Literacy – Spanning the US :: Calexico CA :: Syracuse NY :: Syosset NY :: Buffalo NY

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

Camarena Library

✷ Meet Our Tutors: Mark Hurych

Adult Literacy on the Border: 7.27.2020

Mark Hurych on the Challenges of Tutoring - Camarena Memorial Library

Oh boy. OK, maybe it is a challenge to get me to shut up once I get rolling. I don't think tutoring or teaching is challenging. 

Let me explain. Raising a child to be kind and considerate, that's challenging, especially if you are trying to put food on the table and keep everybody healthy.

Dealing with a child with health issues in early life? (I've been there.) That qualifies as challenging.

I challenge myself when it comes to education. I've defined it as something completely different from schooling. Most of what typically goes on in K thru PhD is schooling, in my opinion. Getting schooled is common and it expresses the usual way of operating schools.

Taking, yes that's right I say "taking," an education is entirely different. When I ask myself a question and treat that question the same way you might treat "Where are my damn keys?" when you're on your way to work, when I ask myself a question in that way I begin to educate myself. No one can educate me. They can write a book, or write to me, they can send me a message, they can help me find my damn keys, sometimes, but the motivation to ask and answer is mine and mine alone.  READ MORE ➤➤

✷ Newsletters ◻ Blogs ◻ Stories

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 6

Reading Level: fairly easy to read.

Reader's Age: 10-11 yrs. olds

(Fifth and Sixth graders)

@FairmountNY_Lib

Fairmount LIbrary Shares New Job Search Tools

Eagle News: 8.25.2020 by Jason Gabak

The Fairmount Community Library recently announced a new online resource focusing on skill development, job search assistance and test prep.

This tool contains self-assessment and job search tools, resume assistance, and live interview prep and practice.

Free resources such as online tutoring for students, writing labs and an adult learning center, standardized test prep – ACT, SAT, GED, college placement exams and more are also available.

@OCPL_CNY

This resource was paid for by the Onondaga County Adult Literacy Grant.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 12

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. old

(Twelfth graders)

Syosset 

Leaders for Literacy 

Adult English-Speaking Development Sessions

Patch Syosset: 8.29.2020 by Simran Goel

Are you an adult who wants to enhance your English-speaking skills?

Hi! My name is Simran Goel, and I am a rising senior at Syosset High School. Earlier this year, I formed a club at the high school called “Leaders for Literacy." We are a group of high school students passionate about adult literacy. One of the long-term projects we have begun is a virtual conversation group, a space for adults with limited English-speaking abilities to enhance their skills.  READ MORE ➤➤

@LiteracyBuffalo

Shortening 2020 Census Will Shortchange Citizens

Buffalo News: 8.26.2020 by Tara Schafer

In early August, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it would conclude data collection for the 2020 census on Sept. 30, a month sooner than the previous deadline set by the Census Bureau.

The new deadline makes it more likely that the approximately 30% of U.S. residents who have not yet responded to the census will ultimately not be counted. This adds another wrinkle to an increasingly complicated situation for the individuals and families that we work with at Literacy Buffalo Niagara.

With census numbers determining political representation and the distribution of federal funding for the next decade, our region cannot afford to be overlooked. But there is a very good chance that the data collected locally will be inaccurate.

Primarily, the people who have not yet responded to the census are members of hard-to-count populations that include rural residents, people with low income/no income, members of ethnic and racial minorities, people with limited proficiency in English, and people with low levels of educational attainment and low literacy skills.

We know all too well at Literacy Buffalo Niagara that individuals with low literacy skills have historically been overlooked by the census, so we kicked off 2020 with a census initiative. Our plans had been to weave it throughout all of our work so that we could engage our adult learners to “be counted.”  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 11

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

Repeated Reading with Goal Setting for Reading Fluency @ Iowa Reading Research

@IAReading

Repeated Reading with Goal Setting for Reading Fluency

Iowa Reading Research: 2.05.2019 by Leah Zimmermann, M.Ed. Research Coordinator, Iowa Reading Research Center & Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D. Director, Iowa Reading Research Center

Reading fluency, the ability to read at an appropriate rate and with accuracy and proper expression, is essential to reading comprehension. When students read fluently, they can devote their limited cognitive resources to making meaning from text, rather than recognizing individual words. Therefore, it is important for teachers to implement research-based reading fluency instruction to improve students’ skills.

