The Discover Online Integrated Information Technology (DOI²T) program is a solution by Sioux Hudson Literacy Council created to meet the growing need for exciting and quick digital literacy learning opportunities for adults. 

DOI²T practitioners apply creativity-based digital technologies to teach learners everyday life skills as well as the practical skills needed for contemporary jobs.  Learners can, for instance, complete a two-hour Cricut design session that teaches:

• Measurement
• Project planning 
• General computer skills

The Cricut design session also teaches learners:

• How to find, access, and use information from websites and videos
• Software navigation
• Computer-assisted design
• Time management
• Budgeting
• Digital hardware manipulation
• Troubleshooting skills

DOI²T Goals

DOI²T fills the need for contemporary and exciting digital literacy learning opportunities in LBS programs and seeks to expand it. The project aims to create a network of practitioners who share lesson plans and challenges and support other LBS programs in implementing their own DOI²T learning opportunities.

DOI²T Benefits for LBS providers and learners

The DOI²T learning program benefits LBS providers by increasing learner traffic and supports them in learning easily implemented digital literacy teaching methods. For learners, the program provides a soft and exciting introduction to digital technology and creative technology use.

For SHLC, the program also meets an important cultural need. Crafting and creativity are important aspects of Indigenous culture. Linking creativity and technology is a new opportunity for learning providers to attract new learners and to provide culturally relevant and contemporary learning opportunities.

Working with partners

The SHLC has worked to expand the scope of the DOI²T program by helping other learning centres around Ontario fund and facilitate DOI²T programming. To date, they’ve built a valuable sharing and support network through their province-wide partnerships.

Honourable Mention: Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award

This autumn, the SHLC DOI²T program received an honourable mention from ABC Life Literacy Canada’s 2019 Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award (LIA). The annual award recognizes organizations that develop and implement innovative adult literacy and essential skills programs in communities across Canada. Winners of this award have demonstrated that their program has made a positive contribution to the lives of their adult learners as well as the community, and that they serve as a model for other organizations to adapt.

Congratulations Sioux Hudson Literacy Council!

Learn more about the DOI²T program.

YouTube’s autoplay function can pull users down the internet rabbit hole for hours on end. But a constant stream of autoplay videos can cost users more than a few hours of lost time. As we watch videos, YouTube’s algorithms work to generate video recommendations, and autoplay plays those recommendations in a steady stream.

Recommended videos that appear on our feed are derived from algorithms that are highly targeted to specific users and optimized to make sure highly engaging content is up next. But what’s next isn’t always what’s welcome. In Mozilla’s #YouTube Regrets project, users said the platform often directed them to extreme content that was very different from what they originally searched for.

Here are a few examples from Mozilla:

“I’m a teacher and I watched serious documentaries about Apollo 11. But YouTube’s recommendations are now full of videos about conspiracy theories: about 9/11, Hitler’s escape, alien seekers and anti-American propaganda.”

“Any search for positive LGBT content results in a barrage of homophobic, right-wing recommendations. I can only imagine how harmful this would be to people still figuring out their identity.”

Turning off YouTube’s autoplay allows users to actively select the videos they want to watch and helps them to avoid videos that may be harmful, extreme or simply irrelevant.

How to turn off autoplay on a computer:

1. Open YouTube.
2. Select a video to watch.
3. On the video page, click the blue dot next to “Autoplay” in the top right corner of the screen.
4. To turn autoplay back on, click the blue dot again.

How to turn off autoplay on the YouTube app:

1. Open the YouTube app on your device.
2. Tap on your profile image or avatar in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Tap “Settings” and scroll down to “Autoplay next video.”
4. Tap the blue slider bar button to turn off autoplay.
5. To turn autoplay back on, tap the blue slider bar button again.

Statement from a national network of organizations, people and researchers concerned about adult literacy in Canada

Choose success – Invest in literacy
Our world is transforming rapidly. Trends such as globalization, digitalization and demographic shifts are changing work, communities, the way society functions, and how people interact. In this environment literacy skills matter.
Literacy is more than reading and writing. It is about our ability to learn. It is about problem-solving and critical thinking. It is about accessing information and having the tools to understand and analyse that information. Literacy skills help us realize our life goals and meet the communication and information demands at work, at home, and in the community.
Literacy is about more than the individual person. It’s also about our country. Strong literacy and essential skills contribute to a strong economy, civic engagement, and a healthy population. Although Canada’s skills in general are above average, the proportion of those at the lowest levels has grown slightly over the past decade, and we have a striking digital literacy gap. We need a vision to ensure everyone has the skills to respond to the challenges and opportunities of a complex and rapidly changing world.
Why this matters:

