National Adult Literacy Database

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Research Materials

In this 30-minute video, Dr. Paul Cappon, president and CEO of the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), presents the keynote address to the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre’s (AdLKC’s) fourth and final annual symposium, held in Montreal, Quebec, in June 2009.

Dr. Cappon notes that society puts great value on uncovering the origins of both chronic and transmissible diseases because evidence is key to understanding and, eventually, controlling disease. He argues that learning is just as important as healthcare to the destiny of society, but the importance of research in education isn’t as clearly recognized.

He urges governments to acknowledge that human infrastructure is a public good every bit as important as machines and buildings. He also encourages them to invest in tools to help Canadians assess themselves; promote partnerships with industry to improve workplace education and training; commit to clear, shared goals; and support mobility for students and professions.

A learning culture is important no matter what economic conditions prevail at any given time, he says. Knowing how to learn is the quintessential skill in a knowledge society.

During his presentation, Dr. Cappon switches back and forth between English and French. No subtitles are provided.

Added: 2011-09-23

View complete record details...

See also:

• Colloque annuel de 2009 CSAAd : Conférencier principal – Paul Cappon [Vidéo - 29:53]

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Research Materials

This document offers an account of the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre’s (AdLKC’s) fourth and final annual symposium, held in Montreal, Quebec, in June 2009.

The authors have provided summaries of 20 presentations that were offered in five concurrent sessions, focusing on such issues as non-formal adult learner programming at post-secondary institutions; adult learning in criminal justice settings; ethical issues in community-based research; and health and learning.

They have also summarized the discussions presented during three plenary sessions, which focused on equitable access to learning; learning strategies for a troubled economy; and the future of adult learning in Canada.

The authors have also included a list of symposium participants.

Added: 2011-05-24

View complete record details...

See also:

• Colloque de 2009 du CSAAd : Relier les collectivités et surmonter les obstacles

Series: Adult Learning Video Series

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Learning Materials

This video, about four minutes in length, is part of a series prepared by the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre of the Canadian Council on Learning.

The video focuses on a fishing village in the Magdalen Islands area of Quebec. Several fishers talk about the growing need for vocational training and upgrading in the fishing industry as equipment becomes more sophisticated and regulations more complicated.

The video also features a teacher talking about ways to help dropouts continue their high school education and continue on in a vocational program leading to a diploma in fishing.

The video is in French, with English subtitles.

Added: 2011-04-20

View complete record details...

See also:

• L'éducation des adultes dans le secteur de la pêche [Vidéo - 3:48]

Series: Adult Learning Video Series

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Learning Materials

This video, about three and a half minutes in length, focuses on a program that combines writing with reading to help both parents and young children advance their literacy skills.

The “Picture It, Publish It, Read It” program was developed by professors at Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova Scotia and was piloted with a parents’ group in Yarmouth, in the southwest region of that province.

The program builds on the parents’ existing knowledge of the importance of reading to their children by showing how writing fits into overall literacy. Children in the program were given cameras to take photos in their neighbourhood, then used the pictures they had taken to make books about their interests.

The program helps parents gain confidence in their ability to support their children’s learning as they begin school.

The video was prepared by the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC).

Added: 2011-05-27

View complete record details...

See also:

• L'alphabétisation des adultes par le biais d'ateliers familiaux [Vidéo - 3:27]

Series: Adult Learning Video Series

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Learning Materials

This brief video focuses on Canada-wide efforts to ensure the quality of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) in the university setting.

The video includes interviews with some of the people involved in bringing together university representatives to discuss their concerns about PLAR and how to make sure that it is an academically reliable, rigorous process.

The video also includes an interview with a woman who explains how the credits she earned through PLAR helped her finish her university degree when she was tempted to quit.

The video, about three and a half minutes in length, was prepared by the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC).

Added: 2011-06-03

View complete record details...

See also:

• Les bienfaits de l'ERA dans les universités canadiennes [Vidéo - 3:24]

Series: Adult Learning Video Series

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Learning Materials

This video, part of a series prepared by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), focuses on a Montreal literacy group that uses theatre both to help people with low literacy skills express themselves and to raise awareness of the barriers and prejudices they face.