Reading fluency instruction can take many forms, but it often involves having students read orally so teachers can hear how students are processing the text. Repeated Reading is one type of reading fluency instruction that has evidence of effectiveness at improving the oral reading fluency of elementary students and secondary students. Moreover, students with learning disabilities and those with emotional and behavioral disorders have also benefited from this type of instruction. This is important because these populations are more likely to struggle with reading fluency than their typical peers.

During Repeated Reading, students orally read a single passage multiple times in order to reach a certain accuracy rate or criterion, or to complete a prescribed number of readings. For example, students might be instructed to repeatedly read a passage until reaching 130 words correct per minute (WCPM). Another teacher might instruct students to complete three readings of the passage. When students repeatedly read the same text, they practice actively processing print, which may improve their ability to read automatically, with little effort spent on word recognition. In addition, students receive multiple exposures to new words and practice reading those new words in different types of sentences and paragraphs.

Key Components of Repeated Reading Instruction

Researchers have identified several key components of Repeated Reading instruction.

The first is error correction, in which students receive feedback on words mispronounced during oral reading and practice the correct pronunciations. Error correction benefits oral reading fluency by helping students rehearse and refine pronunciations, which may improve the ability to recognize the practiced words in new texts.

A second beneficial component of repeated reading is peer mediation, in which students work together in pairs or small groups to complete instructional assignments. In Repeated Reading, students read together and serve as more immediate sources of error correction than when a single teacher provides feedback to individual students. When students work with their peers, they are more engaged in fluency practice activities and report increased satisfaction with the assignments. 

Finally, student goal setting is a Repeated Reading component that is associated with immediate gains in reading rate and accuracy, as well as sustained improvement over time. Goal setting may help students self-monitor their reading and identify useful strategies that benefit their reading performance. During reading fluency practice, goal setting typically involves students quantifying a goal, such as “I will read 120 WCPM on my third reading of the passage.”

Although goal setting is important, it should be based on accurate information and realistic expectations. In recent research, some students responsible for serving as fluency coaches to their peers consistently recorded inaccurate reading rate and accuracy data. Given that even trained adults struggle to identify student errors on fluency assessments, students’ mistakes are unsurprising. In addition, focusing on the number of words read correctly may communicate to students that the speed of their reading is more important than the quality of their reading. Rather than establishing a goal based on questionable reading data or an inappropriate understanding of fluency, we recommend that students be taught to identify positive behaviors and reading strategies on which to focus during reading fluency practice.

Repeated Reading: Introductory Lesson

READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 15

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate

How People Read On The Web @ Wylie Communications

How People Read On The Web

WylieComm:  June 2019 by Ann Wylie

They don’t; so make web pages scannable

Here’s the title of one of usability expert Jakob Nielsen’s earliest articles on writing for the web:  “How Users Read on the Web”

The first paragraph:

“They don’t.”

“People read paper,” says TJ Larkin, principal of Larkin Communications Consulting. “They use the web.”

In fact, just 16% of people read word-by-word online, according to eye tracking studies by Dejan Marketing.  Remarkably, that’s the same percentage Nielsen came up with in his 1997 study.

So if they’re not reading, what are they doing?

They’re not reading; they’re seeking.

Web users spend most of their time looking for something specific. According to research findings by Xerox PARC, web visitors:

Collect 71% of the time.

They search for multiple pieces of important information, maybe research for a Writing for Mobile workshop.

Find 25%.

They seek something specific, like “What is this bacalhau they want to serve me for lunch?

═════════►

In other words, web visitors have a goal 96% of the time, according to the PARC study. So much for “surfers.”

Same thing’s true on mobile. In fact, the No. 2. mobile task is searching for specific information. (No. 1: wasting time.)

Mobile visitors often seek information relevant to the here and now, like “Where is the nearest gas station?” In fact, according to a Pew study, some 49% of mobile users use their phones for location-based information.

How long do they spend?

So as they look for information, how much time do visitors spend on web pages?

Not too long:

➤ The average page visit lasts less than a minute — but many are 10 seconds or less.

➤ 55% of visitors spend fewer than 15 seconds on your website.

➤ Visitors spend an average of 19 seconds looking at a web page.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 6

Reading Level: fairly easy to read.

