ACAL eNews April 2014

Please take the opportunity to nominate someone for the Excellence in Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Award. This is an important way to recognise and build awareness of the professionalism and expertise of people in our field.

Jenni Anderson, ACAL President

Are you overdue?

ACAL membership is now due. Thanks to those who have renewed.

Missed it? Got buried in yesterday's tasks?

Ask us for an other invoice

Professional development

1. An Update re Foundation Skills

Activities for the 2013 project have been completed and a number of updates have been posted on the project web page
Further reports and resources will be added to this page very soon, including the report from the Scoping of Professional Standards and resources produced through the State-managed workforce development projects

2. 2014 ACAL Conference

Call for presentations

You are invited to give a 45 minute paper presentation, or a 1.5 hour colloquium, in which a group of presenters will give a series of papers on a theme, or a 1.5 hour hands-on workshop.

Pre-conference forum

Prior to the 2014 ACAL Conference, QCAL will be hosting a Pre-conference Forum titled 'Frameworks: do they inhibit or enhance the literacy spiral? Thursday 2nd October 2014, 12.00 - 5.15pm, Crowne Plaza, Surfers Paradise.

In view of the confusion around what constitute Foundation Skills, the Australian Core Skills Framework, Core Skills for Work, Core Skills for Employment & Training, and Skill Sets, we will be discussing the frameworks, their purpose, the place of ALN and the individual learner within them. More information will be available soon on the conference website.

3. ACER National Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference, May 2014

ACER's two-day LLN Conference in Melbourne gives you the opportunity to network and share your ideas with colleagues—this has been one of the very strong and positive messages from feedback from the first two ACER conferences. There will be sessions from community providers, small enterprises, private RTOs, TAFE Institutes, WELL programs, and from both school based and non-school based youth programs. There will be presenters from remote Indigenous programs, regional centres and metropolitan programs.

4. Master of Education (International) at Charles Darwin University

Our one year full time Master of Education (International) will help you shift your influence and ideas into the institutional realm. The course combines ideas of global learning with hands-on opportunities in four areas: identity, language and culture; sustainability and wellbeing; digital futures; knowledge and science. More email masterofeducation@cdu.edu.au

5. Foundation Skills Assessment Tool (FSAT)

The Department of Industry has contracted the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to develop a free online Foundation Skills Assessment Tool (FSAT) to identify and assess an individual's foundation skill levels. ACER is interested in hearing from interested LLN, VET and employment services providers to be in trials in order to provide feedback about the assessment system being developed.

6. Australian Training Awards

The Australian Training Awards are the peak, national awards for the vocational education and training (VET) sector, recognising individuals, businesses and registered training organisations for their contribution to skilling Australia.

Applicants may have the opportunity to reach the national stage in November this year and gain Australia-wide recognition for their work.

There are 18 awards, including seven ‘direct-entry’ awards:

Individual

National Leadership Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice Award

Business

Disability Training Initiative Award
Australian Apprenticeships – Employer Award

Registered training organisation

School Pathways to VET Award
International Training Provider of the Year Award

Applications for the above direct entry categories close on Friday 30 May 2013.

7. National Youth Week and the 2014 Youth Survey

It's National Youth Week and the Mission Australia 2014 Youth Survey is now open! Each year the results from our Youth Survey go on to inform the agendas of governments, policy makers and community organisations, providing them with valuable insight into the minds of young Australians.

In 2014 the survey seeks to investigate issues of social inclusion and exclusion from the perspective of young people aged 15 to 19 years, with new focus questions that hone in on key issues such as employment and housing.

8. Northern Territory

Aboriginal literacy and the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages

Monday 14th April 5:15-6:15 pm

Northern Territory Library, Parliament House, Darwin

Presenter: Dr Brian Devlin, Assoc. Prof Bilingual Education, School of Education, CDU

NT Council for Adult Literacy (NTCAL) invites you to participate in 'Aboriginal literacy and the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages'. This is the first of four events NTCAL is planning for 2014.

The 'Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages' contains thousands of books in over 25 Australian Aboriginal languages from over 20 communities in the Northern Territory. These books include traditional stories, language instruction, histories, songs, experience stories and ethno-scientific texts. Dr Brian Devlin, one of the Chief Investigators on the project, will show how to access these resources and share ideas about the ways in which these resources can be used to support English language and literacy learning.

This session follows the official launch of the 'Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages' by Dr Tom Calma and Professor Michael Christie on Monday 7th April at the Northern Territory Library.

Access the archive at www.cdu.edu.au/laal

Read more information about the project at www.cdu.edu.au/enews/stories/ARC_funding

Event details contact NTCAL alison.reedy@cdu.edu.au

9. Queensland

Ministerial response

QCAL has received a response to its letter to the state Minister for Education & Training which states that while the government no longer supports stand-alone community literacy programs, disadvantaged Queenslanders can access foundation skills via the Community Learning Program.

Gold Coast library literacy program

The Gold Coast Library is starting a volunteer literacy program in collaboration with Gold Coast Institute of Technology.

QCAL on state library reference group

QCAL is on the reference group for the State Library of Queensland 'Libraries for Literacy Framework' review.

10. Victoria

2014 VALBEC Annual Conference 'and the learning goes on'

May 16, registrations in full swing.

Program and registration

Joint forum with ALA - 'From LLN to Foundation Skills'

Held on Friday 28 March, the forum was a great success.

See the presentations