What is I-DEA?
Moving English-Language Learners Further, Faster
The Integrated Digital English Acceleration (I-DEA) program teaches English language skills in the context of college and careers for learners who face the largest language gaps. It started in 2013 as a three-year pilot program of Washington's community and technical college system with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The goal was to move Washington's English Language Learners further and faster in order to meet Washington's workforce needs and federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title II requirements.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requires federally-funded job-training
programs and their partners to build strong connections with each other and to tightly
align training to the realities of today’s job market. Title II of the act sets expectations
for adult education and family literacy, including people with limited English language
skills.
I-DEA complies with WIOA by quickly and effectively teaching students the English language, digital literacy and employability skills needed to succeed in the labor market and meet employers' needs.
Curriculum Development
I-DEA started with nine colleges in 2013. College faculty developed the original curriculum in partnership with community-based organizations. The remaining 25 colleges joined the program in phases. At each phase, colleges and community-based organizations provided feedback on the instructional model to improve it for the next wave of colleges.
The curriculum and related audiovisual materials were refined in 2017 and made available as Open Educational Resources on Canvas Commons and OER Commons.
Student Levels
Project I-DEA was originally developed for English Language Learners who place at the Educational Functioning Levels 1-3 as defined by the National Reporting System. In Washington state, it is used through Level 4, with approval from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Open Educational Resources
The I-DEA Curriculum has been released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0, a type of open license that grants free distribution and modification of the work. This license applies to all materials within the curriculum unless otherwise stated.
Credit must be given to SBCTC as you adopt (reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute) any parts of the I-DEA materials. Please make sure to note the original source with clear license information. See the Course Attribution Document for more information.
Learn More about I-DEA