e-WAALC NEWS March 2007
e-WAALC News is the electronic newsletter of the
Western Australian Adult Literacy Council.
WELCOME
The WAALC Excessive Committee prepares and
sends e-WAALC News to members four or five times year. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and
contributions to the newsletter.
This newsletter is also available in the
‘News’ section of our web site http://www.waalc.com.au
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IN THIS ISSUE OF e-WAALC News:
1)
Welcome to 2007
2)
General meeting
to amend constitution
3)
2007 ACAL
conference
4)
WAALC
conference - Expanding Literacy: exploring outcomes, content and practice in
2007
5)
WELL funding
released
6)
Literacy Live
Online Forum
7)
Discussion
paper - Community Education and National Reform
8)
New members?
9)
‘Contacts’ update
10) Unsubscribe?
11)
Issues?
Contributions?
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1. Welcome to 2007
Hello Everybody,
And may I take this opportunity to welcome you all to 2007. So what does 2007 have in store for us?
We’ve been looking at ways to be more proactive in the Adult
Literacy and Numeracy field. On WAALC’s
agenda for 2007:
If you are interested in the working conditions in our field, I
suggest you read Gavin Moodie’s article in Literacy Link, Balance of Power: Commonwealth and States ownership of VET, where
he extrapolates possibilities for adult literacy while analyzing the new IR laws.
Our Conference in July – Expanding
Literacies, promises to be exciting and challenging to those of us working
in the field. Look out for the Call for
Papers which will be out soon.
Project ideas for funding from the Lotteries Commission might also
hold some exciting and challenging times ahead.
If any of these ideas or projects interest you in any way, we
would love to see you at the General Meeting n
Again, welcome to the challenges in 2007.
Chairperson, WAALC
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2. General
meeting to amend constitution
Members will already have received an
invitation to the General Meeting and details of the amendments to be
considered (See document attached). The
business of the meeting includes:
·
Three changes
proposed to the constitution (the wording of the section about what payments
can be made, removal of the requirement to audit financial records and the
specification of who can be signatories to Council accounts).
·
A proposal for
WAALC to establish a policy on minimum working conditions in adult literacy
workplaces.
·
Planning for
the annual conference.
Time:
Location: Manners
Training Restaurant,
RSVP to Robyn Rennie by close of business
Monday 5th March by email to rrennie@centacarewa.com.au or phone 0431 937 954 and leave a
message.
Members are welcome to bring along guests
but of course you must be a current member to vote.
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3. ACAL
Conference in
We will need to plan ahead
a little more this year to attend
the ACAL conference as it will be in
The Conference is being co-hosted by
Workbase, NZ in collaboration with Literacy Aotearoa and the National
Association of ESOL Home Tutors. Keep an
eye on the ACAL website http://www.acal.edu.au for links to the conference organiser. A call for presentations and workshops will
be made soon along with details for early bird registrations.
More details are available through phoning
Workbase on 0011+64+9 3613800 or email admin@workbase.org.nz
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4. WAALC
conference - Expanding Literacy:
exploring outcomes, content and practice in 2007
The theme of our annual conference will be
'Expanding Literacy: exploring outcomes,
content and practice in 2007’. The aim is to review, discuss and critique
current developments in the field of Adult Basic Education (ABE) and their
impact on students, teachers and the general community.
The conference will be in
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5. WELL
funding released
The federal government recently released
the news that $74.9 million of funds have been allocated to the Workplace
English Language and Literacy (WELL) program for the next four years. This is good news and we look forward to more
employers taking up the option of having LLN provision on site targeting
workplace needs.
The WELL national resource projects are
currently advertised. If you know an industry or workplace that has a need for LLN
resources look into this.
Resource funding is available for:
·
training
materials designed to enhance language, literacy and numeracy skills that are
aligned with endorsed training packages;
·
industry
relevant language, literacy and numeracy assessment and reporting methods;
·
professional development
resources for industry trainers and/or assessors aligned with training
packages.