• Our standard of living will be secured and no one will be left behind
• Our human rights commitments will be met
• Our families and communities will be more resilient, informed and interconnected with access to digital tools and information
• Our investment in education and learning will increase quality of life
• Our economy will be strengthened by skilled workforce
• Our democracy will be supported by civic engagement and participation

We can improve literacy in Canada. We can support people to participate in society and the economy. With leadership at the federal level leading to policy, funding, and conversation, we can achieve success for Canadians, today and for generations to come.
Canada needs:

• A national literacy policy to ensure consistency and commitment to advancing literacy programming in Canada. While the provinces and territories deliver literacy programming, the federal government has a vital role to play in setting a national framework and honouring Canada’s international commitments. The federal government can support coordination across government and with other orders of government and stakeholders to ensure we make the most of everyone’s potential.
• Federal funding for literacy to foster innovation, share best practices, and support accessible and affordable literacy programming for all adults who need it. The current federal government has taken steps by negotiating with the provinces and territories to provide literacy and essential skills training to the employed and unemployed. But much more can be done to enhance literacy levels in the family, at work and in the community particularly for Indigenous people, people living in Official Language minority communities, and those new to Canada.
• Implement Canada’s international commitments on adult education including UNESCO’s Education 2030 Framework for Action (2015), Recommendation on the Development of Adult Education (2015) and Bélem Framework for Action (2009).
• Conversations about lifelong learning to enable all adults to learn in a safe and supportive environment to reduce stigma and ensure success. We must increase access to technology and the learning and tools to use technology. Workplace literacy programs, family literacy activities, community-based programs, and financial and social supports will give everyone the opportunity to learn.

We call on all candidates in Canada’s 43rd general election to consider how they will address the literacy needs of Canadians. We call on you to choose success: invest in literacy.

Contact Us
Brigid Hayes (English)
brigid.hayes@rogers.com
(613) 614-2408
Daniel Baril (French)
dbaril@icea.qc.ca
(514) 602-4129

Post your support and comments on Twitter: #literacy4all and #alphabétisationpourtous
Signatories
ABC Life Literacy Canada, Mack Rogers, Executive Director
Adult Basic Education Association, Sara Gill, Executive Director
AlphaPlus, Alan Cherwinski, Executive Director
Alphare, Annie Poulin, directrice générale
BC Health Literacy Networks
Canadian Labour Congress, Hassan Yussuff, President
Calgary Learns, Nancy Purdy, Executive Director
CanLearn Society, Krista Poole, CEO
Centre de documentation sur l’éducation des adultes et la condition féminine (CDÉACF)
Change Makers’ Education Society, Karen Buchanan, Executive Director
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy, Desneiges Profili, Executive Director
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy – Creston, Gillian Wells, Community Literacy Coordinator
Coalition ontarienne de formation des adultes, Gabrielle Lopez, directrice générale
Community Literacy of Ontario, Joanne Kaattari, Co-Executive Director
Decoda Literacy Solutions, Margaret Sutherland, Executive Director
Éduc à tout, Jacques Tétreault, Directeur
Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes, Adeline Jouve, Agente communication et promotion
Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances (FQPN), Julie Robillard, Co-coordinatrice
Frontier College, Stephen Faul, President & CEO
Réal Gosselin, tuteur (Université Sainte-Anne)
Brigid Hayes, Brigid Hayes Consulting
Institut de coopération pour l’éducation des adultes, (ICÉA) Daniel Baril, Directeur général
Lakes Literacy, Jennifer Petersen, Literacy Outreach Coordinator
Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick, Lynda Homer, Executive Director
Literacy Haida Gwaii, Beng Favreau, Executive Director
Literacy Link South Central, Tamara Kaattari, Executive Director
Literacy Matters Abbotsford, Sharon Crowley Literacy Outreach Coordinator
Literacy Nova Scotia, Jayne Hunter, Executive Director
Literacy Quebec, Gabrielle Thomas, Executive Director
North Coast Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society, Louisa Sanchez
NWT Literacy Council, Kathryn Barry Paddock, Executive Director
Ontario Native Literacy Coalition, Michelle Davis, CEO
Peter Gzowski Foundation for Literacy, Joanne Linzey, President
Christine Pinsent-Johnson, PhD, Alpha Plus & Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning Researcher
Public Health Association of BC, Gord Miller, President; Shannon Turner, Executive Director
READ Saskatoon, Sheryl Harrow-Yurach, Executive Director
READ Surrey-White Rock, Dr. Allan Quigley, EdD, President
Margerit Roger, M.Ed., Eupraxia Training
Irving Rootman, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria
Saskatchewan Literacy Network, Phaedra Hitchings, Executive Director
Linda Shohet, Researcher & Consultant, Adult Education and Literacy
Pierre Simard, travailleur social (Montréal)
Suzanne Smythe, PhD, Associate Professor, Adult Literacy and Adult Education, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University
South Island Literacy, Mitra D. Evans, Westshore Literacy Outreach Coordinator
Matthias Sturm, AlphaPlus & Simon Fraser University
Diana Twiss, Chair, School of Access and Academic Preparation; Program Coordinator, Community Development & Outreach, Capilano University
Dr. Kathleen Venema, Associate Professor of English, University of Winnipeg
Donna Woloshyn
Yukon Learn Society, Julie Anne Ames, Executive Director
Yukon Literacy Coalition, Beth Mulloy, Executive Director