Reader's Age: 10-11 yrs. olds

(Fifth and Sixth graders)

Literacy Day Photo Challenge !

Literacy Day Photo Challenge !

UEA UNESCO Chair: Sep 1

To mark this year’s @UNESCO International #LiteracyDay we’re excited to launch our #LiteracyDay Photo Challenge!

Best photos will be featured in a UEA UNESCO Chair event in 2021!

Looking forward to seeing photos of #FamiliesLearningTogether #LiteracyInFamilies

Literacy – Spanning North America :: Victoria BC :: Burnaby BC :: Edmonton AB :: Ottawa ON :: Fredericton NB

Literacy In The News :: Spanning North America

REP Here in Canada Wins Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award Français

News Wire: 8.25.2020 by ABC Life Literacy Canada

ABC Life Literacy Canada (ABC) is pleased to announce the top and honourable mention winners of the 2020 Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award (LIA). The annual award recognizes organizations that develop and implement innovative adult literacy and essential skills programs in communities across Canada.

The LIA top award will be given to REP Here in Canada along with $20,000, which the organization can use towards future programming. In addition to the top winner, four honourable mention winners will receive $5,000 each.

Each of the winners have demonstrated that their program has made a positive contribution to the lives of their adult learners as well as the community, and all serve as a model for other organizations to adapt.

═════════►

Since its inception in 2012, 45 LIAs have been awarded to literacy organizations across the country (9 top awards and 36 honourable mention awards), representing $360,000 in funding for the field.

TOP WINNER, receiving $20,000

@heremagazineCA

REP Here in Canada, Vancouver, BC

Program: Here Magazine

Here Magazine is a print and digital publication produced by adult learners through community workshops called Here Labs. Here Labs are multi-discipline, hands-on workshops where participants learn and develop storytelling tools suitable to each learner's language skill level and include writing, photography, podcasting, and videography.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS, receiving $5,000 each

@burnabycce

Burnaby School District (BSD) 41 LINC Program

(Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada), Burnaby, BC

Program: The BSD LINC Literacy Stream Program

The BSD LINC Literacy Stream Program serves multi-barriered, high-risk adult ESL (English Second Language) newcomer and refugee learners.

@4FamilyLiteracy

Centre for Family Literacy, Edmonton, AB

Program: The Edmonton Literacy Classroom on Wheels (the COW Bus)

The Edmonton Literacy Classroom on Wheels (the COW Bus) is a free family literacy program that engages adults and their children in literacy activities.

@jhsontario

John Howard Society of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON

Program: Skills Plus

Skills Plus is a continuous intake program that builds learners' confidence, self-esteem, and literacy skills. The program meets learners at a "pre-literacy" level: it provides regular workshops on everything from employment skills to mindfulness and guided meditations.

@LiteracyNB

Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB

Program: Essential Skills for Atlantic Fisheries (ESAF)

Essential Skills for Atlantic Fisheries (ESAF) launched in 2018 and is an essential skills program that proactively addresses the labour market challenges faced by fisheries sector employers in the Atlantic provinces.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 17

Reading Level: very difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate

Recruiting English Language Learners @ Florida Literacy Coalition

@FloridaLiteracy

Recruiting English Language Learners

Florida Literacy Coalition: 2020

Results of a Market Research Project 

in Adult Education - Phase II

Introduction

Adult education programs in the United States only serve approximately 10% of the population in need, and many have experienced declines in enrollment, particularly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike in many other sectors, adult education organizations are not primarily supported through payments of tuition from students. This may be a contributing factor as to why adult education providers don’t typically engage in the same kind of market research-based customer acquisition strategies common in other industries. The heart of any good market research effort is to know what motivates and drives one’s target audience, and evidence suggests significant upside potential for adult education providers that employ such strategies.

In an effort to gain some insights into how to reach and connect with adult English learners, the Florida Literacy Coalition (FLC) conducted a series of three student focus groups to explore key messages, terminology, and communication methods that may be more or less effective in recruiting students for adult education programs

Motivation

Concerns, Barriers, and Apprehensions

Cost

Eligibility

Learning About the Program

Terminology - Finding the Right Words

Videos and Student Testimonials

Website Design and Navigation

READ MORE

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 16

Reading Level: very difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate