Literacy – Spanning North America :: Chicago IL :: Canada :: Reedsburg WI

Literacy: Spanning North America

@ChiCityLiteracy

Meet Your Neighbor: Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition

Chicago Now: 3.27.2019 by Gordon Dymowski

Literacy is the most critical skill needed to navigate our ever-increasingly complicated civic, professional, and technological landscape. With many Chicago residents seeking formal assistance, the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition (or CCLC) works with Adult Education organizations in Chicago to secure resources and training so that underserved adult learners can become economically successful. My recent conversation with Becky Raymond of the CCLC demonstrated that the organizations consider adult literacy and adult education to be critical public policy issues (which parallel's this blog's stated belief that digital excellence is a basic human right). Plus, the CCLC is not only receiving recognition for its efforts...but is starting to get rewarded for the results of those efforts.

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Their 4th annual Beyond Books celebration highlights the efforts of people working in the community around adult literacy and education. They will be honoring Doctor Julie Morita, Commissioner of Chicago Department of Public Health, as their Literacy Leader Award winner for her efforts around literacy and health care.  READ MORE >>

@abclifeliteracy

Youths Teach Digital Literacy To Adult Learners

NewsWire: 3.28.2019

In the age of rapidly changing technology, it can be difficult to keep up. While some Canadians thrive on new digital devices and technology, others find it confusing and daunting. How do we connect tech-savvy individuals with those who could benefit the most from their knowledge?

Introducing: Youth Teaching Adults.

Youth Teaching Adults is a collaboration between ABC Life Literacy Canada (ABC) and Youth Empowering Parents (YEP). It provides an opportunity for youth to develop their leadership skills through teaching technology to adult learners one-on-one, and for learners to increase their digital literacy skills.

"We are excited to bring such highly regarded digital literacy resources to our national network of community learning organizations through our collaboration with Youth Empowering Parents," said Mack Rogers, ABC Executive Director. "Youth Teaching Adults will bring together youth tutors and adult learners for a rewarding intergenerational learning experience where both the tutor and adult will build confidence and skills."

YEP has contributed its award-winning training methodology, digital literacy lesson plans, and an online learning platform to Youth Teaching Adults to support program growth.  READ MORE >>

@ReedsburgLib

Reedsburg Public Library Adds To Literacy Collection

WiscNews: 3.28.2019

Reedsburg Public Library has added 80 new titles to its Literacy Collection. This collection, established in 2015, is designed to provide reading materials of high interest, but of a more basic reading level for adults just learning to read, ESL students, persons with intellectual disabilities or reluctant readers.

The collection, located on a spinning rack between the nonfiction and children’s books, features titles on various reading levels ranging from early beginner to intermediate. In spite of a more elementary reading level, the books always assume a young adult or adult audience. Nonfiction books cover a range of topics including history, current events, sports, cooking, housekeeping and the basics of handling money. The fiction collection is comprised of books from every genre, including adventures, mysteries, science fiction, young adult, and abridged “classic” titles.  READ MORE >>

2019 Global Skills Index :: Coursera

@coursera

Introducing the Coursera Global Skills Index

Coursera Blog: 3.14.2019 by Emily Glassberg Sands, Head of Data Science, Coursera

Today marks the release of the inaugural Coursera Global Skills Index (GSI), an in-depth look at skill trends and performance around the world, made possible by the millions of learners who come to Coursera to learn and grow.

Skills are the foundation of human productivity and economic success. Yet the skills landscape as we know it is under transition. Technology is advancing faster than humans, and the skills that once fueled our economy will no longer suffice. Companies, countries, and individuals are grappling with a serious skills shortage, in addition to uncertainty on which skills they need to succeed in the changing economy.

Urgency around upskilling is a global one, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Each country has a unique set of circumstances – economic, political, social – that shape their skills landscape today. Industries, too, face challenges unique to their verticals that require tailored talent strategies. This first edition of the Coursera Global Skills Index looks closely at these trends, benchmarking 60 countries and 10 industries across Business, Technology, and Data Science skills.

