
instructions (2), less precise outcome (2), moderately complex technological applications (2), a few defined and more complex pieces of digital information (2), and less defined task setting (2), less routine task with less definite steps.
SRDC contacts
Norm Leckie: [email protected]
Social Research and Demonstration Corporation: www.srdc.org