National Adult Literacy Database

Are you passionate about digital literacy? Are you a natural-born leader with a talent for seeing the bigger picture and connecting the networking dots? AlphaPlus, a resource and support agency providing resources to adult literacy agencies and educators in Ontario and Canada, is looking to fill the role of executive director. Applications will be accepted until November 22, 2011.

The market value of a bachelor's degree is something students - and their parents - want to know as they rack up expensive tuition bills and loans. It turns out it may not fully prepare them for the labour market as much as they thought.

The Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) will host a webinar on Thursday, November 3, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. The objectives of the presentation are to share good practices and lessons learned, as well as HRSDC tools and resources that may benefit Aboriginal agreement holders and other organizations, and advance literacy and essential skills.

Veterans Affairs Canada has put together a package of learning resources to help teachers and students observe Veterans' Week and Remembrance Day on November 11, 2011. One of the activities is Postcards for Peace which provides an opportunity for youth to send postcards to those who served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace or to still-serving Canadian Forces members. This learning activity allows youth to actively remember the sacrifices and achievements of Canadian veterans.

"Like our founders, we are facing a dramatic shift in the demands of the economy and the next generation of learners are entering a period of profound social and political change - in this case on a global scale," says CEA Chair Lynne Zucker. "And in a country with 13 education systems, all implementing improvement strategies simultaneously, more than ever we need the pan-Canadian context that the CEA provides. "

"While tablet users may be more oriented towards news anyway, there's something about the tablet that's causing them to do what they're inclined to do even more and in new ways," says Tom Rosenstiel, director of the project and a lead author of the study.

The Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador Opportunities Program has been designed to build partnerships with local community groups. The program supports adult and family learning initiatives. Partnership funding opportunities of up to $1000 are available. The application deadline is November 30, 2011, and all projects must be completed by August 31, 2012.

Students are outlining their recommendations in an updated policy paper for the Canadian Federation of Students' lobby week. The main recommendation of the paper is the adoption of a post-secondary education act that sets out a national vision for higher education.

Coaching differs from more traditional management models in that it's designed to improve how people interact with each other and promote a so-called "culture of inquiry," rather than certainty. It's not just about asking questions but the questions that inspire action or problem-solving.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges commends the report of the Expert Panel reviewing Federal Support to Research and Development for its recognition of the importance of college-business collaboration in applied research and innovation.

The Power Writers Program motto, "If you don’t learn to write your own life story, someone else will write it for you," is something any educator looking for a fresh approach to getting students writing can adopt.

Small businesses are a key driver of Canada's economy, accounting for about 98 per cent of all business establishments in the country and about two-thirds of the private sector workforce.

The OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will support countries in their efforts to design and implement policies which foster both the development of skills and the optimal use of existing skills.

The CICA Youth Financial Literacy Study 2011, conducted by Harris/Decima, measured the financial literacy of Canadians aged 16-22. Nine-in-10 respondents (93 per cent) believe that parents should be good role models for responsible financial decisions and 83 per cent have approached their parents for advice about money management.

Researchers from the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University tested children on their ability to read and to recognize words. They found that auditory working memory and musical aptitude are intrinsically related to reading ability.