Here are some of the key findings:

Two-thirds of the world’s population is falling behind in critical skills, including 90% of developing economies.

Countries that rank in the lagging or emerging categories (the bottom two quartiles) in at least one domain make up 66% of the world’s population, indicating a critical need to upskill the global workforce. Many countries with developing economies — and with less to invest in education — see larger skill deficiencies, with 90% ranking in the lagging or emerging categories.

Europe is the global skills leader.

European countries make up over 80% of the cutting-edge category (top quartile globally) across Business, Technology, and Data Science. Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Norway, and the Netherlands are consistently cutting-edge in all three domains. This advanced skill level is likely a result of Europe’s heavy institutional investment in education via workforce development and public education initiatives.

Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America have high skill inequality.

Consistent with the vast economic and cultural diversity that characterizes each region, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America have the greatest within-region skill variance. Asia Pacific is at the extremes of the global Business rankings with New Zealand (#6) and Australia (#9) approaching the very top, while Pakistan (#57) and Bangladesh (#59) land near the bottom. In the Middle East and Africa, Israel is a leader in each of the three domains and #1 in Data Science, while Nigeria lags near the bottom of the rankings across domains, and is last in Data Science. In Latin America, Argentina’s #1 ranking in Technology is in stark contrast to Mexico’s (#43) and Colombia’s (#49) lower proficiencies in the field.

The United States must upskill while minding regional differences.

Although known as a business leader for innovation, the U.S. hovers around the middle of the global rankings and is not cutting-edge in any of the three domains. Within the U.S., skill proficiency is distributed non-uniformly while the West ranks ahead of other regions in Technology and Data Science, the Midwest shines in Business.

In addition to benchmarking countries, we also evaluated trending skills globally and skill proficiencies across 10 major industry verticals:

Demand for Technology and Data Science skills is growing, while demand Business skills is shrinking.

Across the board, enrollment numbers highlight fast-growing demand for Technology and Data Science skills from individuals and companies alike. While Technology enrollments increased by 13%, for example, Business enrollments decreased by 11%.

Technology industry professionals lack strong business skills.

Technology ranks 5th in Business out of the ten industries in our analysis.

Manufacturing shows skills resilience in the digital era.

Manufacturing ranks #1 in both Business and Technology and demonstrates an aptitude for tackling change successfully.

Telecommunications consistently ranks near the top.

Telecommunications is the only industry to rank consistently in the top three across Business, Technology, and Data Science (#3 in each).

Finance surprises with below-average skills performance.

Despite its pursuit of digital transformation, Finance ranks second to last in Business (#9) and Data Science (#9), and hovers near the middle in Technology (#5).  READ MORE  >>

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Workplace

2019: Global Skills Index, Coursera

2018: A Stronger Nation: Learning beyond high school builds American talent, Lumina

2017: UpSkilling Playbook for Employers, Aspen Institute

2015: Skills Gap Report, NAM-MI

2008: Reach Higher America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce, NCAL

2007: America’s Perfect Storm, ETS

2007: Can California Import Enough College Grad's. Meet Workforce Needs?, PPIC

2007: Mounting Pressures: Workforce . . . Adult Ed, NCAL

Health Literacy and People Who Are Homeless via Health Literacy Out Loud

Health Literacy and People Who Are Homeless (HLOL #184)

Health Literacy Out Loud: 3.01.2019

Samantha Wood devotes herself to serving those who are the most vulnerable and helping them fulfill their life goals. Wood is Senior Housing Stabilization Case Manager at The Haven–a multi-resource day shelter for people who are homeless. The Haven is located in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. Samantha Wood takes pride in serving the area near where she grew up.

In this podcast (24:06), Samantha Wood talks with Helen Osborne about:

Being homeless. What this can be like and why it sometimes happens.

The intersection of health issues and people who are homeless.

