National Adult Literacy Database

Learners, practitioners and stakeholders are invited to participate in a research project that Calgary Learns is undertaking in collaboration with Bow Valley College on learner progress. The Learner Progression Measures project is hoping to interview learners and practitioners who are in literacy programs and workplace essential skills training programs, and stakeholders who are connected to such programs.

There’s a problem with most educational software products for children, says Rohan Mahimker. They’re not engaging enough. This observation, along with his memories of a “tedious” after-school tutoring program, is what drove Mr. Mahimker to develop an educational game as part of a fourth-year project at the University of Waterloo.

Ontario universities are joining forces to expand online learning for students in the province and beyond. They are using technology to meet the growing demand for courses and programs delivered outside the traditional classroom setting or courses that blend both traditional and electronic delivery.

The list of 24 occupations that are eligible under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) when it re-opens on May 4, 2013, has been released. In addition, four organizations have been designated to provide the now-required independent third party assessments of foreign educational credentials for applicants who studied outside of Canada.

Current and emerging research is creating a greater understanding of the importance of the preschool years for early language and literacy development, the authors of this paper note. Society is beginning to learn which activities, tools, or programs can be used in the home or in child-care centres to give young children an advantage as they move into literacy.

After the most recent downturn began in October 2008, employment declined by 431,000 over 9 months and took 18 months to recover. However, not all industries followed a similar path of decline and recovery. At the onset of the recent downturn, more than two-thirds (68%) of workers were employed in industries that either recouped their losses or even expanded during the subsequent recovery.

Literacy is an essential skill in rebuilding a stronger economy. It provides the foundation for life-long learning and is often the gateway to obtaining skills required for employment. This year, the Council of the Federation Literacy Awards were presented to Elizabeth Cormier and Maria (Candy) Mateo who were recognized for outstanding progress and for overcoming adversity in adult learning.

There was a time when a University degree assured you a of good job, good pay and a comfortable life. Not any more. Today, the unemployment rate for young people in this country is close to 15% – double that of the general population. But the real crisis is the increasing number of university and college grads who are underemployed – scraping by on low-paid, part-time jobs that don’t require a degree.

Literacy Partners of Manitoba leads the way in increasing peoples’ awareness of the importance of literacy and essential skills in Manitoba: they work with communities to develop knowledge and expertise; showcase the best projects and people who help them in working with literacy; and build networks and form partnerships with stakeholders and individuals who are part of the cause. The Raise-a-Reader Fund is an extension of LPM, which has been secured and supported by PostMedia and the Winnipeg Free Press.

The aim of this resource is to support the use of digital technology in Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) programs within the context of the Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum Framework (OALCF). The material is based on three theme areas: managing health using digital technology; managing learning using digital technology; and sharing and collaborating using digital technologies.

This is the third in an eight-part podcast series, produced by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) in Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), focusing on research on numeracy that is part of the Essential Skills Research Project undertaken to improve the current measurement framework for those skills.