January 9 ALA Free Webinar

January 9 (12-1 pm)

The Future of Libraries (American Libraries Live)

We’re excited the announce the January episode of AL Live, The Future of Libraries: What’s Your Vision? We're thrilled to have Innovative Interfaces as a sponsor for this episode. David Lee King will lead our expert panel in an open discussion on the challenges and changes we’ll see in our libraries in the near and distant future.

For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://americanlibrarieslive.org/

Fundraising for Volunteer Literacy Programs & a Pre ESL Online program

One way a literacy program in California asks for funds is by putting a price on specific elements of their program.  See how they price it below. This PreESL program is online, but the same concept of pricing can be used for a regular literacy program. Share some of your successful methods for fundraising as comments to this blog.

The training program, Maintaining the Balance: A Guide to 50/50 Management, provides a process for improving program management and setting a price for aspects of your program. VALF provides this training. If your program is interested in hosting a program management workshop to start out your New Year, contact Sandy Newell, sandy.newell@dos.myflorida.com.

http://www.leamos.org/ is a subscription program.  Are you using this or other online subscription programs?  Share what you use and the pros and cons of the online software in comments below.

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Dear Friend,

Thank you for your friendship and support in 2013.  Your financial contributions made our 2013 activity possible - but we're still not done closing our budget gap for 2013. Won't you help? 

 

If you haven't included Centro Latino in your 2013 giving - today is the day! Thank you in advance for making a year-end tax deductible contribution that brings literacy to adults ages 16-88 not only in CA but in seven states. Our Leamos Literacy course can be completed in 150 hours-adults not only learn to read, but they do it online!  We tackle the literacy and digital divide through one course. In today's fast paced world of technology - that's priceless!

$150 pays for the entire Leamos course for one person - That's $1 an hour.
-$75 pays or 75 hours of Leamos instruction
-$25 pays for 25 hours of Leamos instruction
-$10 pays for 10 hours of Leamos instruction

Donations can be made by check payable to Centro Latino for Literacy and mail to 1709 West 8th Street, Suite A, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Or  online  by December 31st.

Thank you /Gracias!

Sign up for Lincs Discussion Today -- This week's discussion on badges and adult literacy

Sign up for LINCS -- Your resource for adult literacy https://community.lincs.ed.gov/home I have heard about badges but really didn't think much of them until I saw this discussion thread.  It reall does look like this could be used for achieving small goals for adult literacy students or for digital literacy training provided by the public library. Post a comment if any of you are currently using or considering using badges! Here is more about this week's discussion from their site ----------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Badges Discussion Starts Today! Join the conversation here. This event runs through December 9 in the Technology and Learning group and will consider the following questions: Question 1. How are badges different from credentialing methods used in the past? Adult education examples may include career pathways, certificates, and stackable credentials.  How are these similar and different from digital badges? (Tuesday, December 3) Question 2. If “the technology for issuing badges is available to anyone with access to the Web,” what then are the roles for quality & content standards (in awarding badges)? Of accreditation?  What are the bottom-up or top-down processes needed for developing badges? (Wednesday, December 4) Question 3. Where do badges derive their value, what is their value, and how might it evolve? (Friday, December 6) Question 4. What adult education issues may arise for public sector (local, state, federal) involvement in badges? For private sector involvement? (Saturday, December 7) Discussion overview: What is a digital badge and how is it different, or similar, to the credentialing systems now in use in adult education? What is the value of digital badges for our education field and how can we use this emerging electronic system to measure or validate individuals’ knowledge and skills? What would an adult education digital badge system look like and which individuals and programs would offer badges? Follow this link http://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-716 to read The Potential and Value of Using Digital Badges for Adult Learners, a report recently released for public comment by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, through a contract with the American Institutes for Research (AIR). This exciting discussion will be facilitated by Steve Reder (http://www.pdx.edu/profile/meet-professor-steve-reder) and David Wiley (http://davidwiley.org/), two researchers who bring combined knowledge of adult education, technology, and digital badges to our forum.

Connecting Learners to Social Services

As you start the school year with adult learners, you may need to refer them to other service providers. This service provider resource available across the state.

The Orange County Public Library received a Library Service and Technology Act Grant to develop this and expand it across the state.  United Way Providers are good resources for referrals.


Providing connections to social and community services are an important part of a successful volunteer adult literacy program, and these services are becoming harder and harder to access.  As Florida continues to close government offices, libraries and information and referral provider are filling the void.

Find out if you have an Information and Referral provider or the location of  your closest library  to learn about your community's social services.  All volunteer literacy programs should share this information to their tutors and students with-in workshops and via tools like Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and more.

Maker Spaces and Libraries

Some libraries are providing more customer friendly services which are accessible to low level readers.  The following summarizes a new trend --where libraries are moving from knowledge preserving to knowledge creation. These places are meant to be fun--even for adults, and since they foster making things--many adult learners may find the library a friendlier place for them to learn. Maker Spaces can also be centers for family literacy activities providing opportunities for Parent and Child Together Time.

There are also maker spaces that are not in libraries.  Some of the spaces provide 3-D printers. A dad recently made a hand for his son using a 3-D printer. There is even a concern about 3-D plastic guns which can be taken through security.

The public library in Orlando is putting together a maker space. If your library or another group in your community are doing this, let us know. Or, you may want to talk with library staff to express your interest in partnering with the library as a volunteer literacy program. These creative spaces make the library's services more accessible to adult learners..

Library of the Future

Here are common mistakes made by newer grant writers....

• Not reading (and following) the grant guidelines. One easy way to make sure you follow the guidelines is to pull in headers of key elements from the application into your outline of the grant. This helps you know what needs to be included. It also shows the grant evaluator, where you covered they kep points.
• Writing the grant in isolation. Pull together a team, including key partners, to plan out the grant activities. One person should write the proposal, but a team will provide you a better set of objectives and activities.
• Not spending enough time doing the needs assessment.

Resources for Using Music for English Language Learners

The following articles were written before the age of smart phones and You Tube, and the Internet was just taking hold.  Even so, the steps described in 1994 would still work today. Now music permeates the Internet and can be used to enhance lessons.  You may not need to buy the song.  Many titles can be listened to on You Tube. You will want to find songs that better fit the age and interests of a tutor and student.

Using Songs to Introduce Poetry to ESL Students,
by Loretta Frances Kasper, The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning and Teaching. Volume II - 1994

http://www.njcu.edu/cill/journal-index.html

This article describes how to use songs to learn how to speak and

read English and be introduced to poetry. It uses the song, At Seventeen, and contrasts it with the poem, Beautiful Old Age, by D.H. Lawrence. It walks you through the process step by step, using the four stages often used in any basic reading exercise; 1. The prereading stage, 2. the factual stage which includes listening to and reading the song or poem 3. The discussion and analysis stage on the themes and literary techniques and 4. Writing an essay around the theme, which, in this case is youth and old age. It includes a number of discussion questions.

Even though this is classroom based, it could be used in a small group or adapted to one on one.  The same steps would be appropriate for a basic reading student, with the exception that the student would know some of the words verbally, even if he or she could not write or read it. The song and poem would build a student’s vocabulary with the words like ravaged and charades. The full text of the song and poem are included in the article.

You can listen to a version of the Seventeen, song on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7kc144yy8Y

Country Songs: Music, Language, and Life
by Judith Diamond and Elizabeth Minicz  The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning and Teaching. Volume II, 1994

http://www.njcu.edu/cill/journal-index.html

Country music provides adult themes to build lessons around for English Language Learners.