Learner Persistence

Persistence was a hot topic at VALF's program management workshop last Saturday.  A new web site compiles many resources on persistence including a program assessment worksheet.  Take time to evaluate your program using the research based persistence worksheet at the site.

Math Lessons and Literacy

The newest Mixing In Math newsletter is about activities librarians and parents can do with their children that focus on math activities.  This one is all about building and becoming an engineer. Tutors could build literacy lessons around the newsletter, and a parent could go home and replicate the activities with their child.  There is even a certificate for each activity that parents could give their children.

If you need to know more about the GED Math test, take a look at this fact sheet.  It has information on the calculator and links to other math sites on the Internet.

Complete our poll today... Let us know your training needs.  Also, add comments to our blog with more specifics.  Do you need to know about math and the GED?  Let us know.

Social Networking Tools and Literacy

On Saturday VALF presented a workshop on program management.  One topic covered was communication and the need to use a variety of tools because we all have a favorite ways to send out and get information.  If our programs use different methods more tutors, administrative volunteers and students will be reached.  Some of us still favor old tools like phone, e-mail, letters.  Others, especially younger folks use tools like this blog, facebook, wikis...  If you want to know more about social networking, go to our wiki .  Also, please add comments here about how you use (or don't use) various ways of communicating.  Please include links to examples you have found...
Sandy Newell,
President, VALF

Student Involvement

Let us know about your training needs by completing our survey by the end of September.

The Florida Literacy Coalition is sponsoring their student ambassador program for another year.  Travel and training is free for this November 6 training in Orlando.  Give your students an opportunity to give back to your program.  They can speak to groups, recruit students and tutors and raise funds and more.  We posted the announcement about this training on our wiki at http://literacyflorida.wikispaces.com/Student+Stories.

Students can play a variety of roles in addition to ambassador.  They can evaluate your program, coordinate student support groups, buy books, call students to provide support and more.  Please share how students are your involved in your program in the comments section of this blog.

Calendar for Fall

Please complete our poll....

As fall starts up, there are a number of training opportunities statewide.  Here is a calendar provided by ACE of Florida, the association representing adult education programs serving those with less than a high school diploma. These programs are usually state and federally funded using paid teachers and more of a classroom format.
http://www.aceofflorida.org/Calendar.aspx  The ACE conference is the last week in September and is a great way to visit adult education publisher exhibits.

New US Department of Education Leader--what does it mean???

Here are several quotes from a recent speech by the new head of Department of Education.  Earlier in the speech he noted 1/3 of students drop out of high school.  We know Florida has a rate that is worse and that volunteer literacy groups, along with the adult education programs run by schools and colleges strive to fill the gap.  Most of the speech seems to be from the k-12 perspective, but you and I know, adult education providers --including our volunteer literacy programs MUST be on board to really make a difference. More...

What does the Obama Administration Think?

 Please, complete our poll by mid-September

There was a post this week which summarized a report by the 

Obama Administration. 

One concept, our quality volunteer literacy programs do is 

blending literacy with learning in context of jobs. 

Another part of the report (and earlier discussions on 

the family literacy list serve) highlights the importance of 

non-cognitive skills, things like motivation.

 

For the full post, go to trends on our wiki at

http://literacyflorida.wikispaces.com/Adult+Literacy+Trends+in+Florida