Against the backdrop of a profound mediatization, participation in society requires not only literary and mathematical basic education, but also basic digital literacy (Couldry & Hepp, 2016; Europäische Kommission, 2018, p. 4). Current research shows that low literary and low digital competences are interrelated (Buddeberg, 2019; Wolf & Koppel, 2017). In Germany there are about 6.2 million low-literate adults (Grotlüschen, Buddeberg, Dutz, Heilmann, & Stammer, 2019). These individuals may be able to grasp and understand words or shorter sentences, but their skills are not sufficient to read one or more directly contained information from a simple text in a coherent way (Egloff, Grosche, Hubertus, & Rüsseler, 2011, pp. 14–15). The result is a threat of exclusion in various areas of life (work, finance, housing, access information) (Buddeberg, 2019). In addition, the technological change is increasingly moving written language into the digital space. In consequence, low-literate people are socially disconnected in most parts of the world. To counteract, adult education is calling for a better integration of new technologies (Helbig & Hofhues, 2018). Focusing on the individual learner, recent research shows that

• beliefs and motivation (Lin, Chen, & Liu, 2017; Scharnberg, Vonarx, Kerres, & Wolff, 2017; Staub & Stern, 2002)
• the possibility of self-directed learning (Hattie, Beywl, & Zierer, 2013)
• as well as the further training (Gerick & Eickelmann, 2017, p. 17)

can have a positive effect on the successful use[1] of digital media. But especially in adult basic education there is a lack of ideas for classroom activities involving digital media (Hartung-Griemberg, 2017) and little knowledge about the preconditions of the learner.

On the learner level current data shows that even low-literate adults use smartphones and tablets regularly. They tend to have little experience with computer programs but more experience with applications on smartphones. (Grotlüschen et al., 2019) It can be assumed that low-literate adults prefer to use digital devices with touch and voice input functions, and have a positive attitude and confidence towards the use of social media (ibid.) and computer games (Holtsch, 2011).

To get more insights of the learners’ attitudes and experiences towards digital media and to build a profound knowledge for conceptualizing courses for adult basic education the research question is therefore:

What are the key success factors for adult learners using digital media in adult literacy?

To focus on the prerequisites of the learners the research question is differentiated into four hypotheses to be tested:

• Learners tend to be more equipped with tablets or smartphones in their private lives, while access to digital media in the course is limited to fixed computers.

• Learners' course experiences are primarily limited to the use of classic word processing programmes, while a variety of digital applications are used privately.

• Learners rate digital media that include multisensory functions as significantly more beneficial and useful than classic computers.

• Learners rate their social media skills very highly, but are less confident of their abilities when it comes to digital practices that are more work-oriented.

Within the framework of the presentation, the research design as well as central results of the quantitative study will be presented as part of the GediG-project, which is funded by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research).

[1] In the context of education successful use means that digital media have a positive effect on learning.

To answer the research question an explanatory design is used (Kuckartz, 2014). The associated quantitative data collection will be carried out via a special online questionnaire in spring 2021. It is intended that the results will be combined with qualitative results at a later stage of the GediG-project. The study will survey learners from adult basic education courses all over Germany. Consequently, the learners to be surveyed will be selected randomly and in the form of clusters. The sample size of about n=150 includes courses from different German federal states and educational institutions. The design of the questionnaire is an international novelty. In order to enable adults with low literacy skills to complete the questionnaire independently, emphasis was placed on simple language, symbols and a reading function. In addition, a video explaining the research project and the privacy policy was included. The results of the questionnaire will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The validity and reliability of the questions were checked and approved with a sample size of n=370.

The results provide information about media equipment as well as attitudes and experiences regarding the use of digital media. From this, initial conclusions can be drawn about the conditions for the successful use of digital media in adult basic education on an individual level. In concrete terms, the results can be used to develop course concepts in which the prerequisites of learners are taken into account in a targeted manner and thus contribute to a successful learning process. Subsequently the collected data will be linked to group discussions on learning and achievement motivation, self-efficacy and satisfaction. The insights gained from the project as a whole should help to better tailor digital teaching in literacy courses to the specific needs of learners. This should make (self-organized) learning with digital media in this area more motivating and profitable in the future. 

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