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Welcome Back!

We hope you had a relaxing summer and are gearing up for the new year. Things are busy at the NWT Literacy Council so here's an update on upcoming events, training, and resources.

NWT Literacy Week: September 27 - October 2nd

NWT Literacy Week is fast approaching! How are you planning to celebrate NWT Literacy Week in your community? If you are looking for ideas, watch your mail for your Literacy Week package, which includes three new How To Kits ("Get Caught Reading" and other promotional activities; Readers Theatre; Making Talking Books). You can also download these new How To Kits from our website at www.nwt.literacy.ca.

Family Literacy Training Institute

The NWT Literacy Council is presenting its 8th Family Literacy Training Institute in Yellowknife, November 29th – December 3rd, 2004. This training institute is for people who may have missed the previous institutes or are new to their jobs or their community. The Family Literacy Training Institute will be of interest to anyone working with families, adult learners and/or children.

The workshop is free! However, if you are traveling to Yellowknife, you will be responsible for travel, accommodations and per diems. Click on the link (http://www.nwt.literacy.ca/workshop/nov2004.pdf) to download more information and the registration form.

New Toll Free Number

You can now call the NWT Literacy Council free of charge using our new toll free number - 1-866-599-6758.

Resource Library Catalogue Now Online

The NWT Literacy Council Resource Library catalogue is now online at www.nwt.literacy.ca/catalogue. We have more than 1,500 items, including books, kits, videos and software. Resources are still being catalogued so be sure to check back regularly. You can browse the catalogue online and request resources by phone, fax, or email. You must be a NWT Literacy Council member to borrow resources.

Parent/Child Activities for September

Check out the Parent/Child Activities for September at the Peel District School Board's website. It has new parent/child activities for all ages: preschool, elementary, middle and secondary school children. http://www.peel.edu.on.ca/parents/activities/act.htm.

  The Northern Edge

The fourth edition of The Northern Edge is now online at www.nwt.literacy.ca. The Northern Edge is an interactive online newspaper that has articles and online language quizzes written at a level and in a style that is accessible to a range of learners. Topics in the new issue include:

• Dettah Language Centre – Yamoozha Legend with Mary Rose Sundberg
• Learning in Action – with Grade 9 English class at St. Patrick’s High School
• Voices From Rae-Edzo – by adult learners
• Multiple Intelligences online quiz
• Bathurst Caribou

Community-Created Adult Literacy Resources

Check out the community-created literacy activities online. You can download and use these community-created resources. If you have a resource you'd like to share with others, we'd be happy to add it to our website http://www.nwt.literacy.ca/adultlit/adultlit.htm.

Evaluated free and low-cost educational software online

It is now easier for adult literacy instructors to find suitable and affordable educational software for learners to use, thanks to a project coordinated by the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and funded by the Office of Learning Technologies. Evaluations of 107 pieces of educational freeware and shareware have been posted online, and the programs are also categorized and available for download.

Rather than having to search for programs on the Internet, download them to see if they’ll run on the computers available in the classroom, and then test them to see if they’re suitable for the students, instructors can now find all of this information, plus the programs themselves, on the NALD website. This represents a valuable resource, as these programs are peer-reviewed, cover a range of skill levels plus ESL, teach such subjects as math, reading, spelling, vocabulary and typing, and are available for Mac, DOS, Win 3.1, and Win 95+.

The complete list of evaluated programs is available in alphabetical order at: www.nald.ca/software/software_list.asp. This list can also be sorted by content, by operating system, and by skill level.

Conferences

Staying the Course - Literacy and Health in the First Decade

October 17 - 19, 2004
Ottawa, ON

This conference is sponsored by the Canadian Public Health Association and will provide:

• A national forum to discuss what is being done to improve the health of Canadians with low literacy
• An opportunity to:
  • Build new partnerships in literacy and health
  • Share knowledge, skills and practical tools
  • Identify future actions for all participants, in practice, policy and research

Conference Themes:

• Building Best Practices in Literacy and Health
• Focusing on Language and Culture
• Building Knowledge in Literacy and Health
• Building Healthy Public Policy

For more information, check out the conference website at www.cpha.ca/literacyandhealth.

Improving Reading - an innovative approach based on document design

October 20 - 22, 2004
Sponsored by the Centre for Literacy, Montreal, Quebec
For more information, go to www.nald.ca/PROVINCE/QUE/litcent/whatsnew/mosen3.pdf

Websites

National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) is a federally funded research and development center focused solely on adult learning. A partnership of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, World Education, Rutgers University, Portland State University in Oregon, and the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, NCSALL works on improving practice in educational programs that serve adults with limited literacy and English language skills, and those without a high school diploma. All of the materials can be downloaded free from NCSALL's Web site at: http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu.