Preparing for Electronic Communication
in the Workplace

BY HEATHER HEMMING AND SONYA SYMONS

Workplace literacy skills in many contexts involve being able to use the computer effectively and efficiently to communicate with others. As the expectation that workers be able to communicate electronically increases, it is essential that workplace literacy programs ensure instructional support is provided which assists participants in understanding the needs of the task at hand. Writing in electronic contexts often has unique challenges. After examining numerous copies of electronic written communication we identified three skills we believe to be essential for effective communication. To communicate one’s ideas effectively it is important to have a strategy for explaining or expressing a viewpoint. Further, when asking for information it is necessary to ask pertinent questions. And, when writing a response to others it is important to be able to make a link between the initial message sent and the response being written.

Continued on page 2...

Inside this issue. . .

Learning Outcome Demonstrations Online

Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) Programs in Ontario can now access learning outcome demonstrations online. Peel- Halton-Dufferin Adult Learning Network, Simcoe County Literacy Network, The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and the AlphaPlus Centre recently launched Demonstrations Ontario, a website to facilitate the use of demonstrations to measure the ability of literacy students’ to successfully apply their learning to everyday life.

The site has three sections: a Demonstration Bank, a Demonstrations Board and a Demonstrations Builder. The Demonstration Bank contains over 100 demonstrations that can be viewed online or downloaded. The demonstrations can viewed by LBS level or domain (Communications, Numeracy or Self-Management and Self- Direction). The Demonstrations Board provides guidance on the use of demonstrations and encourages practitioners to share their demonstrations. Demonstrations Builder is an online tool that takes practitioners through the process of creating a learning outcome demonstration. You can visit the site at http://demonstrations.alphaplus.ca.

View this issue of CONNECT in PDF format  (563k)