National Adult Literacy Database

"I have no trouble remembering my first class with Frontier College: in an old railway box car, with five or six tired, but expectant faces looking up at a green, cloth “blackboard” tacked to the wall, where some English idioms and their Portuguese equivalents were chalked up in columns. My education began that evening. It’s still going on. Thank you, Frontier College. You gave me my teaching life." -- Colin Brzezicki

"On behalf of all premiers, I congratulate the 2012 recipients of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award," said Darrell Dexter, Premier of Nova Scotia and Chair of the Council of the Federation. "The determination of literacy learners and the devotion of literacy advocates are an inspiration to all Canadians. The recipients of this award are all truly deserving of this recognition."

The Government of New Brunswick and the Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) have partnered to support community adult learning programs for Aboriginals. This initiative follows a successful two-year pilot project which assisted 30 adult learners, with 20 now employed or pursuing post-secondary education. The new funding and partnership are expected to help an additional 200 Aboriginal learners.

As a partner in Coursera, the University of Toronto joined Stanford, Princeton, Michigan and a dozen other major universities offering free online courses to anyone, anywhere in the world with a computer. Online education has been around in various forms for a while, but the response to these courses has been massive.

With this support, 400 northern youth aged 14 to 30 will begin a dialogue with mentors. These 400 young people will be exposed to Canadians professionals and given examples of potential career avenues in the rest of Canada, while also incorporating local values and local opportunities that reflect the reality of Yukon careers, history, and heritage. Mentors will gain awareness and knowledge about Canada's North and its people.

Heather Reisman, the founder and CEO of Indigo Books & Music, is the recipient of the 2012 Public Education Advocacy Award of the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF). The award is presented annually to groups or individuals outside the teaching profession who have made major contributions to promote and support public education in Canada.

The consortium had asked the Supreme Court to interpret the fair dealing provision in the Copyright Act to permit teachers to make copies of short excerpts from a copyright-protected work, such as a book or a newspaper, for distribution to students.

The build-up to the London Olympics provides an excellent opportunity to engage students all around the world in learning about Britain and the countries within (England, Scotland and Wales). Below are some activity ideas for across the curriculum including literacy and numeracy.

Twenty-first century learning was the defining theme of the Halifax meeting, where ministers exchanged information on a number of education-related topics.

In times of economic uncertainty and ever-changing information technology, organizations – whether in the public domain or private sector – are often obligated to sit back, reflect and re-evaluate their activities and priorities. With this in mind, the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) is adapting some of its services and setting a new course for the future.

Canada's ministers of education will be in Halifax, July 4–6, 2012, at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, for the 100th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), their long-standing intergovernmental body.

(Reuters) - Brazil will offer inmates in its crowded federal penitentiary system a novel way to shorten their sentences: four days less for every book they read.