DementiaCareTechSkills

The project is focused on the upskilling of frontline workers within the context of Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities. It creates a pathway that prepares graduates to provide care and assistance to elderly clients who have defined health care needs, including help with their daily living activities. Micro-credentials will enable health care workers to make a difference in clients' lives by alleviating loneliness, providing empathy, ensuring comfort, encouraging independence, and promoting self-respect, while administering requisite medical support, within a long-term care setting. This includes emergency-necessitated care and shifts in care, such as those brought about by the COVID19 pandemic.

In addition, there are a substantive number of students within health care programs (e.g. Nursing and Allied Health programs at Ontario Tech and other universities and colleges) who will be joining the job market in the near future. These micro-credentials will provide students with valuable competencies in the use of digital technologies to provide quality care for patients in Long Term Care facilities.

This project provides for the construction of five related micro-credentials which are focused on the development of skills and competencies involved with digital technology use. We are using a validated model, the General Technology Competency and Use framework. See https://eilab.ca/general-technology-competency-use/ Students have the choice to take individual learning units or to complete the set of five modules. Students with previous education or related experience can apply for Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR) to accelerate their path to completion by receiving credit by demonstrating to assessors what they already know. Students can meet the requirements for either the Community Field Placement or the Clinical Field Placement by having their current employer complete a workplace attestation outlining how their work experience meets the learning outcomes for that field placement. PLAR assessment will be based on meeting or exceeding the target in the appropriate order as shown in the visualizations in the Digital Competency Profiler, DCP. For those not meeting PLAR, a series of tasks will be assigned depending on the diagnostic score as shown in the DCP. Each of the tasks will require the creation of artefacts that will be posted to a site where they can be accessed by others working on the same module. Assessment will include providing critical feedback to another student’s work providing additional opportunities to internalize knowledge of digital skills.

This project is centred on the immediate and urgent needs for improved digital competencies in health care workers, made more apparent through the rapid and evolving shifts to digital care through the recent pandemic. The emergence of micro-credentials has become an effective, locally driven and immediate solution to upskilling a workforce that has undergone significant growth and evolution. The ubiquitous presence of digital technologies makes the necessity for digital competencies even more urgent. Allied Health Professions share common learning outcomes and competencies, specifically in terms of the broad uses of digital technologies. The evidence of standards of quality will align throughout the program based on rigorous university quality assurance processes. Further to this, these micro-credentials will be designed by researchers skilled in evidence-based practice, assessment and evaluation, instructional design, and pedagogy. These micro-credentials will ensure a workforce that is fully competent, confident and capable of using digital technology in the workplace. In addition, this project aims to support the development of positive attitudes to digital technologies and the transformative nature of digital competencies for improving health care. Within this framework, this project has the following key objectives: -Increase skills, competency and confidence in the use of digital technologies centred in health care workplace settings. -Improve the quality of health care across the sector by broadly improving attitudes toward, access to, and engagement with, digital technologies. -Provide an accessible and affordable forum for ongoing professional development and career-long, anytime anywhere learning for health care workers. -Address the health care needs of an ageing population effectively, by supporting health care workers to improve confidence and competence in digital work environments

The primary beneficiaries of these modules are existing health care and personal service workers in LTC facilities. These workers are primarily older and/or second career women and work continues to be precarious, although some changes have been occurring as a consequence of the pandemic. Some of these workers are recent immigrants who are trying to find new employment and/or have been laid off during the pandemic. Secondarily, second career students, who have decided to re-enter academia in nursing and related programs such as PSW, will also benefit from these modules. The micro-credentials will increase digital competency and thereby increase the employability for those who have earned them. It is also possible that those with international training coming to Ontario will be able to enhance their skill set to become more employable in fields that they are tied to. More generally, micro-credentials also allow for: Scalability: Micro-credentials allow all types and sizes of organizations to identify specific skills in both current and potential employees. Responding to emerging areas: Micro-credentials allow employers to resolve new and emerging skills gaps in their workforce in a quick and cost-effective manner. Competitive Advantage: Micro-credentials make organizations better at meeting changing market demands than your closest competitors.

