Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Know: Journal of Lifelong Learning

Literacyworks introduces the first issue of Know:
The Journal of Lifelong Learning
Business Review India: 9.26.2012 - PRNewswire-USNewswire

Paul Heavenridge, Executive Director of Literacyworks, a nationally recognized nonprofit providing literacy resources to adult and family education programs, announced today the launching of the organization's journal of lifelong learning, Know.

Heavenridge says: "We instinctively want to learn the why of something. It's that pull of the unknown that compels us. We ask questions of ourselves. It's what makes us human. Aristotle perhaps said it best when he noted 'People by nature desire to know.' We have seen in our own lives that given freedom, the proper education, access, space, and encouragement, our species is capable of wondrous things. Kids become gloriously creative, teens become masters of subjects that amaze, adults build technologies that seem like magic, and seniors keep reinventing themselves."

Know is a quarterly online journal that offers a compelling mix of reporting, commentary, and interviews related to lifelong learning. Know doesn't indoctrinate readers with the value of literacy in its varied forms. Instead, it demonstrates the lasting significance of knowledge acquisition with content that is equally engaging and illuminating, promoting learning as the ultimate tool for self-advocacy.

For this first issue, Pulitzer Prize winning author Jane Smiley talks about strategies for filling the blank page; Steve Bryson, lead mathematician of the NASA AMES Kepler mission, switches discipline to muse on why the Higgs Particle is important; Stanford University Professor of History Ian Morris asks what happens when societies stop asking questions, author Frances French pays tribute to his old boss Sally Ride, and Jill Tarter, outgoing Director of the SETI Institute, examines the probability of intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Literacy Tribune Newsletter: September 2012

Literacy Tribune: September 2012
The Adult Learner Network Newsletter

United Literacy, a non-profit organization, provides resources and support to adult literacy learners in the United States. Its aim is to make literacy education accessible and worthwhile for adult learners.

Main Story: Presidential Election is Around the Corner
The people of the United States will once again go to the polls to elect a president on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Establishing Healthy Eating Habits
Julia Pusztai, Guest Writer
In past issues, we have talked about exercise and the need to maintain a healthy weight. So what is the next step to improve your health?

Camping – A Great Outdoor Pastime
Armando Martinez, Guest Writer
California allows for a number of great outdoor summer pastimes, but your choice depends on what you consider recreational fun.

My Collection
Tungaa Khasbaator, Guest Writer
I came here to the U.S.A. six years ago. I like it here. It is nice and different to me.

Member Spotlight: Shadena Lutin
is a student in the STEP UP program at the American River College in Sacramento, California.

Technology Watch: Nexus 7 Tablet
Have you heard the latest buzz? Google finally release its own tablet

The Literacy Tribune is looking for adult learner writers.
Are you an adult learner ?
Do you want to write ?
Do you want to publish your writing ?

You can write about:
Your road to literacy
Your literacy organization
Literacy resources you like
You can write book reviews, poetry, short stories
You can write articles about health, finance, or technology
You can write just about anything !

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Phone Booth Library

New York Designer Creates the Most Polished Phone Booth Library Yet
Good Design: 9.10.2012 by Zachary Slobig

When's the last time you used a pay phone? We're guessing it's been a while. Those fixtures of urban living are fast becoming relics and John Locke, architectural designer and "spontaneous interventionist," can upgrade any old drab phone booth into a pocket library in five minutes flat. "Is the pay phone an anochronism, or an opportunity?" asks Locke.

The New York Times caught wind of Locke's hijinx this weekend, but design blogs have been gushing over his playful structural elaborations for some time now. Here at GOOD, we noted an early iteration of defunct phone booth to guerrilla lending library in the streets of Los Angeles from Future Studio, but we'll admit that Locke's product is far more polished. The designer also resists taking the whole thing too seriously. READ MORE !



Monday, September 10, 2012

2012 National Coalition for Literacy: Literacy Leadership Awards

National Coalition for Literacy
Literacy Leadership Awards
Sep 12 @ 5:30pm

The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) will present its 2012 NCL Literacy Leadership Awards on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 5:30 PM at a ceremony in the Senate Dirksen Building (SD-106) in Washington, DC. The awards recognize individuals and/or organizations that have made extraordinary national contributions to improving adult literacy and English language learning in the United States. The event is free and open to the public and press. Pre-registration is required.

NCL will recognize the following outstanding individuals and organizations:

David Baldacci, Successful author, philanthropist, and passionate adult education advocate who founded the Wish You Well Foundation. The Foundation has funded adult and family literacy programs that help provide literacy solutions in more than 40 states.

Ruth J. Colvin, Founder of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse and Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. (now ProLiteracy). Mrs. Colvin is widely regarded as the “mother” of the US volunteer literacy movement, which has helped hundreds of thousands of adults and families to acquire literacy skills and learn English across the country.

Save Adult Ed Campaign, A group of dedicated advocates in Los Angeles who took on the largest proposed cuts to adult education in the history of CA by conducting a rigorous, strategic, innovative, and successful public relations and advocacy campaign.

US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), Senator Webb introduced the Adult Education and Economic Growth Act of 2012 and has been a strong supporter of preserving appropriations in support of adult education.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

International Literacy Day: September 8

International Literacy Day
September 8

The theme of International Literacy Day 2012 is Literacy and Peace. This theme was adopted by the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) to demonstrate the multiple uses and value that literacy brings to people.

For over 40 years now, UNESCO has been celebrating International Literacy Day by reminding the international community that literacy is a human right and the foundation of all learning.

Why is Literacy important?
Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy.

Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. There are good reasons why literacy is at the core of Education for All (EFA).

Statistics on Literacy
Today, nearly 17% of the world’s adult population is still not literate; 2/3s of them women, making gender equality even harder to achieve.

The scale of illiteracy among youth also represents an enormous challenge; an estimated 122 million youth globally are illiterate, of which young women represent 60.7%.

The 67.4 million children who are out of school are likely to encounter great difficulties in the future, as deficient or non-existent basic education is the root cause of illiteracy.

With some 775 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all thus remains elusive.
READ MORE !