A Message from Colleen Thiessen, CLN Board Chairperson

Exciting things are about to happen in February that I hope will spark your interest to learn and connect. You might be wondering what could possibly be inspirational about February, other than we survived the long month of January and are one month closer to leaving the dark days of winter behind us. Let me brighten your day by saying…

Symposium 2023 registration is now open! The CLN team has been working hard to provide professional development opportunities that encompass a variety of interesting topics for CALPs, and I know there will be some amazing learning happening at Symposium 2023. CALPs around the province are so good at providing connections and inspiration to learners, while learning, being innovative and curious right with them.

I encourage you to register and plan to attend Symposium 2023 to see your spark ignite!

Colleen Thiessen
CLN Board Chairperson

Literacy and Learning Symposium 2023 Update

Symposium 2023 Registration is Open!

CLN invites you to join us at Symposium 2023. It will be another year of extensive and relevant PD mixed with connecting and networking time, as requested by you on your evaluations from our last Symposium.

Our theme for 2023 is:

SPARK: Learning. Connections. Inspiration. Curiosity. Innovation.

The dates are:

Tuesday, May 9th to Wednesday, May 10th – Virtual event

Thursday, May 11th to Friday, May 12th – In-person event in Edmonton

CALP Community, are you ready to attend Symposium 2023?

Here's a glimpse of what to expect!

Registration:

This year, there are two types of Symposium registration options to select from:

1. Virtual + On-demand Access - $50 per person (includes all virtual event sessions, plus select recorded sessions)

2. In-person All-access - $150 per person (includes all virtual event sessions, plus select recorded sessions, plus all in-person sessions)

To find full details about the Symposium, just click on the "Symposium" tab from the CALP Portal's main navigation menu, or go to https://calp.ca/symposium/home/about-the-symposium.html 

And don’t forget to check out our Symposium Planning Tools and Hotel Booking information (for the in-person event) and more on the tabs on the left sidebar.

Registration will be open until Friday, April 21st.

Looking for Adult Learner Speakers

The Symposium Planning Committee is currently taking recommendations for two Adult Learner Speakers at Symposium 2023. The first presentation will be online on Tuesday, May 9th and the second will be in-person on Thursday, May 11th.

If you know an adult learner who would be interested in speaking about their learning journey within CALP, please click here to find out how you can submit your recommendation.

The selected speakers will receive a $200 Honorarium.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, March 10th.

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

Registration is now open for March training events

Mar 2 (3 Thursdays) - Adult Literacy and Learning (A.L.L.) in Family Literacy Programs CALP-funded family literacy programs are a safe, welcoming entry point to learning for adult foundational learners. This training will provide tools to address the ‘how to’ deliver fun and engaging programs that align with the CALP Guidelines. It builds on concepts from the CALP Essentials in Family Literacy Programs training.

Mar 23 New CALP Staff Webinar If you are new in your role in CALP, and still looking to get the lay of the land, please join us to connect with your colleagues from across the province. 

February Events

Register now! Registration for many of these February events close on February 8th.

Feb 15 (4 Wednesdays) Trauma-Informed Care for Adult Educators – Creating learning environments that are trauma-informed can have lasting benefits for learners, staff, and furthermore the communities we live in. Participants will become familiar with the 5 core principles of trauma-informed practice in adult education.

Feb 15 Holding Safer Spaces Open Circle – Finding Joy in Liminal Space. In this time of rapid change, how do we find joy for ourselves in the liminal space (transitional space; being on the boundary or threshold) and what difference would that make to the staff and learners we work with?

Feb 15 New Staff Chat Grab a coffee, bring a question, share a success or challenge, and settle in for five minutes or all sixty. The New Staff Chats are a great way for CALP staff that are new to their role and/or the CALP system to engage with their peers in conversation.

Feb 21 Staff Picks - Teaching Reading: Strategies & Resources Come learn about this new Portal resource. It is a collection of instructional strategies to support the development of reading.

