Northstar Digital Literacy Assessments
Anoka-Hennepin Adventures Plus School Aged Child Care
For the first time ever , Metro North ABE offered a program that was specially tailored to the needs of the Anoka-Hennepin Adventures Plus program . Metro North ABE partnered with the Anoka-Hennepin Adventures Plus School Aged Child Care program to offer preparatory classes and a paid internship .
During the pilot program from January 2 - March 9 , 2018 , a co-hort of Metro North ABE students focused on workplace skills and expectations , child care vocabulary and activities , along with basic first aid and specialized inclusion training . Students also participated in a 7 week onsite , paid internship which required working from 6:30 AM- 9:30 AM , Monday- Thursday , with optional afternoon sessions . Five local elementary schools opened their doors to the interns and provided outstanding mentoring and leadership . Throughout the experience the ABE teacher had onsite visits and held class every Friday as a way to check-in and provide support .
The pilot concluded with updating resumes , school district interviews , and a celebration . All learners who completed the entire pilot program were successfully able to secure regular employment with Anoka- Hennepin ISD 11 .
Metro North ABE ensures all students have ample opportunity to build and strengthen their digital literacy skills .
Today ’ s professional needs computer skills from the start of , to , active employment . The Northstar Digital Literacy Project identifies basic skills that are necessary to perform tasks on computers and online . The performance of these tasks can be assessed through the following online modules .
• Basic Computer Use
• Internet
• Windows Operating System
• Mac Operating System
• Email
• Microsoft Word
• Social Media
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Information Literacy
Northstar is an assessment , not a curriculum . ABE programs can provide the curriculum for these modules as well as proctor the assessments . When adult learners pass the assessments at approved sites , they can earn Northstar Digital Literacy Certificates in any of the module areas .
These certificates can be used as a credential for employment . There is no cost to complete the online assessments and many ABE programs across the state of Minnesota incorporate Northstar Digital Literacy practice , preparation and assessment into their standard classes .
The Northstar Digital Literacy Project also has developed standards for each of the module areas . The standards have been adopted as statewide digital literacy standards by Minnesota Adult Basic Education , and they have been integrated into the new Minnesota Adult Diploma .
For more information on the Northstar Digital Literacy Project , you can visit their site at : https :// www . digitalliteracyassessment . org / employers
Metro North Adult Basic Education | Ph : 763-433-4200 | www . MetroNorthABE . org March 2018 7