Before I write anything about VALBEC and how we are all going, I want to draw additional attention to the professional learning session we have on this week: 'It's all about you' - Exploring Strategies for Educator Wellbeing presented by Alexandra Vardis. Those who know me best know how passionate I am about teacher wellbeing, and given the difficulties that our students (and indeed we as educators) have experienced recently, there is no better time to focus on strategies that we could implement now to help us improve our wellbeing. So, if I'm not being candid enough, pause reading this, scroll down and register now for what promises to be an eye opening session.
Now, in other VALBEC news, the planning for our annual conference next year has begun and what I can tell you is that it will be in May and we are busy laying the groundwork. The committee is determined to produce an even better experience than this year, so if you have an idea to present, we'll be looking to hear from you soon so keep your eyes peeled.
Also, thanks to what I hear was a tremendous success, the ACAL conference has yielded some choice contributors to our journal Fine Print thanks to our editor Deryn and her tenaciousness. The next edition is not too far away, and I'm looking forward to reading some of the insight that will shine through.
Until the next eVALBEC, look after yourself and stay the course.
VALBEC President
VALBEC Membership
You can join or renew online.
https://valbec.org.au/membership/
If you join in August, September or October, deduct 50%. Renewal falls due the following February.
Members receive:
- Fine Print three times a year – a high quality journal for discussion and debate about good practice, theory and policy issues. Feedback and contributions are actively sought from members about content and issues.
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eVALBEC – our e-mail communication keeping members informed of professional development activities, general committee activities and more up to date policy changes.
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Discounts for the Annual Conference and other VALBEC statewide professional development.
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Issues-based forums.
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Focus on significant policy issues impacting on the field.
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Free numeracy resources.
'It's all about you' - Exploring Strategies for Educator Wellbeing
A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Educational Council) Professional Learning session presented by Alexandra Vardis.
Being an educator can be immensely meaningful and rewarding, and at the same time incredibly challenging and stressful. In this workshop we will reflect on our experience as educators and explore self-care strategies to support our wellbeing at work. We will examine the PERMA framework for understanding our mental and emotional health and identify protective factors to enhance our resilience when challenges arise. Finally, we will consider the importance of setting boundaries to care for our own and others’ wellbeing.
Alexandra Vardis is an Instructional Coach in the Professional Teaching Practice team at Melbourne Polytechnic. She has extensive experience teaching young people in VCAL and Youth EAL programs and has been a Program Leader of Youth EAL courses. Alexandra is passionate about partnering with educators to enhance creativity, collaboration and innovation in learning and teaching to ensure that all learners have the opportunity to achieve and realise their learning goals, regardless of their background or life circumstances.
Who: Alexandra Vardis
When: Wednesday, 4th October 2023, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST
Where: Zoom
Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $25
ClassPoint
ClassPoint offers an innovative platform that transforms learning into an engaging and enjoyable experience. Through the integration of gamification tools like multiple choice quizzes, word clouds, slide drawing, fill in the blanks, and audio recording, class activities become highly interactive. It can create and add classes in three distinct ways.
In presentation mode, educators can utilize a dynamic whiteboard and customize the background to add depth and relevance to the session. They can employ draggable objects to challenge students, fostering critical thinking and assessing their prior knowledge during revision activity. Activities like matching exercises and labelling tasks enhance the learning experience further.
ClassPoint equips presenters with a suite of presentation tools, including a laser pointer, pen, highlighter, draggable objects, timer, and a random name picker, which collectively contribute to making sessions captivating and immersive.
Efficiency is key, and ClassPoint enables quick session reviews through quiz summaries. Results can be easily shared, and quizzes reset for subsequent classes. The platform also integrates a reward system that incentivizes class participation. Stars are awarded to motivate students, which they can use to level up and earn badges. To add an element of healthy competition and excitement, ClassPoint incorporates a leaderboard.
Additionally, ClassPoint provides embedded tutorials within the presentation, offering a seamless introduction to the platform. As you embark on your ClassPoint journey, you'll find a welcoming presentation that guides you through the features and benefits. Are you ready to enhance your teaching experience? Download ClassPoint at classpoint.io and discover a new dimension of interactive and engaging learning.
Page Turners
Page Turners has come out with Series 10 recently. PageTurners are short, easy-to-read stories for adults learning to read. Published by Prace Inc., the books are designed by experienced teachers to suit the needs of adults learning to read. Aimed to show beginners that reading can also be fun, the books are sometimes funny, sometimes irreverent, and always on topics of interest to adults.
They have 10 Series – each series has 4 levels and about 7 – 10 titles.
https://pageturners.prace.vic.edu.au/
Ereading Worksheets
Ereading Worksheets has reading worksheets on the internet, and they're all free. These worksheets are skill focused and are free to save, edit, and print these worksheets for personal or classroom use. Many of these assignments can now be completed online. You're going to like this.
https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/free-reading-worksheets/#fiction-reading-passages
Did you attend Serena Seah’s session at the VALBEC conference earlier this year? Or did you read the follow-up article that she wrote for Fine Print? If you didn’t (or even if you did), click on the link - it’s about a great initiative at Swinburne University of Technology that turned the stories of successful past students into digital resources to inspire current students.
The final issue of Fine Print for 2023 will be out in late November and we’re starting to plan content for 2024, so please get in touch if you have an idea for an article: fineprint@valbec.org.au
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1st – 31st October – ADHD Awareness Month
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4th – 10th October – World Space Week
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5th October – International World Teacher’s Day
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16th – 22nd October – Aussie Backyard Bird Count
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24th October – United Nations Day
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27th October – Australian World Teacher’s Day
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31st October – Halloween
eVALBEC
eVALBEC is the monthly electronic newsletter of (VALBEC) the Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council and is sent to about 1000 practitioners on the first of each month (other than January). It is also available in the ‘News’ section of our web site
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.
How to submit items: https://www.valbec.org.au/evalbec