The video features the program facilitator and one of the participants, a middle-aged man who suffers from schizophrenia and cannot read and write, but who has a great talent for improvisation. In a subway station, they perform a skit that shows how someone with low literacy skills does not receive the same level of service as other customers.

The video, about three minutes in length, is in French with English subtitles.

Added: 2011-05-20

View complete record details...

See also:

• Combattre les préjugés quant à l'alphabétisation grâce au théâtre [Vidéo - 3:23]

Series: Adult Learning Video Series

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Learning Materials

This video, part of a series produced by the Canadian Council on Learning, focuses on a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) program undertaken in Newfoundland.

The program coordinators explain how PLAR can be used to help adults who have little education and work experience build up a portfolio that will allow them to seek out more opportunities in the future. Program participants are encouraged to reflect on their lives and recognize the learning they have gathered through life experiences, including formal education, jobs, hobbies, and other activities.

The video, which is about four minutes long, is in English and is not subtitled.

Added: 2011-05-13

View complete record details...

See also:

• ERA - S'impliquer pour réduire la pauvreté [Vidéo - 3:49]

A Pan-Canadian Invitational Roundtable February 4 and 5 2008 Ottawa, Ontario

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC), Work and Learning Knowledge Centre

Collection: Research Materials

This report contains the highlights and key findings of a two-day bilingual roundtable discussion on how to achieve improvements in the area of literacy, held in Ottawa in February, 2008. The roundtable brought together more than 80 policy-makers, researchers, and representatives from the literacy movement, community-based organizations, business, and labour.

The event was convened by the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre and the Work and Learning Knowledge Centre, both initiatives of the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), which has identified literacy as a theme cutting across the entire scope of its activities. CCL’s 2007 State of Learning Report, available at http://library.nald.ca/item/8736, states that improving Canada’s adult literacy levels is everybody’s business.

The authors note that the “tipping point” motif was used to describe the current situation, in which the literacy issue is on the brink of change. Starting with the premise that improving Canada’s literacy record is a shared responsibility, the participants focused on developing ideas to inform diverse sectors, encourage tangible actions, and achieve progress. The emphasis was on reviewing the current state of literacy in Canada and on identifying effective actions.

Added: 2009-06-01

View complete record details...

See also:

• Alphabétisation et littératie : vers le « point tournant »

Community Outreach Initiative: Learners with Disabilities Outreach Report

Series: Community Outreach Initiative Reports

Authors: Stephanie MacLean, Craig MacKinnon, Lois Miller, Independent Living Resource Centre, Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Research Materials

This document is the result of consultations carried out in Atlantic Canada during the first half of 2008 by the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC). The consultations sought advice from five communities – people with disabilities, Aboriginal, African-Canadian, Francophone and immigrants – about the problems they faced and the potential solutions they envisioned.

The report was researched and written by the Independent Living Resource Centre in Halifax, which made arrangements with four sister groups to hold meetings of adult learners with disabilities in their local communities. About 250 people with disabilities – physical, mental, intellectual or learning – took part in the meetings.

Participants cited accessibility, financial issues, and attitudes as barriers to learning. Their recommendations included secure funding so that persons with disabilities can be lifelong learners; the provision of accessible transportation and accessible buildings; providing alternative formats for learning and testing materials; the creation of peer support networks and services for adult learners with disabilities; and the establishment of disability-awareness training for educators.

The report also includes appendices listing the survey questions and providing individual reports from participating communities.

Funders:

• Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)

Added: 2010-04-20

View complete record details...

Series: Adult Learning Video Series

Authors: Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (AdLKC)

Collection: Learning Materials

This video, one of a series produced by the Canadian Council on Learning, focuses on the importance of seniors staying active physically, mentally and socially.

The video, about nine minutes long, includes some people who speak in French and others who speak in English. In each case, subtitles are provided.

The seniors featured in the video talk about the ways they stay active, including taking courses; joining exercise groups; and getting together with friends. The video also includes a discussion of the importance of physical fitness in maintaining brain function throughout the lifespan.

Added: 2011-05-06

View complete record details...

See also:

• L'apprentissage chez les aînés [Vidéo - 8:55]