Ways that health systems, clinicians, and others can work with, and walk alongside of, those who are homeless to improve health and health communication.  LISTEN

More Ways to Learn:

The Haven

Virginia Housing Alliance

Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH)

National Alliance to End Homelessness

National Health Care for the Homeless Council

National Low Income Housing Coalition

Urban Institute

Read the transcript of this podcast

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Indian River co FL:: Kerrville TX :: Monterey Park CA :: Rockford IL

Literacy: Spanning the US       

Literacy Services

Indian River County

All’s Read And ‘Write’ In The World At Love of Literacy Event

Vero News: 3.21.2019 by Mary Schenkel

Being able to read and write is often taken for granted. And yet, according to Literacy Services of Indian River County, one out of five adult residents struggles with substandard literacy skills. Another 13.5 percent speak a primary language other than English.

At the annual Love of Literacy Luncheon last Monday at the Quail Valley River Club, two dedicated individuals were honored for their commitment toward improving their own literacy skills as well as those of their children.

“This organization has a tremendous history,” said Jessica Schmitt, executive director, in her welcome to the 150 guests, thanking them for their support of the organization’s vision to end generational illiteracy. She also recognized guests Nat Jackson, Ann Hamner, Gertrude Terry, Kathryn Moss and Helen Brackins, some of the founders of the organization in 1971.

Michelle Servos, immediate past president, said more than 295 students were able to improve their lives this past year with the assistance of 190 volunteer tutors.

“As a result of what our students and their tutors are accomplishing, their lives are enriched, and our community is better for it,” said Servos. She noted that students have been able to become U.S. citizens; obtain jobs, driver’s licenses, bank accounts and GEDs; attend college, trade schools and adult education classes; and have become more engaged in their children’s education.  READ MORE >>

Families & Literacy

Families And Literacy Volunteer Obtains U.S. Citizenship

Daily Times:  3.21.2019 by Donna Provencher

Carolina Jaramillo Sosa is a real-life Wonder Woman: a bilingual, first-generation immigrant raised by a single mother, a soon-to-be Schreiner University graduate, a kindergarten teacher, a volunteer English as a second language instructor — and, as of Jan. 24, a citizen of the United States who credits her success in large part to Kerrville nonprofit Families and Literacy.

Families and Literacy, founded in 1996, is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose stated mission is “to educate Hill Country adults to be active contributors in the life of the community,” according to its literature.

The organization aims to help individuals improve proficiency in reading, writing and speaking English, as well as problem-solving skills, to help them function on the job, in the family and in society.  READ MORE >>

@MontereyParkLib ‏

Literacy for All of Monterey Park (LAMP)

Asian American Studies, Claremont College

Working with Pitzer College’s Community Engagement Center and funded by the Weingart Foundation, Professor Kathleen S. Yep initiated a partnership with Literacy for Allof Monterey Park (LAMP) starting fall 2009. LAMP was founded in 1984 with funding by the California State Library and through the efforts Michael Eng.

Claremont College students provide LAMP students citizenship coaching, covering aspects of the citizenship exam ranging from history and government facts of America to dictation of specific English sentences and mock interviews.

In addition, the Claremont College students offer English-As-A-Second-Language tutoring.  Lastly, college students take Asian American Studies classes alongside LAMP students that involve social autobiography and other forms of critical pedagogies.  Co-taught with artist/educator/activist Traci Kato-Kiriyama, a spring 2011 combined class created poetry, an anthology, and a web site.

The college students and LAMP learners distributed over 60 free copies of their anthology and gave a reading at a public presentation with over 100 people in attendance.  READ MORE >>

Literacy Council

Education Matters: The Literacy Council Serves To Educate The Community

My Stateline: 3.27.2019 by Mimi Murphy

More than 44,000 people in the Rockford area don't have a high school diploma or GED.

Research shows a high number of uneducated adults translates to elevated crime rates and increasing prison populations. The National Institute for Literacy reports adult illiteracy costs the country billions each year.

It estimates, 60% of inmates in U.S. prisons can't read or write a letter. 70% of state prison inmates never finished high school.

That's why the Literacy Council in Rockford offers free programs to people in Winnebago, Boone and Ogle Counties.