Brigid Hayes, a former policy advisor in the federal government’s National Literacy Secretariat (1998-2005) has a blog on adult literacy policy. An overview of its purpose is below.
“From time to time, I like to share my thinking with others. Mainly I think about adult literacy and training policy. I often think about the public policy responses that are taken by national and provincial/territorial governments. My opinions are my own.

My consulting work involves strategic planning and policy development in workplace literacy, essential skills, and adult skills. I am fortunate to work with clients across Canada and internationally.

“This blog is a place for me to post some of my writing, publications, and thoughts. I welcome your feedback.”

Multifangled specialises in adult and youth education with a focus on literacy and numeracy and applied learning. Experts in educational practices appropriate for non-traditional education settings, community education, and/or disadvantaged groups.
http://multifangled.com.au/wp/

Yes I Can- A Mental Health Guide for Adult Literacy Facilitators – Written by Jennifer E. Hewitt. Published by Project Read ( Kitchener-Waterloo)
Webinar:

Mental Health Guide Q & A

In a recent technology coaching session with LBS program staff, technology consultant Matthias Sturm worked with a client to create a lesson plan and digital skills assessment tool.

The lesson plan and online tool were designed to provide learning opportunities while building the digital and self-efficacy skills needed to complete online forms like assessments and surveys. Take a look at our implementation of this tool.

The Need

• Create an online tool that collects information from learners about their use of digital tools and resources, their online learning preferences, and other data to inform program planning.

The Tool

• We developed a lesson plan that helps learners use online surveys and learn about assessment tools and how to complete similar forms independently.
• The surveys created in SurveyMonkey and Google Forms used common web-based features often found in other online surveys and fillable forms including: radio buttons, short answer, comment fields and the like.

Impact and Outcome

• Prepare learners to complete the online surveys using blended learning activities.
• Learning activities were (and can be) scaled to meet the ability and skills of learners.
• Results can be reviewed individually with each learner or collectively during a group activity, to inform planning for future activities.

Educators can adapt the lesson plan to prepare learners to use online surveys to build the confidence and skills needed to complete work independently. What’s more, the lesson plan integrates customizable surveys in French and English.
For more information about this tool check out our Tech Tuesday webinar archive, or contact Matthias Sturm.

Google Docs and Sheets Are Tools for Activism and Advocacy

Google Docs is more than just a free word processing and sharing tool. It’s a powerful equalizer for advocacy and activism. Yes, you can create, share and edit documents in collaboration with others, but it’s Google Doc’s ability to reach a wide audience instantly that makes disseminating of information and mobilizing a cause easier than ever before.

For example, the now hugely visited document entitled “False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical ‘News’ Sources” (nicknamed the Fake News Bible) was created by a college professor during the last US election and made available on Google Docs to help readers verify which information circulating in the media was factual and which was not.

Google Docs eliminates the higher monetary costs historically associated with organizing and processing, freeing up valuable time to focus on action, policies and instantaneous information-sharing anytime, anywhere in the world.

In the education sector, Google Docs can be used to compile resources or contacts as well as analysis on the policies and funding changes that impact our work or require a co-ordinated response.

Google Docs is free to use, and no account is needed to access or comment on an existing document. Documents can be distributed via social media or email and embedded into a website.

Did you know you can easily create quizzes and surveys for your learners using Google Forms?

Our technology consultant Maria Moriarty created this three-minute video tutorial to show you how to:

• Access Google Forms.
• Create a quiz.
• Create mandatory and optional questions.
• Review and test a quiz.
• Share the quiz with students and view responses.

Online quizzes and surveys are easy to create, eliminate paper, and simplify marking and feedback.

Two-minute video lesson: Create an all-access Google Hangout link using Google Calendar

Did you know Google Calendar can generate Google Hangout meeting access links automatically?
Many people struggle with accessing the video calls. Complicated instructions, links and set-up times can delay calls and sap collaborative energy. In this two-minute Screencast video, Monika Jankowska-Pacyna, AlphaPlus Technology Coach and Consultant, teaches you to set up a meeting and create a simple access link for participants.
Avoid technical hiccups and use Google Calendar to:

• Create and schedule Google Hangouts.
• Automatically generate a single access link for participants.
• Send your meeting invite link to participants.
• Easily access the videos calls.

Check out the Screencast video here!