eVALBEC
February 2008
This
is the electronic newsletter of VALBEC, the Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education
Council, and is sent to about 850 practitioners on the first of each month (other
than January). It is also available in the ‘News’ section of our web
site http://www.valbec.org.au
Disclaimer: The activities, goods and services
mentioned in eVALBEC are not endorsed by VALBEC in any way. People should make their
own judgment about the suitability of each item.
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IN THIS ISSUE OF eVALBEC:
1. Another year begins !!!!!
2. VALBEC Annual Conference 2008
3. 30 years of VALBEC Celebration Dinner
4. 2008 VALBEC Conference Call for Presentations
5. What’s the story? The results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALLS)
Survey Forum
6. Swinburne’s new Literacy and Numeracy Teaching qualification
7. The CAE CGEA & VCAL 2007 Summer School
8. Member offer – Having Fun with Maths: Activities and games for developing
maths language and skills by Dave Tout
9. Call for Papers - The Australian Library Journal - Special Issue on Community
and Workplace Information Literacy
10. Subscribe to eVALBEC?
11. Unsubscribe?
12. Contact VALBEC
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1. Another year begins !!!!!
Welcome to the first eVALBEC for 2008. For many
people, the year is well in progress in anticipation of students who will be starting
courses in the next couple of weeks. The VALBEC committee will be meeting next week
to continue planning the 2008 professional development program activities and the
all important 30 years celebrations and conference. The VALBEC history project commissioned
in 2007 is coming along and will be published later in the year. The Fine Print Editorial
group met last week and has plans for some special features in Fine Print to highlight
the achievements of VALBEC and its members over three decades.
We welcome suggestions from you as to how we can best make this year special and
to continue to provide high quality services to our members, colleagues and to learners
in a wide range of settings.
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2. VALBEC Annual Conference 2008
Put these dates in your diary now!!!!
May 15 (afternoon) – Pre-conference workshops
May 15 (evening) - VALBEC 30 year Celebration Dinner
May 16 - Still glides the stream VALBEC conference 2008
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3. 30 years of VALBEC Celebration Dinner
May 15 RACV Club Restaurant, 501 Bourke St Melbourne
VALBEC invites members past and present, colleagues
and friends from around Australia to join us for a celebratory dinner. The 30 years
of VALBEC Celebration Dinner will provide a special occasion for people who have
been associated with VALBEC over three decades to come together and celebrate the
commitment and work of so many people and to reflect on changes and developments
within the sector. There will be much sharing of anecdotes, experiences and laughter
over dinner, so mark the date in your diary and spread the word to colleagues and
friends.
We are compiling a contacts database to send invitations far and wide so if you would
like to be included or know of others who you think would like to be invited please
forward this information to conf@valbec.org.au Everyone
who normally receives eVALBEC will be given information and we’ll post more
information on the website and give details through eVALBEC
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4. 2008 VALBEC Conference Call for Presentations
Teachers, researchers, program managers, policy
analysts, education and industry consultants working in the field of adult literacy
and numeracy are invited to express an interest in presentation of
• a paper
• a workshop session
• a panel discussion
Proposals to be submitted by February 29, 2008
Presenters will be notified by March 8, 2008 of their inclusion in the
Conference program.
We are looking for presentations that
• reflect on VALBEC and ALBE experiences
• demonstrate partnerships and best practice in ACE
• showcase learner outcomes
• are interactive and encourage dialogue
• display innovation and flexibility in practice or research
• exemplify adult learning principles in effective practice
• stimulate thought and discussion on relevant issues, theories and practice
• critique changes in state and federal government policies and priorities
More details http://www.valbec.org.au/conf08/callonline.htm
Thanks to those who have already submitted proposals.
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5. What’s the story? The results of the Adult
Literacy and Life Skills (ALLS) Survey Forum
This forum held on Tuesday Jan 29 at the CAE was
a joint event sponsored by ABS, ACAL, CAE and VALBEC. The 36 people who attended
heard from Dave Tout who gave an overview of the survey and the numeracy, problem
solving and health literacy sections that were introduced in the 2006 survey. Chris
Duncan, Director, National Centre for Education and Training Statistics, ABS spoke
in more detail about the process and outcomes of the survey in relation to other
countries who participated. Pramod Adhikari, Senior Research Analyst National Centre
for Education and Training Statistics, ABS explained more of the statistical detail
with comparisons to the results from 1996.
