New Brunswick Facilitators Prepare for the Information Age
by Angela Acott-Smith, Project Coordinator, NALD-NB

Teachers of adult literacy classes in New Brunswick are joining the ranks of other educational professionals as they prepare for the information age of the new millennium thanks to a joint project between the Province of New Brunswick and the National Adult Literacy Database. The NALD-NB Technology Initiative is a pilot project that is providing the requisite hardware and training to aid the literacy community in their efforts to access quality resources and improve their lines of communication.

Fifty high-end ‘Internet ready’ computer systems, complete with laser printers, have been installed in CASP (Community Academic Services Programs) classes around the province. This new equipment has provided the gateway for literacy practitioners to access a multitude of resources available on the World Wide Web. The Literacy Coordinators and CASP facilitators have participated in one-on-one tutorials and small group training sessions to learn how to use the technology as a classroom resource, as a tool for communication and as a tool for professional development.

A bilingual listserv has been created to help remove any communication barriers that may have previously existed. When a message is submitted by one of the 80 members, it is translated and posted to the list in both official languages. Through this electronic forum, facilitators discuss their issues and concerns with colleagues from other parts of the province as their individual schedules allow.

The NALD-NB web site is a Virtual Resource Centre for the literacy practitioners of New Brunswick. Located at http://www.nald.ca/nald-nb/, this web site is modeled after the renowned NALD site, but sports the burgundy and green colours of the province of New Brunswick. The buttons of the home page highlight the themes recognized in the initial project proposal: Professional Development, School-to-work Transition, Administration, Expert Advice, Resources, and Innovations and Successes.

One area of particular interest to facilitators is the Resources button. This is the gateway to Internet Resource Links, the CASP bookshelf, CASP publications and most importantly, the Academic Curriculum documents and learning materials in full-text format. The playing field has now been levelled. With the click of their mouse, each facilitator has equal access to the current version of the curriculum documents. Under the Administration button, the depart-mental forms for client screening, attendance, and termination are only a few of the documents to be made available using the secure pdf software. Due to copyright issues, the Curriculum and Administration buttons are password protected. To date, 154 user accounts have been set up, allowing literacy practitioners to access this web page from any computer terminal with Internet access - whether it be at home, in the classroom, or at a Community Access Centre.

The NALD-NB technology project has brought new resources to the front-line practitioners and allowed them to share their materials with each other. It has fostered communication across the miles and has even broken language barriers. This project has been successful in providing the tools, the training and the technical support to CASP facilitators of New Brunswick thereby improving their lines of communication and access to adult education resources.

* Angela Acott-Smith is an adult educator on secondment to NALD from the New Brunswick Community College - Woodstock. She is a technology integration specialist, currently working on her M.AdEd degree from St. Francis Xavier University. She is also very active in the volunteer literacy sector of her community.

In Canada, a considerable number of adults do not have the level of literacy skills required for active participation in society. Problems related to adult literacy take two forms: low levels of literacy, and unnecessarily difficult and increasingly complex reading materials. It is in this light that a recent Lessons Learned study examines the effectiveness of adult literacy interventions over the past decade in Canada and abroad.

The study identifies seven important lessons pertaining to adult literacy programs, policies and practices. The lessons address a variety of issues ranging from the benefits of adult literacy programs, the design and delivery of programs, the use of learning technologies, the targeting of programs, and the barriers that adults face.

A key finding was that more systematic evaluation of adult literacy policies, programs and practices is needed to increase accountability and to improve the knowledge base in this field.

The complete study is available on EDD’s web site, www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/edd. For more information regarding this, or other Lessons Learned studies, please contact EDD by phone (1-888-440-4080), email (edd@spg.org), or visit their web site.