2021 Conference
2021 ACAL Conference
‘A stretched virtual conference’
In 2021 ACAL are approaching the annual conference in an innovative way due to the uncertainty posed by the ongoing world-wide pandemic and the subsequent uncertainty around border closures and travel.
To thank ACAL members for their ongoing support, and to provide a range of accessible professional development opportunities ACAL is presenting a ‘stretched virtual conference’. Throughout the year members are being given opportunities to engage with discursive spaces via webinars and recorded sessions. The ongoing conference lets financial members join in at their convenience and at no cost.
Events will be added throughout the year.
5 minutes on …
Social Practice View of Adult Literacy with Pamela Osmond
5 minutes on student-centred learning
To celebrate Adult Learners Week, ACAL invites you to reconsider the value of student-centred learning.
Thank you to Pam Osmond for spending 5 minutes to describe student-centred learning and share the benefits of this approach.
5 minutes on Coping Strategies with Linno Rhodes
How do you facilitate adult LN learners to rewrite their relationship with education? In this 5 minute video Linno Rhodes explains how to recognise and understand coping strategies adults bring to the LN learning experience.
The benefits of longitudinal studies and consistent data for prisoner education in Australia – Ron Wilson
5 minutes on…Longitudinal studies overseas resulted in an understanding of the relationship between positive prisoner education programs and a productive life post-release.
Reading with rhythm – Adam Nobilia
In this 5 minute presentation Adam Nobilia shares a pre-reading strategy he has successfully used to teach reading fluency.
Whole language – what’s all the fuss about
5 minutes on student-centred learning
To celebrate Adult Learners Week, ACAL invites you to reconsider the value of student-centred learning.
Thank you to Pam Osmond for spending 5 minutes to describe student-centred learning and share the benefits of this approach.
Student centred-learning with Pamela Osmond
5 minutes on student-centred learning
To celebrate Adult Learners Week, ACAL invites you to reconsider the value of student-centred learning.
Thank you to Pam Osmond for spending 5 minutes to describe student-centred learning and share the benefits of this approach.
Interviews
Something to say
Lessons learned, lessons ahead
Conversations with adult literacy stakeholders
Initially the interviews will be released to members. At a later date they may be made more widely available.
It is our intention to capture the voices of literacy stakeholders across Australia to open what Pam Osmond so insightfully refers to in her interview as discursive spaces.
Interview – Beth Marr
Interview link available to members here “It’s really hard to change your practice -…but you’ve got to be brave…we do need to be brave”. Beth Marr is a numeracy icon and author of a range of practical books based on research. These books have informed numeracy...

Interview – Don MacDowall
This week we are pleased to bring you another interview in our Something to say: Lessons learned, lessons ahead. Series. Interview with Don MacDowall, recently retired ACAL admin person With a nod to John Clarke and Brian Dawe, Don talks to ‘Barryy Cassidy’ about how...

Interview – Sue Costello
Interview link available to members here If you’re interested in adult literacy and numeracy and you don’t live in Tasmania get ready to feel both inspired and incredibly jealous. Sue Costello (26ten Manager) explains how 26ten came about, how it works, and where it’s...

Interview – Dave Tout
Interview link available to members here Literacy + language + mathematics = numeracy There is enough evidence that numeracy needs to stand out in LLN in its own right ... research shows that low numeracy can have a more powerful effect in a range of areas than...

Interview – Mary Wallace
Interview link available to members here How do you start your career as a bilingual engineer and end up as director of one of Australia’s most prominent and well-known literacy RTOs and audit bodies? In this interview Mary Wallace shares her surprising pathway into...

Interview – Philippa McLean
Interview link available to members here "I don't feel sorry for learners - I am genuinely interested in them and I believe they absolutely have the right to literacy and numeracy, and to good quality literacy and numeracy" This week I had the pleasure of chatting to...

Interview – Lorraine Sushames
Interview link available to members here “Perhaps people outside our field don’t recognize how pivotal it is” surmises Lorraine Sushames, ACAL treasurer and an expert on adult literacy in the NT, when asked why reports such as ‘Closing the Gap’ still don’t focus on...

Interview – Vanessa Iles
Interview link available to members here In this interview I talk to Vanessa Iles, Manager of the Reading Writing Hotline. Vanessa takes us behind the scenes of the Reading Writing Hotline, describing their work and sharing some of the insights they have gained into...

Interview – Pamela Osmond
Interview link available to members here This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Pam Osmond about her new internationally published book 'Developing Social Equity in Australian Adult Education, Lessons from the Past.' This is the first in a series of short online...
Webinars

WEBINAR: 2023 ACAL AGM Executive report
ACAL AGM Executive report
Presented by Jo Medlin, President
Date: Wednesday 18th October, 2023
Some reflections from 2023

WEBINAR: 2023 Arch Nelson presented by Dave Tout
‘Some reflections and connections: growth and support needed for a critical and dynamic adult literacy and numeracy sector’
Presented by Dave Tout, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Council for Educational Research, education consultant
Date: 7th September at the 2023 ACAL conference

WEBINAR: ISO’s plain language standard — A tool for us all with Christopher Balmford
ACAL Webinar: ISO’s plain language standard — A tool for us all with Christopher Balmford
Watch the recording and access bonus resources.

WEBINAR: Arch Nelson Address 2022 Women’s Education – making a difference
Presenter: Caralyn Lammas. I will address this topic from three perspectives. Firstly, I will share what it means to me to be an educator of women. I will then discuss the background, purpose and scope of the TAFE SA Women’s Education program,

WEBINAR: AMEP Virtual Roadshow – showcasing 3 new resources with LWA
In this webinar, LWA will showcase a suite of newly developed resources, funded by the Department of Home Affairs and aligned to the EAL Framework.
Watch the recording and access bonus resources.

WEBINAR: Journeying through VET – a case study of foundation skills learners
Presenters: Michelle Circelli and Zhenyuan Li
Foundation skills – language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills along with employability skills – are the cornerstone of success in work, education and community life. Vocational education and training (VET) is one of the ways for individuals to build foundation skills.
Our research explored the characteristics of foundation skills learners, their learning pathways, as well as their future study and employment outcomes.

WEBINAR: The why, what, and how of Aotearoa NZ LLN Professionals Community of Practice
In this webinar, Annette Tofaeono, Dr. Lilia Sevillano & Vicky Beckwith will talk about why they are involved, what they do and what it means to them, and how they engage with it and integrate it into their work.

WEBINAR: How Universal Design Principles Inform My LLN Teaching Practices
In this webinar, Dean Champ is going to explore how the 7 principles of universal design inform the preparation, content writing, physical learning environment, class structure and delivery of LLN content to his student cohort.

Organisational health literacy: Assess yourself using the HeLLOTas Toolkit with Chris Sierzant
Language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) are fundamental to everyday health literacy practises. For teachers of adults, unpacking health information is a common theme and an authentic context in which LLN is often taught and learned,

Sharing advocacy and asking for your feedback with Jo Medlin
Sharing advocacy and asking for your feedback with Jo Medlin
This webinar is a presentation made on behalf of ACAL to the National Medicines Symposium, 30th May 2022.