Feb 22 Designing the Online Learning Experience - Explore an approach to designing online learning for foundational learners. This simple to use, learner-centred approach draws on emerging online practices to support learner engagement, accessibility and retention.

Communities of Practice

Feb 13 NEW CALP Community Talks About…Program Planning Let’s talk. CLN is creating a monthly space for a conversation highlighting one topic that is timely, responsive and relevant to your work. Each topic will be important, impactful and/or actionable because it will be drawn directly from the experiences and wisdom from the field. Regardless of whether you are new or experienced CALP staff your perspective is welcome, and we hope you can join us next month to discuss “Program Planning.”

Mar 20 Save the Date! CALP Community Talks About... Topic coming soon!

Connection Cafes

Join your peers in informal online discussions facilitated by CLN staff. Grab a coffee, bring a question, share a success or challenge, and settle in for five minutes or all sixty.

• North Connections Cafe: Feb 14, Mar 22
• East Central Connections Cafe: Feb 14, Mar 22
• West Central Connections Cafe: Feb 14, Mar 29
• Central Connections Cafe: Feb 14, Mar 22
• South Connections Cafe: Feb 14, Mar 29

Foundational Learning Instructor Program for CALPs

The Instructor in the Foundational Learning micro-credential program is designed for any staff or volunteer currently working in CALP. Participants can choose to specialize in either literacy or numeracy. The program begins with a short introductory mini-course, and once completed, participants are able to select up to six additional mini-courses based on their area of need and interest. Courses can be completed in any order, and participants can work at their own pace. Each mini-course is expected to take between 7 and 10 hours to complete. All courses are facilitated by faculty with extensive experience in Adult Education.

This program is offered to CALPs through Portage College at no cost.

To learn more about the program and to register, click here.

Literacy In Action

Hi, I’m Rebecca Still, the Literacy Specialist with CLN. You might not know this about me, but I love talking about literacy!

In my role, I can support you in exploring the answers to these questions:

• Are you using an approach with an adult literacy learner but not sure if it’s the best one to use?
• Do you wonder how to teach reading?
• Do you wonder if there are other ways to work with adult literacy learners?
• Do you feel there is something missing, something different you could do to support adult literacy learners in your organization?
• Want to share a success?
• Want to talk out your thoughts and ideas around adult literacy?

I love listening to stories and hearing about your thoughts and ideas. I love having conversations on anything related to adult literacy and I would love to have a conversation with you!

Let’s connect! You can contact me here:

By email: literacy@calp.ca 

By phone: (780) 554-6376.

This Month's Spotlight

World Day of Social Justice

On November 26th, 2007 the United Nations General Assembly declared February 20th to be annually observed as the World Day of Social Justice. Social justice refers to, "Fairness in society which includes healthcare, employment, housing, and more. Over the years, it has started applying to all aspects of society, including race and gender." (source)

The Social Justice Index lists equitable education as a core dimension in social justice, reporting that in numerous countries studied, a learner's socioeconomic background greatly impacts their educational outcome. In 2019, 8.4 percent of adults aged 25 - 64 had less than an upper secondary level of education, but the Index notes that there is much needed improvement for learning opportunities for Indigenous communities in Canada. It's clear social justice and education are closely intertwined and influence one another. 

The World Day of Social Justice reminds us to be mindful our own perceptions of social justice and how it impacts others globally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw socioeconomic status impact one another in unique ways - technology made it difficult for some with fewer resources to access materials that others could. We are coming to understand this as the "digital divide," defined as the unequal access and utility of technology and internet resources. This issue challenges the way digital skills are approached. More than simply a handy tool to have, digital skills are now required to gain access to basic materials and opportunities.

On March 1st, Calgary Learns is hosting a Digital Justice event with keynote speaker Dr. Suzanne Smythe, Associate Professor, Adult Literacy and Education to discuss issues surrounding digital justice and how inequities form in the online realm.

Register for this Zoom event here: https://forms.gle/egMfnqBwcCP5L5Nr7 before February 22nd.