“That's our roll, to help them read, so they can get a better job or help their child with reading in school their homework,” Executive Director of the Literacy Council Sheryl Thogerson said.

The non-profit offers one-on-one tutoring for adults, English as a second language classes.and various computer programs.

“There are many adults who come through our doors who never learned to read past the 3rd or 4th grade,” Thogerson said.  READ MORE >>

Language Museums Across the World

International Flag
of Language 

Language Museums Across the World

Linguisticator: 3.25.2019

Earlier this year in March it was announced that there would be a new language museum opening in Washington DC. As reported in Quartz, Planet Word is set to open in the U.S. capital in the winter of 2019 and was conceived by Anna Friedman, a literacy and education advocate. Conscious of falling literacy levels and the fact that fewer and fewer people are subscribing to newspapers, Friedman perceived a threat to democracy and set about creating this interactive museum to change this.

The introductory blurb on the museum's website highlights that the overarching ethos of the space is defined by the fact that the strength of democracy depends ‘upon having a literate population that can understand and address today’s complex issues’. The site of the museum will also host a working language research lab where visitors will be able to take part in a range of studies, details of which can be found in the Quartz article here.

In her conversation with Lila McLellan for Quartz Friedman reveals how she considers Planet Word to be long overdue and while its specific configuration may be unique, there have been several language museums scattered across the world in the past and there are also ongoing projects that disseminate and promote language in this way, some of which you can read about below.

National Museum of Language, Maryland

Established in 2008, this museum is currently in a developmental phase and not open to the public. On their website they state that their mission is ‘to inspire an appreciation for the magic and beauty of language’ and it was in 2008 that they launched a competition for the very first International Flag of Language which you can see in the header for this post – you can read more about the contest and the meaning behind this flag here.

Canadian Language Museum, Toronto

Six years old, the Canadian Language Museum was established ‘to promote an appreciation of all of the languages spoken in Canada and of their role in the development of this nation’.

Wortreich, Germany

Opened in 2011, Wortreich was Germany’s first interactive language and communications museum.

Museum of Languages, UK (see MEITS below)

An Arts and Humanities Research Council project, Multilingualism – Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies, announced in September 2016 that they would be creating the UK’s first ever National Museum of Languages. Initially designed as a pop-up that will appear in Belfast, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Nottingham.

Yugambeh Language and Heritage, Australia

Located in Beenleigh, this museum aims to record and promote the knowledge of South East Queensland, particularly the Yugambeh language.  READ MORE >>

Language Museums Around the World

Arts & Culture Translated: 11.15.2018

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There’s also the Dutch Museum of Languages in Leiden, a city made famous by its preponderance of ‘wall poems’. The museum is intentionally small, espousing the model of the small-scale museum as a more sustainable way of developing and maintaining a public institution.

Brazil also represents well in this area with their Museu da Língua Portuguesa in Sao Paolo. Theirs is partly a global mission, to promote exchanges between Portuguese speakers spread across the world. There’s a bit of irony here since unless you read Portuguese, the museum’s website is sadly deficient. If it weren’t for Google Translate, the interior pages, including the blog, would not be accessible to anyone but a Portuguese speaker. I guess that’s one way to promote a language!

*Finally, here at home, the MEITS project will run a pop-up Museum of Languages. Designed to promote multilingualism, it will first be appearing in Cambridge, Nottingham, Edinburgh, and Belfast in 2019. READ MORE >>

Language museums of the world

Institutions, websites, memorials

Edited by Ottar Grepsta (pdf)

Centre for Norwegian Language and Literature

Ørsta 2018

This second edition includes 80 museums of language and written culture in 31countries. There might be more, and in some cases, updated information has been hard to find.

The museums have been divided into five groups:

• 6 museums of language and languages of the world

• 33 museums of a single language or group of languages

• 15 museums of writing and written culture

• 11 museums in memory of persons

• 15 digital museums

By 2017, there were ideas, plans and initiatives for at least 18 more language museums, some of them even under construction, but six museums had been closed.

The book presents 39 websites about language systems, language in use and language rights.