Each micro-credential is anticipated to require approximately 4-6hrs of work to complete the survey and tasks (with a total of 20-25hr for the full set). This orientation fits with micro-credential models and transfer credits being used in other jurisdictions, such as e-Campus Ontario (https://micro.ecampusontario.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Micro-credentials-en_v2.pdf). The modules will be designed to be focused, flexible and accessible, allowing students to access the opportunities to learn integrated into their lives. The short, focused nature of these modules will allow those who have family and work obligations to fit the learning into their lives. The five modules together will approximate the time requirements of a regular course at Ontario Tech University. The use of the DCP (in GREx) will allow users to participate in career planning since the included visualizations and interpretation/suggestion matrix gives information that can be used repeatedly by the users. This information demonstrates progress in digital skill development which lets users track their own progress. What others are doing in Ontario and beyond: https://www.lambtoncollege.ca/Personal-Support-Worker-Micro-Credential/ https://www.rrc.ca/part-time/programs/health-education/health-care-support-worker/ https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/digital-literacy/digital-literacy-self-assessment-diagnostic-tool

There are numerous researchers working in the area of digital literacy and digital skills. These include: Each micro-credential is anticipated to require approximately 4-6hrs of work to complete the survey and tasks (with a total of 20-25hr for the full set). This orientation fits with micro-credential models and transfer credits being used in other jurisdictions, such as e-Campus Ontario (https://micro.ecampusontario.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Micro-credentials-en_v2.pdf). The modules will be designed to be focused, flexible and accessible, allowing students to access the opportunities to learn integrated into their lives. The short, focused nature of these modules will allow those who have family and work obligations to fit the learning into their lives. The five modules together will approximate the time requirements of a regular course at Ontario Tech University. Use of the DCP and FOLCS (in GREx) allows users to participate in career planning since the included visualizations and interpretation/suggestion matrix gives information that can be used repeatedly by the users. This information demonstrates progress in digital skill development which lets users track their own progress. What others are doing in Ontario and beyond.

Five micro-credentials will be developed in a stack: Technical Skills Social Skills Informational Skills Epistemological Skills 1 Epistemological Skills 2

Each of the modules will be housed on an online platform that will be accessible anytime and anywhere. The modules will be administered by OntarioTechU’s Continuous Learning division. It is anticipated that the university will use a variety of open source badging platforms including CanCred and Badgr. The modules will be designed, implemented, and assessed in collaboration with health care professionals from both Ontario Shores and Durham Region. Delivery of the modules will be site- and context-driven to match learning artefacts to the needs identified by learners and employers. Delivery of the modules will also be designed to maximize the use of Open Educational Resources as much as possible but not through a proprietary Learning Management System. It is anticipated that each module will have a tuition price of $300-500 with an original registration of 100-500 students per module. Each module will be available continuously using an asynchronous structure, not requiring the modules to be scheduled into certain timeframes, however, small groups of individuals (a minimum of three) will need to be enrolled in each module to provide critical feedback to each other. This will allow for internalization of the skill characteristics and allow students to apply their developing knowledge for the assessment of the artefacts created by others. Students have the choice to take individual learning units or to complete the set of five modules. Students with previous education or related experience can apply for Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR) to accelerate their path to completion by receiving credit by demonstrating to assessors what they already know. Students can meet the requirements for either the Community Field Placement or the Clinical Field Placement by having their current employer complete a workplace attestation outlining how their work experience meets the learning outcomes for that field placement. PLAR assessment will be based on meeting or exceeding the target in the appropriate order as shown in the visualizations in the Digital Competency Profiler (DCP) and Fully Online Learning Community Survey (FOLCS).