Funding is also available for projects
that have national scope and involve strategic activities to support ongoing
and cost effective workplace English language, literacy and numeracy training
across one or more industry sectors. Priority
areas include:
·
development of
a national language, literacy and numeracy plan for a particular industry;
·
implementation
of strategies to encourage and/or support workplace language, literacy and
numeracy training across a whole industry sector;
·
development and
trialling of nationally applicable models and strategies to integrate language,
literacy and numeracy in workplace training consistent with the Australian
Quality Training Framework, preferably with a cross-industry focus.
The following groups may apply for
funding:
·
registered
training organisations;
·
representative
bodies (industry skills councils, employer organisations and trade unions);
·
incorporated
bodies;
·
Australian
government agencies and state and territory government departments and
agencies.
Applications for resource and strategic
projects are only considered for funding once a year. Applications close on 28 March 2007.
For more information contact the Workplace
English Language and Literacy program hotline on 02 6240 7333 or visit www.dest.gov.au/well
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6. Literacy Live Online Forums
Five Western Australians attended the first ACAL Online Forum in
Literacy Live (more than any other state).
Session 2: New learning technologies: what are they and how do I
use them in the virtual and face-to-face classroom? March 15
at 6.00 AWDST. While the event is free,
registration is required at acal@pacific.edu.au
4 hours prior to the start.
Michael Coghlan will introduce
participants to the world of virtual classrooms and demonstrate the kinds of
activities that are possible in these learning environments. There will be
opportunity for discussion on how to effectively employ virtual classrooms in
your teaching and professional life. A range of expert practitioners will share
with participants will introduce participants to the world of new learning
technologies and demonstrate the kinds of activities that are possible in these
learning environments. Guest speakers will demonstrate a range of activities
and resources that are available for use in online learning environments. There
will be opportunity for discussion on how to effectively employ these new
learning technologies in your teaching and professional life.
This is the 2nd of 6 professional development forums in a virtual
classroom space. This virtual classroom
space is a great mechanism for communicating with other practitioners around
The 3rd Literacy Live Forums are April 18: What do teachers need to know to teach technology? (time tbc). More details will be able from the ACAL web
site at http://www.acal.edu.au/
Make sure you have the Literacy Live software downloaded at both
home and work as the April forum will be during the day to allow for a guest
from the
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7. Discussion
paper – Community Education and National reform
DEST has released a discussion paper
entitled ‘Community Education and National Reform’. It can be downloaded from the DEST website http://www.dest.gov.au The paper suggest major changes to the way
literacy and other entry level courses in VET will be funded and supported in
the future. Members should take the time to look at the proposals.
Adult Learning Australia (ALA) has
published a response to the paper on their website http://www.ala.asn.au/report/Bardon_response_v4.pdf there is also a brief overview of the
discussion paper in the January edition of Literacy Link (see the ACAL website http://www.acal.edu.au then ‘Publications’).
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8. ‘Contacts’
update
Let us know if your address changes
through one of the contact methods listed below.
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9.
Unsubscribe?
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, Robyn Rennie [robyn.rennie@optusnet.com.au]. Back issues will be available on the WAALC website for you to catch up when
you return.
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10. New
members?
Who do you know that should be a WAALC
member? You are welcome to
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 end of year dinner to meet other members.
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11. Issues?
Contributions?
WAALC seeks to represent all adult
educators who deliver adult literacy and numeracy programs in
Contributions to this newsletter are very
welcome. Good news, bad news, whatever
you think others might want to know, send it in!
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e-WAALC News is the monthly electronic newsletter of (WAALC) the Western Australian
Adult Literacy Council.
Web: www.waalc.com.au
Postal: Attention Robyn Rennie
WAALC
Unit 3
E-mail: Robyn
Rennie robyn.rennie@optusnet.com.au
Phone :
08) 9482 7031 (
Fax: (08) 9322 2448