2020 Vision

How many times over the years have you heard if your eyesight is 20/20, you have perfect vision? I certainly have been reminded lately that my eyesight is not perfect and sometimes I need help with my vision.  

I have personal and professional visions of how I would like 2020 to unfold; however, I am old enough to know that things will not always be perfect. Some things will drift out of focus. I’ve learned that I can regain clarity by adjusting my attitudes and expectations. Nevertheless, I still need help from family, colleagues and friends along the way.

My challenge for each one of us is to have a 2020 vision, do our best to fulfill it, and be ready for the challenges life will toss our way.

They say hindsight is 20/20, so who knows? If we don’t get it right the first time, we can learn from mistakes, make adjustments and see where life takes us. My guess is the future will be better than we envisioned.

Wishing you all an insightful 2020!

Colleen Thiessen, CLN Board Vice Chair
Executive Director, Wetaskiwin Learning Program

New e-Learning - Volunteer Management

If you recruit, train or manage volunteers in your organization check out this new e-Learning: Working With Volunteers: Your Greatest Partner. 

Work through each section of this comprehensive e-Learning from start to finish if you are entirely new to volunteer management, or choose to explore individual topics as you need them. You will find topics and tips for planning, recruiting, screening, training, supervising, and retaining volunteers. Hear from volunteers themselves, learn from CALP practitioners, make use of the templates and sample CALP forms, or link to the many volunteer management resources to help you work with and support volunteers. 

A big shout out to the Centre for Family Literacy for developing this e-Learning for the CALP system!

Strengthening Literacy Practices Project Update

The Strengthening Literacy Practices cohort which started in November, has been busy these last couple months reading articles, research and blogs about literacy. There have been some animated and thought-provoking discussions in response to the readings that have us all reflecting deeply on our understanding of literacy and how it impacts the way we deliver literacy instruction. Is literacy instruction about improving reading and writing skills? Is there more to it? What if literacy learning could give learners a safe non-judgemental space to explore questions, interests, challenges and difficult issues in their lives? What would that look like? If you are interested in what we are reading here is a list of those readings that prompted excellent discussions:

Perspectives on Literacy:

Fingeret, H. (1992). Asking the Basic Questions. In Adult literacy, politics, policy and practice. Information Series No. 355 p. 3-14
James Paul Gee. 26 May 2015, The New Literacy Studies p. 35-48. https://www.routledgehandbooks.com

Literacy Perspectives in Practice:

Kate Nonesuch (12.June.2012). “Who’s In Charge Here” From Working in Adult Literacy blog
Charissa Ahlstrom (2003). Collaborating with Students to Build Curriculum that Incorporates Real-Life Materials in Focus on Basics Volume 6. p. 1,3-7
Kate Nonesuch (30.October. 2015). The Joy of the Difficult. From Working in Adult Literacy blog

If you enjoy reading these articles and learning about literacy, stay tuned. CLN will be running another Strengthening Literacy Practices cohort next fall. 

Spring Regional Meetings - Save the Date!

The CLN Regional Support Staff are busy planning for the upcoming spring Regional Meetings!

Regional meetings are an excellent way to network with others in your region, connect with Advanced Education, learn more about trainings happening in your region, and get all the latest updates from CLN.

We wanted to give you the dates and locations so you could mark it on your calendars. 

East-Central - April 2, St. Paul
South - April 8, Lethbridge
North - April 23, Grande Prairie
West-Central - April 28, Stony Plain
Central - May 5, Big Valley

Your Regional Support Staff will be sending out more detailed information in the weeks to come. Also, please keep an eye out for information posted on the Portal.

Engaging with Indigenous Learners 2020 Dates

In case you missed it, the Indigenous Post-Secondary Colleges/Universities are hosting Engaging with Indigenous Learners this spring, available to all CALP staff. 

This learning opportunity builds upon the Introduction to Adult Foundational Learning (IAFL) curriculum and invites balance, understanding, learning and growing for engaging with Indigenous adult learners. This training will be delivered by Indigenous Literacy Knowledge Keepers at their respective settings.

Essential Understandings:

• Awareness of historical relations between Nations and Indigenous peoples and others in Canada.
• Develop understanding of how Inter-generational trauma affects the adult learner to effectively create a safe learning environment.
• Gain a deeper orientation to Indigenous Learning principles and how to embed them in your practices.

There is no fee for CALP participants, but pre-registration is required. 

Here are the upcoming spring 2020 dates and locations:

• Red Crow Community College - January 20-21. Registration deadline January 15. 
• Maskwacis - January 22-23. Registration deadline January 15. 
• University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills - February 27-28. Registration deadline February 12.
• Maskawacis - March 11-12. Registration deadline February 25.
• Red Crow Community College - March 17-18. Registration deadline March 2.
• Old Sun Community College - April 22-23. Registration deadline April 7.
• Yellowhead Tribal College - April 29-30. Registration deadline April 14.
• Old Sun Community College - May 28-29. Registration deadline May 12.
• Yellowhead Tribal College - June 10-11. Registration deadline May 26.

Please note if you are unable to attend any of these learning opportunities, there will be more dates in the fall. 

Advanced Education CALP Impact Report

Every year, Advanced Education reports back to CALP-funded partners and other stakeholders about:

• the CALP program vision and mandate
• programming, demographic and outcomes data

These reports show how CALP helped Albertans access adult literacy and foundational learning opportunities. Click here to read the 2016-17 and 2017-18 Impact Report or go to the Current CALP Grant Documents page on the Portal to find the link to the report. 

Family Literacy Day - January 27

The 21st annual Family Literacy Day is January 27, 2020 across Canada. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.

This year, families are encouraged to "Take 20 in 2020" – to take 20 minutes a day throughout the year to make learning together part of their everyday. 

For more information or to download free resources visit the ABC Life Literacy page on Family Literacy Day. Also, if you have events planned ABC Life Literacy would like you to register your event.