National Adult Literacy Database

Plans are underway for Nova Scotia Adult Learners' Week 2013 April 6-14. Learners and organizations from across the province are coming together at special events including panel discussions, interactive workshops and arts events. They will offer learning opportunities for all and showcase the diversity in the ways adults learn.

The National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) takes this opportunity to extend its congratulations and best wishes to individuals in the field of literacy and essential skills who were recently chosen to receive Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Education Minister Russ Marchuk joined representatives from the North Central Family Centre to announce funding through the SaskSmart Innovations Fund (SSIF). In total, $482,469 has been allocated to seven different community partnerships to provide literacy services.

Today the Read All About Lit blog at Decoda is launching a new feature: Tech Tuesday. Every Tuesday, they will feature a library or online resource that discusses technology in the context of literacy.

Like most OECD countries, a mere fraction of Canadian university students study abroad, seemingly content to have the world come to us. The situation is a bit of puzzle. For all the discussion of why we have difficulty attracting foreign students, we rarely wonder why “our” students seem so reluctant to leave home. -- Commentary, The Globe and Mail

The latest research on the attitudes of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) shows that rather than a lack of enthusiasm for learning and work, almost half of those interviewed have aspirations to progress in life through learning.

Effective February 12, 2013, the Government of Canada's Aboriginal Canada Portal will be closed. The portal was developed in 2001, when it was more difficult to find Aboriginal resources and services on the Internet.

Premier Greg Selinger's donation of books about Manitoba and Canada, on behalf of the province, kick starts the latest phase of a partnership involving the University of Winnipeg, World Literacy Canada, Ventura Custom Homes and the village of Bhanohar to support children’s literacy and young women’s education in India.

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards is a new program that will recognize and support individuals and institutions in the United States and abroad that have made significant contributions to combating illiteracy and 'aliteracy' (having the ability to read but simply not exercising the skill).

This year's Family Literacy Day celebration (January 27) came just weeks after very encouraging news about literacy and families in Canada. Results from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study show that Canadian parents have one of the highest levels of involvement in literacy-related activities with their preschool-age children. "The results ... confirm that Canadian parents are doing an excellent job in fostering a culture of literacy in the home," said Ramona Jennex, Chair of CMEC and Nova Scotia's Minister of Education.

"As more financial decisions are faced by Canadians at younger and younger ages, grasping financial principles early in life is crucial to being better prepared to participate in the Canadian and global economy and avoiding pitfalls in financial decision making." -- Report of Canada’s Task Force on Financial Literacy

The Ottawa Community Coalition for Literacy (OCCL) supports, promotes and strengthens adult literacy services in Ottawa through communication, research and public education. It has also challenged you to plan an activity to celebrate Family Literacy Day within your organization.

Shantael Sleight, literacy outreach co-ordinator for the West Shore Literacy Project, said Family Literacy Day is all part of an effort to demonstrate the chances for literacy and learning all around us. Sleight said we all engage our minds and exercise our literacy skills when we do things such as learn the words to a song, measure various amounts for a recipe, or even read roadside signs.

Tell us how learning has made a difference in your life. Please email your titled entry (written or video) to Literacy Nova Scotia at cindy.stevens@nscc.ca. A written entry should be up to 500 words in the form of an essay, poem or short story. A video is one to two minutes, posted to You Tube (email the link). One entry per person is allowed and no group submissions will be accepted.

Help inform and shape thinking around policy, practice and research as we prepare for PIAAC. The Institute will examine and compare the learning from IALS and ALL across Canada and other countries, and explore how we can make the most effective use of the soon-to-be released PIAAC results. We will look at the new segments – problem-solving in technology-rich environments and the reading components – and at the implications of changes in levels and cut-off.