This is important data to be used to influence government to develop and implement
policy to address the literacy and numeracy levels of a large proportion of the Australian
population. For more information and to download a summary of findings
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4228.0Main%20Features22006%20(Reissue)?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4228.0&issue=2006%20(Reissue)&num=&view=
Or go to http://www.abs.gov.au and
typw 4228.0 in the ABS search field.
Check the ACAL website http://www.acal.edu.au/ and
Literacy Link (ACAL’s print newsletter) for more information
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6. Swinburne’s new Literacy and Numeracy Teaching
qualification
Swinburne are offering a new course, the Graduate
Certificate of Social Science (Literacy and Numeracy Teaching in VET) For more informatsion http://www.swinburne.edu.au/postgrad or
contact Sharon Templeman, School of Social Sciences Incubator, Swinburne University
of Technology (TAFE Division) at STempleman@groupwise.swin.edu.au or
by phone (03) 9214 6848
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7. The CAE CGEA & VCAL 2007 Summer School
3rd & 4th December CAE, Level 4, 253 Flinders
Lane, Melbourne
$330.00 including lunch
Choose from a wide range of practical workshops and forums that will
enable them to gain practical lesson ideas, insight and understanding of current
issues and strategies and an excellent opportunity to build those important networks.
Workshops include
· Difficult kids, tricky situations: tools for conversation building
· New to VCAL? Where and how to start
· New CGEA Units. Learning Plans/Projects
· Connecting maths with reality - teaching VCAL & CGEA numeracy
· Hi, I’m a learning object and I’m free. RU2?
· New to CGEA
For further information and enrolment at http://www.saalt.com.au/
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8. Member offer – Having Fun with Maths: Activities
and games for developing maths language and skills by Dave Tout
Dave’s book is finally finished – some
of you might remember his popular and fun session at last year’s VALBEC conference
where he shared some of these new activities. The games and activities focus on the
development of fundamental maths skills through co-operative group work and the use
of hands-on materials, as well as on having fun in order to build confidence and
overcome maths anxiety. There are four sections: co-operative logic problems, dice
games, calculator games and word games. Skill areas covered include: numbers and
calculations, shape, location and direction and introductory algebra.
Availability: Various outlets including Multifangled P/L, web: http://www.multifangled.com.au/ and
go to the Publications page for an order form; fax: 03 9687 3553; email: multif@multifangled.com.au.
But it is also available from Bookery, CAE, AAMT, MAV.
Cost: $29.70 plus postage and handling.
VALBEC has three copies of ‘Having Fun with Maths’ to give away.
If you'd like to go into the draw for a copy of ‘Having
Fun with Maths’ visit our web site and follow
the links to 'member offer'. You must be a member. Follow the links from http://www.valbec.org.au/
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9. Call for Papers - The Australian Library Journal
- Special Issue on Community and Workplace Information Literacy
Contact: Helen Partridge Email: h.partridge@qut.edu.au
Full papers due: February 15 2008
This special issue is seeking papers on any aspect of information literacy within
community and workplace contexts. Information literacy refers to the ability to access,
evaluate and use information from a variety of sources. Whilst information literacy
has rapidly become an object of scholarly interest in the education and the library
and information science disciplines, the majority of this interest has been confined
to educational settings. Little research has been conducted exploring information
literacy within the community or workplace setting.
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10. Subscribe
to eVALBEC?
Click this link <mailto:info@valbec.org.au?subject=eVALBEC_Subscribe> and
we’ll put you on the list to receive this monthly enewsletter.
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11. Unsubscribe?
Just click this link <mailto:info@valbec.org.au?subject=eVALBEC_Unsubscribe> (no
typing required!) and hit Send or, send an e-mail with
the word Unsubscribe in the subject.
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12. Contact VALBEC
eVALBEC is the monthly electronic newsletter of
(VALBEC) the Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council.
E-mail: info@valbec.org.au
Web: http://www.valbec.org.au
Postal: Box 861 Springvale South VIC 3172
Ph: 03 9546 6892
Fax: 03 9546 0421