8/31/09
No, MTLINCS has *not* retired.
This link in the Montana chain for ABLE communication needed some adjustment so that the chain would not break. Now that this has been done and the sprockets have been greased, MTLINCS is ready for another year! So jump on board and check out some of the state and national events that are headed your way!
1. Montana ABLE Conference '09 and GED '09 Meeting
Click here for more information. http://www.nwlincs.org/mtlincs/opi/09-10/DQ09.htm
2. Montana ESL Conference Professional Development Tasks
Click here for more information. http://www.nwlincs.org/mtlincs/opi/esl/MT_adult_esl_conference_2009.htmHave you begun your task from the Montana ESL Conference 09?
3. Montana Distance Learning Training and Professional Development
October 16, 2009, Lincoln Center, Billings
http://www.nwlincs.org/mtlincs/opi/DL/DLTraining09.pdf
4. NIFL Website Redesigned
Check out the new NIFL website at http://www.nifl.gov/!
Have you visited the National Institute for Literacy’s Web site (http://www.nifl.gov) today? It’s been redesigned. These are some of the new features and information you’ll find: Read about Learning to Achieve, the Institute’s learning disabilities training program; scroll through the updated and revised Assessment Strategies and Reading Profiles (ASRP), a unique interactive Web site designed for adult literacy practitioners and staff developers, and policy makers; visit the new Professional Development pages; click on Applied Research and take the 1-hour self-paced online course that introduces users to information about scientific research and its relevance to educational decision making.
5. International Literacy Day
Celebrate International Literacy Day! Click here for more information. http://www.ncladvocacy.org/ild.html
6. Special Topics Discussion List
World Literacy and Nonformal Education
We will explore how to help adult literacy educators better understand the contributions of nonformal education to their work in the U.S., for example participatory learning methods, formative assessment, action/teacher research, the integration of basic skills and livelihood skills/vocational training, systems of nonformal learning for adults and out of school youth.
The Role of Counseling and Advising in Adult Basic and Secondary Education
We will look at what programs' responsibilities are for providing adult learners with advising and counseling, who should provide these services (teachers, advisors, counselors?), what the range of these services should be (academic -- work and vocational -- and citizenship advising only, or also personal and/or case management counseling?) We will look at how advising fits -- or could fit -- with volunteer work experience, internships or apprenticeships, and when learners should be referred for specialized counseling or advice.
Interested? To subscribe to this discussion, go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics/, scroll down, and follow the directions.
7. Writing: Do Students Write More?
Click here to check out the article on the literacy revolution.
Clive Thompson on the New Literacy http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-09/st_thompson
You may also want to watch a video on Youtube related to writing, The Future is Now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z65V2yKOXxM It is six minutes long - the interesting information begins at 1:24.
8. Teacher Resources
English Pronunciation
The CAELA Network just released a new brief Teaching Pronunciation to Adult English Language Learners, which reviews features of English that can have an impact on teaching and learning English pronunciation. http://www.cal.org/caelanetwork/resources/pronunciation.html
Auditory Learning: http://www.learnoutloud.com/
Click here to browse the Net's largest catalog of educational audio books, podcasts, downloads, and free audio and video.
Biographical Comic Strips: http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/How-to-Play/Educators/
Looking for a sure-fire fun activity to break the ice with your students at the beginning of the new school term and to learn more about them? Then encourage them to create a biographical comic strip about themselves and their families or one summarizing the most important things about their lives that they are proud about?
They can do so by drawing the comic strip by hand or by doing so online with the free online comic strip generator, MakeBeliefsComix.com, which was selected by Google and UNESCO as among the most innovative sites to encourage literacy and reading for students of all ages.
Norene Peterson
Adult Education Center
415 N. 30th
Billings, MT 59101
norenehp@bresnan.net