For those not meeting PLAR, a series of tasks will be assigned depending on the diagnostic score, as shown in the DCP and FOLCS. Each of the tasks will require the creation of artefacts that will be posted to a site where they can be accessed by others working on the same module. Assessment will include providing critical feedback to another student’s work, providing additional opportunities to internalize knowledge of digital skills. There is no intention to combine these modules with a work-integrated learning component. Still, since the modules allow for the development of skills that are used by the students in their work and in their personal lives, there are opportunities to practice the development of the skills on a continuous, experiential basis. The modules will allow for the integration of pathways to employment, enhanced with digital skills for internationally trained individuals and immigrants. The portfolio of micro-credentials produced may serve as a supplement to each individual’s CV. The tasks in each module will be based on Project and Problem-Based Learning, encouraging students to draw on their experiences in the field and apply them to develop their skills. The skills and competencies developed will be useful for all workers regardless of their field of practice, enhancing their abilities and confidence to deal with an increasingly digitalized world. Some Potential Risks can be considered and planned for: Loss of partner engagement could be mitigated by seeking redundancy in partners for development. Delayed recognition of the value of micro-credentials by employers can be mitigated with education for employers. Lack of recognition by students regarding their enhanced capabilities using digital technologies within contexts might be countered by noting a reduction of frustration with those same technologies. This follows the concepts identified in Flow Theory, where task challenges need to be met by matching skill levels.

This proposal focuses on improved onsite performance due to effective use of digital technologies and content (like math skills). This will result in greater work efficiency and better quality of care. There are some salary implications which are dependent on the recognition of micro-credentials by professional organizations and employers. Targeted competencies/skills Technical Skills - An array of practical knowledge generally developed through experience with the technology and applied as usable methods to interact effectively and efficiently with the technological object itself. This language and these commands and skills constitute the knowledge from which a user will select, using specific criteria derived from the analysis of a situation, to plan and use the technological object. Social Skills - An array of practical knowledge generally developed by reflecting on communication experiences and centred on a genuine concern for the needs of others, in order to develop and use a strategy of thinking about, and acting with, others online, that is safe, respectful, viable and ethical. Informational Skills - An array of theoretical and practical knowledge generally developed by reflecting on results of a variety of document gathering activities in order to extract usable methods for the aggregation, identification, selection, organization and interpretation of information. Epistemological Skills 1 - An array of theoretical and practical knowledge about a specific discipline or domain generally developed through formal studies or experience and applied as usable methods to use domain-specific digital tools effectively and efficiently. Epistemological Skills 2 - Clinical Arithmetic Digital Skills (use of tools to assist with the math)

Assessment The standards of assessment will be transparent, multi-modal, communicated regularly to students, and framed in ways that support differentiated learning. Target profiles provided within the DCP (generated by highly skilled practitioners while describing optimal performance) can be produced for specifically defined career/job groupings. Critical reflection will be a component of the assessment and evaluation process, in both individual and collective contexts. For example, students will post artefacts to a location (e.g., padlet) and will be required to provide critical feedback from a minimum of 2 other members of the module, i.e., in a triad.

References https://www.lambtoncollege.ca/Personal-Support-Worker-Micro-Credential/

https://www.rrc.ca/part-time/programs/health-education/health-care-support-worker/

https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/digital-literacy/digital-literacy-self-assessment-diagnostic-tool

Researchers studying digital literacy and skills include: Blayone, T. (2020). Human readiness for digitalised learning and work: Constructing a culturally and technologically adaptive approach to readiness assessment through seven studies. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343852406_Human_readiness_for_digitalised_learning_and_work_Constructing_a_culturally_and_technologically_adaptive_approach_to_readiness_assessment_through_seven_studies

vanDeursen, J.A.M., Helsper, E.J. & Eynon, R. (2016). Development and validation of the Internet Skills Scale (ISS), Information, Communication & Society, 19:6, 804-823, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2015.1078834

DigComp (EU Science Hub) https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomp

Eshet-Alkalai, Y. & Chajut, E. (2010). You can teach old dogs new tricks: The factors that affect changes over time in digital literacy. Journal of Information Technology Education, 9(1). https://www.learntechlib.org/p/111362/

Ferns, S., Hickey, R. & vanOostveen, R. (2020). SDG’s for Future Skills: Design and Development of a Large-Scale, Semi-Autonomous, Fully Online Course model for micro-credential access in Higher Education. A presentation at the Fourth International Symposium on Higher Education in TransformationAt: Oshawa, ON Canada

Childs, E. & vanOostveen, R. (2017). Measuring Educator and Student use of digital technology in online programs using the General Technology Competency and Use (GTCU) instrument. A presentation at the 27th International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) World Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada