Literacies has
supported a range of
oral history projects.
The projects document
lives lived in literacy—people
who contributed to
the field but whose
contributions are largely
undocumented. We want
to produce video, audio
and print documentation
that can be used on
the web site, in the
journal, to create
a CD-ROM and, eventually,
as part of a book.
Under the current grant, Literacies is
not funded for oral history
projects but we will
be seeking other funding
for this imortant work.
Click on the Oral
History tab
or the links below
to see the projects.
Learners
in Action:
how learners
worked on the Canada
Literacy Act
Labour
of Love: how the
labour movement,
industry and literacy
worked together in
British Columbia
Culture,
Literacy and Health:
how health care workers
and educators in Sheshatshiu
work across cultures
and linguistic traditions
We
are also collecting
a series of stories
called Crazy
Wisdom Stories (click
on the crazy wisdom
tab).The term crazy
wisdom comes from
Tibet via an essay
by Tom Robbins in Harper’s,
September 2004.
We use it to refer
to the intuitive, authentic,
vernacular (home-grown)
innovations and practices
of literacy workers
as they break away
from conventionsto
reap exciting learning
rewards for themselves
and the learners with
whom they work.
"We
need to express our
hard-earned understandings
so that we can dialogue
with policy-makers
and theorists, build
community and thrive…We
can better support
our learners and ourselves
if we use our own literacy
abilities to shape
this work that we love." — Sheila
Stewart
In order to meet the
objective of encouraging
and supporting writers
from a diversity of experiences
and backgrounds and cultivating
writership among literacy
and adult education workers, Literacies has
supported
projects to
animate writing from
literacy practitioners.
Animation includes workshops,
working with project
developers to include
animation as part of
their projects, and working
with authors and artists,
as individuals and collectives,
to create content for Literacies and
spread the word about their
work, knowledge and understanding.
What we hear from practitioner-authors
is that the biggest barrier
to participating in Literacies is
time. We needs to support
these writers in a way
that alleviates that pressure...and
of course, one of those
ways is with money.
Under the current grant,
Literacies is
not funded for writer
animation projects but
we will be seeking other
funding for this imortant
work.
Click on the links below
to see the results of some
of our animation projects:
Writer
Animation Workshop
Series
To
see an example of
the work produced
at one such workshop,
click here .
(Or click on the
Crazy Wisdom tab
and choose Nova Scotia.)
The
following are articles
created through
the writer animation
project.
Reflections
on a Research and Practice
Gathering
Summer
of Hope
A
Note from the North
A
Conversation from Parkdale
Project Read
Rethinking
Assessment
Skunk
Girl Goes to School
Collaborating
to do Research
Research
and Practice on Two
Sides of the Atlantic
The web site receives
an average of 1,000 hits
per month. Our first
web forum attracted
over sixty participants
and the numbers continue
to grow with each session.
The forum participants
use articles posted on
the web site to inform
the discussion. The web
forum discussion is facilitated
by people with a background
of research and practice
in the topic. The forum
is technically supported
(lists, archives, outreach,
collection and posting
of resources) by the staff
at Literacies and
the National Adult Literacy
Database.
Our survey of forum participants
told us that they:
are committed to
professional development;
see the value of
research in practice;
see the value of
online communication;
and
use internet as professional
development resource.
Eighty-five percent of
those surveyed said that Literacies and
the web forum helps them
to meet their professional
development goals, and
here is how:
I
would not have been
able to participate
in this level of dialogue
in any other forum
I can think of. Even
at conferences, time
runs out as you get
in the meat of things.
I like being able to
ruminate over the ideas
and not HAVE to respond.
It continued and
deepened the level
of understanding of
the issue.
I appreciated hearing
analyses from people
who I think are well
informed and capable
of analyzing and
using data.
By
putting me in touch
with others working
in the field. By
allowing me to know
what others are doing.
And here is what they
said about participating
in the forum:
The
great job the facilitators
did in summarizing
key concepts. I
will return to those
archives if needed.
The number of active
diverse participants
who thoughtfully
took time to share
on line.
Opportunity to hear
different points
of view that must be
considered. The contributions
were very thought provoking
and enormously useful.
Confirmation that
the issues are complex,
there is no one solution
and that there are
many committed and
passionate people out
there! Richard Mille RM 011 Replica
As the content of the
web site grows, we must
create, develop and maintain
the databases that make
these resources accessible.
As participation on the
web forums grows, we want
to respond by expanding
the interactivity and frequency
of this community-building
professional development
opportunity.
