A Message from Jana Thomson, Vice Chair

Happy March, everyone! This is my favorite month of the year because it means I get to start planting my seedlings at home, the sun is out noticeably longer each day, and it’s my birthday month!

My name is Jana Thomson, and I am the Vice Chair of the Community Learning Network Board. For those who don’t know me from my previous tenure on the CLN Board, I am the Executive Director at the Rocky Community Learning Council in Rocky Mountain House.

This is my first year back on the CLN Board after serving six years, completed in 2021. I am thrilled to be serving on the Board again, and there are numerous benefits to being a part of the Board that I would love to share with you. My top three are:

Connection: I am thankful for the connections made with CALPs throughout the province, other CLN Board members and staff, as well as our grant managers and funders at Advanced Education. We can often get caught up in the happenings of our communities and forget that there are supports and information to be shared from others who have walked similar paths. Often I find other CALPs are going through the same or similar situations as I am, and it is so nice to be able to reach out and learn how others are overcoming their obstacles or celebrating their achievements.

Contribution: My experience in my CALP and working with learners for over 10 years in my community means that I can contribute to meaningful conversations. Working with the CLN to determine, develop, and provide the professional development needs of CALPs throughout the community, I have seen quite a few changes in the CALP world, which means I can help contribute healthily and positively when we see changes in our field.

Experience: Wow, I have experienced so many learning opportunities because of my time on the CLN Board! Meeting with ministers, chairing the Governance committee, and being a part of the team that makes up the CLN Board has allowed me to experience new things that I would not have had the opportunity to learn from otherwise.

For anyone considering a term on the CLN board, I encourage you to reach out to a current CLN Board member. We would always love to share the benefits of serving on the Board and being a bigger part of the CLN and CALP community.

I hope you all have a wonderful spring and spend plenty of time in your gardens, enjoying your favorite books, or whatever you like to do to bring in the new season.

Literacy and Learning Symposium 2024

REMINDER: Symposium 2024 Registration Deadline is April 12th!

Community Learning Network invites you to join us at Symposium 2024. 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 2024 is:

The Power of Community

Here’s a quote that fits with our intent:

"There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

- Margaret J. Wheatley

The dates are:
Tuesday, April 30th to Thursday, May 2nd – In-person at the DoubleTree by Hilton West Edmonton

If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s a glimpse of what to expect: CLICK HERE

Registration Reminder:
This year the registration fee is $175 per person and registration will be open until Friday, April 12th, 2024.

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 (group block held until April 12th) and more on the tabs on the left sidebar.

REMINDER: Looking for an Adult Learner Speaker – DEADLINE is March 15th!
The Symposium Planning Committee is currently taking recommendations for an Adult Learner Speaker at Symposium 2024. The presentation will be in-person at the Symposium Opening Ceremony on May 1st.

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 speaker will receive a $200 Honorarium, plus travel (if required)

Deadline for submissions is Friday, March 15th.

We hope you will plan to join us at Symposium 2024!

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

Register now for these upcoming events!

Required Training

May 22 Introduction to Adult Foundational Learning - Online (5 weeks)

Additional Training

MARCH:

March 14-15 Psychological First Aid (Vulcan) IN-PERSON In this 2-day workshop, develop a personal understanding of the effects of stress, loss, trauma and grief on others, with emphasis on self-care and personal protection.

March 18 Skills for Learning Panel Listen in to our panel of CALP staff from across Alberta to hear about practical and learner-centred strategies and ideas for providing Skills for Learning instruction to foundational learners.  

March 19 Adult Literacy & Learning (A.L.L) in Family Literacy Programs (2 weeks) This training builds on the themes from CALP Essentials for Family Literacy Programs. It focuses on how to deliver fun and engaging family literacy programs that emphasize adult foundational learning as part of an intergenerational approach to learning.  

March 21 The Best of Both Worlds: Virtual and hybrid programming that feels like in-person Bring the best of in-person learning together with online learning and create engaging, relevant and accessible learning environments for adult foundational learners.

March 21 Inside Out: A curious conversation about trauma-informed approaches from the inside out (2 weeks) Unlock the mysteries of the mind and uncover the transformative power of trauma-informed approaches for shaping safe and supportive learning environments.

March 25-26 Psychological First Aid (Edmonton) IN-PERSON (FULL)* In this 2-day workshop, develop a personal understanding of the effects of stress, loss, trauma and grief on others, with emphasis on self-care and personal protection.

*Waitlist is available.

APRIL:

April 2 Assessing Reading using Readforward (3 weeks) Explore why, when and how to assess reading skills with hands-on opportunities to use the Readforward assessment tool. 

April 3 Writing Out Loud (2 weeks) Discover this literacy development approach that is based in supportive personal story-telling through writing.

April 4 Volunteer Tutor Masterclass (3 weeks) Whether you are just starting out or have a robust volunteer tutor program, this Masterclass will explore the value of volunteers, recruiting, engaging, and retaining them, innovative practices, possibility thinking and so much more. 

MAY:

May 15-16 Psychological First Aid (Consort) IN-PERSON In this 2-day workshop, develop a personal understanding of the effects of stress, loss, trauma and grief on others, with emphasis on self-care and personal protection.

JUNE:

June 17, 18, 19  Assessing Writing using writeforward This 3-session series is a practical introduction to the writeforward assessment tools for assessing writing skills in adults. 

Communities of Practice

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. 

Mar 27 CALP Community Talks About...What it Means to be Rural

April 4 Ask Us Anything About Metis & Indigenous Worldview

April 9 Holding Safer Spaces Open Circle – Anatomy of Trust

April 10, June 11 Literacy Practitioners Share, Learn, Grow

Regional Connections Cafes

North Region - Mar 18, Apr 15

East Region - Mar 18, Apr 11

West Region -  Mar 18, Apr 15, May 24, Jun 17

Central Region -  Apr 11

South Region - Mar 19 (Lethbridge), Mar 21 (Airdrie), Mar 26 (Brooks) 

Don't miss out!

Events are periodically added to the CALP Portal Training & Events calendar. Be sure to check the calendar regularly to see what is coming up!

Literacy in Action

I’ve been spending time digging into two Alberta assessments, readforward and writeforward. I’m so excited about how the information can be used with adult learners to teach reading and writing skills. Both provide a reference point of where to start with a learner, lets you know their strengths and identifies their gaps. They also support learners to feel confident in their skills as they can see their strengths in reading and writing.

When I first looked at both guides, it seemed I was reading another language. I couldn’t quite make sense of what the assessments would tell me. I’ve been privileged to attend training for both of them and now I understand and value the results that come from a learner completing an assessment.

If you’ve had these resources sitting on your shelf and felt unsure how to use them, come join the trainings!

You can find more information about the readforward training here and information about the writeforward training here.

By the way, if you want some guidance on how to start writing with learners, then register for Writing Out Loud!

This Month's Spotlight

Pathways Adult Learning Foundations is excited to introduce FALP (the Foundational Adult Learning Portal). This portal will be an access point for online assessments and online learning resources for Albertan adult foundational learners, practitioners, instructors, tutors, and all advocates of learning. Our goal is to break the barrier of traditional learning through offering learning assessments and resources that can be accessed online anytime, anywhere. 

Please check out our website: www.adultlearningportal.ca and begin using the assessments as you best see fit with learners. We currently have 18 assessments available in the four core areas of foundational learning; Skills for Learning, Literacy Skills, Numeracy Skills and Digital Skills. The intention of the assessments is for them to be used as a learning tool by learners, instructors, tutors, and practitioners.

Please check out the “Your Voice” tab on the website; we would love to hear from you to gather feedback to improve our service!