Documentation is also included about 35 monuments, 23 festivals and 69 days and weeks for memory or celebration of languages.  READ MORE >>

Library Funding Map :: EveryLibrary Institute

Library Funding Map

EveryLibrary Institute

The EveryLibrary Institute is working with the Syracuse University School of Information Studies to establish this collaborative project between researchers and practitioners with the goal of developing an open-access interactive online platform that increases understanding of return on investment of public libraries at the local, state, and national level; identifies major factors influencing ROI, including similarities and disparities among libraries; and fosters collective impact communicating the value of libraries in the 21st century.

Our prototype library funding and return on investment map is built from data provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It includes data from every library that participated in the 2016 data collection. In this interactive map, you can find your library and view your library's preliminary return-on-investment (ROI) indicator. This ROI indicator is based on early data and is displayed only for informative purposes. While the project is ongoing, new data points will be incorporated to include local funding issues and more accurately represent the return on investment for our nation's libraries. In most cases, once that data in incorporated, these ROI measures will drastically increase.

Libraries increasingly need to demonstrate value, especially via quantifiable measures that link libraries to social and economic prosperity. Although various approaches can provide such measures, one effective method is ROI. ROI measures the value received (usually in dollars) as a result on of an amount invested in a particular asset. Most calculations rely on traditional methods, such as cost-benefit analysis, to demonstrate how investments to public libraries, such as taxpayer money, benefits both individual citizens and local communities. Data for these studies may be taken from local economic data, such as tax dollars collected, which are then compared with general estimates representing the dollar value of library collections, circulation and reference services, events, and programming. Other studies have used statewide survey data regarding public library use or interviews with stakeholders regarding library services: for example, a study of Colorado libraries compared time and money costs to use public libraries for a particular service vs. the time and money costs of alternative service providers.

We are working to bring U.S. public libraries a thorough, nationwide systematic study of ROI to demonstrate relevance in the contemporary information environment, advocate for support, secure ongoing funding, and allow libraries to make informed strategic decisions. Further research questions we are pursuing include:

What is the return on investment (ROI) for U.S. public libraries at the local, state, and national level?

What measurable outputs are necessary for such calculations? What models are most appropriate?

What similarities and disparities in ROI exist across public libraries in the US

What factors might contribute to these disparities?

READ MORE  >>

Library / Literacy Funding

Return On Investment - ROI

2019

Library Funding Map, EveryLibrary

Economic Impact of Public Libraries (various ROIs), WI Dept Public Instruction

Libraries Matter: Impact Research: Bibliography, ALA

Public Libraries – A Wise Investment - Library Research Service

2018

From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018, OCLC

2017
Library & Literacy Funding Chart: FY 2017 -by President, House, and Senate, ALA (excel file)

2011
Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, ALA
2008
From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America, OCLC
2007
Worth Their Weight: Assessment . . . Library Valuation, Americans for Libraries Council

10 Zero-Prep Fillers via ESL Library

10 Zero-Prep Fillers

ESL Library Blog: 3.01.2019 by Ann Dickson

There are few feelings more uncomfortable than reaching the end of a lesson plan, glancing at the clock, and discovering that the bell won’t ring for another 10 or 15 minutes.

Here’s a list of 10 fillers that will make those extra minutes fly by. (And best of all, you won’t need to run to the teachers’ lounge to make photocopies!)

1 Have students look around the classroom and write down all the objects that begin with the letter b. Set a timer for two minutes and make it a competition to see who can name the most items. Let the winner choose another letter and play the game again.

2 Ask students to describe their country’s flag as you draw it on the board. If you have a multicultural class, pair students with someone from a different country. Have them describe their flags to each other.

3 Put students in groups of three. Direct students to choose something in their wallet, purse, or backpack and tell their group members about it. They should say where they got the object, how long they’ve had it, why it’s important to them, etc.

4 Erase the board and have students call out any new words and expressions from the day’s lesson that they can remember. Then have students rank these vocabulary items based on how useful they think the items are.  READ MORE >>