Chapter 1 – Introduction
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Purpose of the Guidance
- Intended Audience
- Methodology for Updating the Guidance
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Statement
- From Distance to Digital Learning
- Formal Literature Review
- Preview of the Guidance
Executive Summary
The purpose of the California Adult Education Digital Learning Guidance—referred to here as the Guidance—is to enable adult educators in the state of California to design and implement effective digital learning experiences. The Guidance is intended to inform the practice of all California educators, support staff, and organizational leadership that work with adult learners.
California has a long history of providing adult education, from the early years of statehood in the 1850s to today. The California Adult Education System is derived from two funding streams. Primarily, the California Adult Education Program (CAEP) distributes over $650 million in annual funding to adult education programs across the state. Additionally, over $115 million in supplemental funding is distributed through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title II, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. CAEP is a uniquely designed program with the CDE and California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) jointly administering the annual allocation to adult education program providers from both K-12 school districts and community college districts who are organized into 71 adult education regional consortia.
Purpose of the Guidance
The Guidance supports adult educators and program administrators in the design and implementation of meaningful digital learning experiences in adult education, including a focus on adult basic education (ABE), adult secondary education (ASE), adults with disabilities (AWD), career and technical education (CTE), English as a second language (ESL), and high school equivalency (HSE) programs.
Intended Audience
The audience for the Guidance is primarily classroom educators and support staff who work directly with adult learners, including classified staff, office staff, instructional aides, tutors, community volunteers, and librarians. The Guidance also applies to program administrators, coordinators, counselors, and other leadership roles that shape adult education programs.
In California, a combination of regional consortia, county offices of education, school districts, and community colleges provide adult education through both federal and state funding. Beyond educators and program providers, the Guidance may be of interest to policymakers and researchers in the broader field of adult education. Other stakeholders such as community-based organizations, employers, and labor unions may also find the Guidance useful in understanding and supporting adult learning.
Methodology for Updating the Guidance
The 2025 update of the Digital Learning Guidance builds on the original 2022 version through a structured review and revision process. A group of practitioners, advisors, and adult learners reviewed the 2022 text, marking up content with feedback and suggestions for improvement. Alongside this feedback process, the literature review was updated to include recent research on digital learning and adult education. Draft revisions were then shared with advisors for further input before being finalized.
This edition also introduces new Program Tips, Administrator Tips, and Educator Tips. These short, actionable notes provide quick guidance aligned with the main content, helping readers translate the recommendations into practical steps for their own context.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Statement
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used during the revision of the Guidance to support the work of the project team. AI tools including ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude assisted with tasks such as organizing advisory group resources, analyzing advisor feedback, conducting literature scans, and helping with content research, drafting, and copyediting. No personally identifying information about students, advisors, or staff was included in AI queries. All AI-assisted material was reviewed and revised by the development team before being finalized.
This statement is included to model transparency in AI use. In education, learners and staff are increasingly encountering AI tools, and programs are making decisions about when and how to use them. By explaining how AI was applied in this project, and clarifying that human expertise guided and verified all results, the Guidance provides a practical example of how organizations can use AI responsibly, safeguard quality, and maintain transparency.
From Distance to Digital Learning
Distance education constitutes only one aspect of digital learning. In this guide, digital learning is defined as learning experiences that utilize digital tools for teaching and learning. Digital learning can happen in any learning environment—including in-person settings. Therefore, the Guidance is designed to benefit and support adult educators in all learning environments, whether in-person or online. To better prepare adult learners for living, working, and thriving in an increasingly digital world, it is vital for adult education providers to help learners develop digital literacy and digital resilience.
Formal Literature Review
A 2022 literature review synthesized existing research on digital and distance learning in adult education. That review applied defined inclusion parameters, focusing on peer-reviewed studies and reputable non-corporate sources published since 2002 that addressed digital and distance learning for adult and nontraditional learners. The findings informed the development of the 2022 California Adult Education Digital Learning Guidance.
Search Methodology
The 2025 review followed the same overall approach but expanded the scope in response to changes in the field. Since 2022, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence have become central to discussions of digital learning, yet the body of peer-reviewed research specific to adult education remains limited. To provide a more informed and evidence-based overview, the updated review incorporated not only scholarly journal articles but also reports and guidance from government agencies, professional associations, and educational research nonprofits. This broader set of sources allowed the review to capture both the established research base and the rapidly developing policy and practice context.
To be included in the 2025 literature review, sources were required to:
Search Process
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), an educational research database sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, was used to locate sources. To ensure a comprehensive search, the following keywords were entered into ERIC in various combinations:
Preview of the Guidance
The first version of the Digital Learning Guidance was published in 2022. This 2025 update reflects new technologies, evolving practices, and emerging trends in digital learning, including expanded sections on Universal Design for Learning, career navigation tools, artificial intelligence, and immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.
The 2025 update to the Digital Learning Guidance includes eight content chapters.
VOICES FROM THE FIELD
Alisa Takeuchi | TOSA | Garden Grove Adult Education
What specific strategies or practices from the DLG have you applied, and how have they worked in your context?
From Chapter 2, we focused on ensuring that students have the devices they need to succeed. Since the pandemic, we have checked out hundreds of Chromebooks and laptops to students and provided orientation on how to use them at home. One of our challenges has been providing reliable internet access. While we didn’t have enough funding to purchase hotspots for everyone, we trained students to use their mobile phones as hotspots when possible.
For our Career and Technical Education (CTE), High School Diploma, and High School Equivalency students, we make sure every laptop is preloaded with the software and apps they need to study as if they were on the classroom desktops. We have also been fortunate enough to have an on-site IT specialist three days a week, which gives both staff and students access to timely technical support and troubleshooting when issues arise.
What has your program learned from using the DLG that could be useful for others considering it as a planning tool?
At Garden Grove Adult Education, the DLG helped us take a step back and examine how we use technology to support learners. It offered a clear framework to identify what’s working well and where we could improve—especially in ensuring equitable access to digital tools. Rather than feeling pressure to implement everything at once, the guide helped us set realistic goals and focus on connecting technology use directly to student learning outcomes.
What stood out most for our team was how the DLG encouraged honest conversations among teachers and staff. It gave us a shared language to talk about digital learning, which made planning feel more collaborative and achievable. For other programs, we recommend using it not just as a checklist, but as a springboard for reflection, new ideas, and small, practical steps that lead to meaningful change for students.