e-WAALC News is the electronic newsletter of the Western Australian Adult Literacy Council. The WAALC Executive Committee prepares and sends e-WAALC News to members five times a year. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and contributions to the newsletter.
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In
this issue of e-WAALC News
1) Lotterywest
funding for conference attendance
2) WAALC 2011 Conference dates
3) WAALC AGM
4) National Foundation Skills Strategy consultation in WA
5) WAALC membership now due!
6) ACAL Conference: Literacy on the Map: Common Visions, Different Paths
7) Skills for Prosperity – a roadmap for vocational education and training
8) Adult
Literacy and Numeracy Network update
9) Teach Me Grammar
10) $400K
Toolbox funding to support sustainability and LLN
11) Inviting new members
12) Issues? Contributions?
13) Contacts’ update
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1. Lotterywest funding
for conference attendance
Great news! Lotterywest has provided a grant to WAALC to use to support
attendance at the WAALC conference in October 2011.
If you work as a
volunteer in an adult literacy related role or work for a not for profit organization,
you are eligible to apply for free registration at this year’s WAALC
conference. Delegates from regional
areas can also apply for accommodation and travel costs. You will be responsible for the costs of your
meals and other incidental costs (apart from those offered at the conference).
Applications open
soon. Funding is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served
basis to eligible applicants. We will email details to members soon and add
further information to the WAALC website.
Please pass this on to your colleagues – you don’t need to be a member
to apply.
Note: Due to Lotterywest funding
guidelines, these scholarships are not available to people who work for
Government agencies, including State Training Providers.
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2. WAALC 2011 Conference dates
Our annual state conference was delayed
until 6, 7th October to allow for sufficient time for our funding
from Lotterywest to be widely advertised.
Why don’t you share your story at the 2011
WAALC conference? Submit your proposal
for a presentation at the conference to address the theme Foundation Skills: Literacy, language and numeracy in 2011. We are keen to receive more applications.
There will be several streams:
Call for papers now closes 5th August.
Registrations are open.
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3. WAALC AGM
The Annual General Meeting is
later than usual this year so it coincides with the conference in October. All members are urged to attend the AGM even
if you can’t make the conference.
Please think about whether you are
able to contribute as a member of the committee. The WAALC committee is a
friendly and collaborative group who meet once a month to discuss, plan and
take action on behalf of members about issues involving adult literacy and
numeracy generally. This volunteer role
offers members the opportunity to learn more about current initiatives
affecting adult education. You also can contribute in a meaningful way to
promoting a greater understanding of how literacy fits in the bigger picture.
Nomination forms will be available at the AGM on Thursday 6th October, and will also be posted to current members with the formal AGM notice during September. Otherwise, request a copy via info@waalc.org.au
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4. National Foundation
Skills Strategy consultation in WA
The consultation
in Western Australian about the draft National Foundation Skills
Strategy was strongly attended at both the face to face session and
an online web-conference based session via Elluminate. See VETinfonet
for links to the recorded web conference.
WAALC’s formal submission is available on
our website.
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5. WAALC membership now due!
Have you paid your membership yet? 2011/12 membership is due now.
Membership forms are on the website.
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6. ACAL Conference
2011: Literacy on the Map: Common Visions, Different Paths
Program
is now available for the 34th ACAL Conference in Melbourne on Tuesday 27 to
Wednesday 28 Sept 2011. The venue is
Victoria University City Flinders Campus.
There will also be a Pre-conference forum on Monday 26 September. More details at http://www.valbec.org.au/2011conf/
The Department of
Training and Workforce Development is again offering scholarships to support
attendance at this conference. See https://vetinfonet-staging.det.wa.edu.au/adultliteracy/ProfDev.aspx
for application forms. The budget is limited and applications must be
submitted by Tuesday 9th August 2011.
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7.
Launch of Skills for
Prosperity – a roadmap for vocational education and training
Skills Australia has
released a report Skills for Prosperity
– a roadmap for vocational education and training. This forms their recommendation
for the future of Vocational Educational and Training in Australia. They hope it will forge a revitalised
direction for vocational education and training as a pillar of our future
prosperity. All Australian governments, industry, training providers and other
stakeholders will use the report as a platform for the development of the
sector and as a basis for the next intergovernmental agreement.
Foundation
Skills in general and literacy in particular are a focus in the report. Read it
now at
http://www.skillsaustralia.gov.au/SkillsProsperity.shtml
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8. Adult Literacy and Numeracy
Network update
The
Department of Training and Workforce Development (DTWD) is supporting the Adult
Literacy and Numeracy Network in Western Australia by
funding 7 facilitators to spend some time regularly supporting the several
hundred members of the Network. They are
helping members negotiate the move of the repository of files to Google
Documents as well as encouraging more lively activity in Google Groups and
Elluminate sessions.
If
you haven’t been online recently now is a great time for a visit. Sign into your Google account and then click
on https://groups.google.com/group/CGEA-Network?hl=en If you aren’t yet a
member, ask a colleague who is to invite you.
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9. Teach Me Grammar
Geoff Pearson
from Agenda Communication is developing a new professional learning program.
The Department of Training and Workforce Development is funding an
Action-Learning Professional Development program - the Teach Me Grammar Project
- running from July to November this year in Perth for a group of 12-15
language and literacy teachers of adults - CaLD
learners, Indigenous learners, Deaf learners, native-English-speaking learners
etc. It is designed to explore the best ways to teach English grammar and sentence
structure to adult learners of English.
The ultimate goal is to develop a future professional development
program through which language and literacy teachers of adults can learn the
fundamental concepts of grammar themselves and learn how to teach this.
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10. $400K Toolbox funding to
support sustainability and LLN
With $400,000 of funding and support from the Australian
Flexible Learning Framework, registered training organisations
will develop five new Flexible Learning Toolboxes to support training in
sustainable workplace practices and language, literacy and numeracy
(LLN).
Three of the new Toolboxes will be focused on language,
literacy and numeracy:
For more information:
Website: http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/content/400k-toolbox-funding-support-sustainability-and-lln
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11. Inviting new members
Who do you know that might be interested in WAALC activities? Forward this newsletter to colleagues who you think should be a member of WAALC. Or perhaps invite a prospective member to attend events like our conference and AGM to meet other members. We encourage all adult literacy and numeracy practitioners in WA to join WAALC now and be part of the renewed national action to have literacy embedded in adult learning at all levels.
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12. Issues? Contributions?
WAALC
seeks to represent all adult educators who deliver adult literacy and numeracy
programs in Western Australia. Let us know if there are issues that you think
WAALC should take action on, or news to include in future newsletters.
Vacancies, projects, new resources for sale or requests for input into decision
making are all sought.
We would like to profile the work of members in each issue. If you are willing to write a short article telling us a little about an interesting element of your adult literacy role, please let us know.
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13. ‘Contacts’ update
Let us know if your address changes. If you don't want to receive this newsletter or wish to suspend it while you are away on leave, please email the WAALC secretary at info@waalc.org.au
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e-WAALC News is the monthly electronic newsletter of (WAALC) the Western Australian Adult Literacy Council.
Web: www.waalc.org.au
E-mail: info@waalc.org.au
Postal: WAALC, PO Box 313, Northbridge Post Shop WA 6865