Last October, I received a phone call from Jeannine (not her real name), an administrator at a local adult literacy program who was looking for training. However, I quickly discovered that training wasn’t what she really needed.

Jeannine was trying to find a recording of a past eight-part Microsoft 365 training series. Since we had designed the series for educators, I dug a little deeper into her request. It turned out that her problem was much simpler than she realized. She needed help setting up a form for a board meeting. So instead of training, I offered to help her create the form.

This conversation with Jeannine was an enlightening reminder of the lack of digital tech support that many adult literacy programs face. It was also a reminder that not everyone’s aware of the support that AlphaPlus can provide!

Big or small digital technology challenges, we’re here to support you.

At AlphaPlus, our role is to help adult literacy education professionals in Ontario use digital technology. That can sometimes mean big-picture roles, like advocating for systems-level change. Sometimes, it can mean providing information and training to help teachers integrate technology and innovate in their teaching practice. It can mean coaching administrators through system upgrades and the adoption of new technology.

But sometimes our role means working with you directly to help you overcome small day-to-day digital technology hurdles. In fact, we encourage you to reach out to us with small problems because:

We have the time to help you through the small stuff. We’re professionals who examine how digital tools shape adult-literacy teaching and learning, but because we don’t directly deliver programming, we have the time and flexibility to help you solve problems or look at things differently. And because we have experience across different technology platforms and have worked with programs across the province, we may have seen similar struggles or challenges before. We can tap into our breadth of experiences and knowledge to help you get unstuck.

We want to help you through the small stuff so that we can serve you better.

Our interactions with you have informed our programming in 2025, from the topics we’ve featured to the formats we’ve used to convene, support and share knowledge with you. We’ve taken new approaches such as examining digital curricula together, supporting your use of digital assessment tools like CAEC and offering easy-to-digest technology tips. Participation in our programs — including professional development, lunch and learns and virtual showcases — has grown, and the feedback has been positive. We want to keep that momentum going in 2026 by continuing to work closely with you.

As for Jeannine, I asked her for a sample of the form she wanted to create then made a version in Microsoft 365 for her to review. Over the phone, I walked her through the available features, helping her create her own version step by step. Her real frustration was figuring out how to use the digital tools she had at her disposal to complete her task. She was happy to get oriented. I was glad to help get her unstuck, and since then, she has come back for specific suggestions and next steps to learn more about Microsoft 365.

Don’t get stuck. Resolve to reach out to AlphaPlus in 2026!

As we enter 2026, we’re resolved to connecting directly with more professionals like Jeannine to offer quick technology help — but we need your help to do so. We invite you to make this resolution: skip the struggle with digital technology and come straight to AlphaPlus. Start by emailing me directly. If I’m not the right person to help, I’ll connect you with a team member who is.

I look forward to hearing from you in 2026!

Alan Cherwinski, Executive Director

What high-stakes tests are used in adult education programs and how do they influence instruction? How do they help or hinder our understanding of literacy and numeracy development and instruction? 

We started thinking more about testing, and assessment in general, while analyzing the new Canadian Adult Education Credential (CAEC). Our analysis led to a report and, more recently, an online guide for instructors. (Please join us for an orientation to the guide on December 3 from 3 to 4 p.m.)

The introduction of the CAEC presents new opportunities for learners. Here are some positive features of this new secondary equivalency credential:

While there are positives, we also recognize that CAEC raises challenges. Many learners encounter digital inequities and are disadvantaged by the move to computer-based testing. Educators need professional development, opportunities to share knowledge and online resources they can use with their learners. As a field, we also need to recognize we’re faced with yet another testing model.

Testing and assessment complexities in the adult learning system

Assessment in the adult learning system is complex, involving three distinct sectors, each with its own testing priorities. Layered over the sectoral approaches is the funder’s accountability testing, which operates separately. 

Learners could encounter multiple high-stakes tests as they move from one sector to another and within a sector. Programs also use a variety of non-standardized tests and assessment protocols (e.g. observation, projects, program-developed tests, essays) to place learners in courses, monitor literacy and numeracy abilities, and determine readiness for further learning and earning opportunities.

Although the stated aim of accountability testing is to provide information about progress and goal completion, this aim hasn’t been validated. Previous analysis, and more importantly, the field’s approach to assessment and instruction, indicate the tests don’t actually provide useful feedback. Most programs across all sectors manage two distinct instructional and assessment systems: one for accountability and one to help learners develop particular literacy and numeracy abilities to meet their goals.

Risks of our current assessment approach

The layering of accountability testing overtop of sectoral testing not only increases administrative burdens and workloads for instructors and program administrators, but it also complicates an already complex system. Does accountability testing actually align with other high-stakes tests such as the Accuplacer used for college admission or the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, a high school graduation requirement? 

With numerous high-stakes tests in use, all operating in distinct ways and producing results that are challenging to compare, we’re at risk of preparing learners only for the tests.

We’re also at risk of allowing tests to co-ordinate our teaching practices. This could have detrimental effects for learners if they don’t have access to sound literacy and numeracy instruction that connects to their experiences and goals.  

What do we need to know to support individual learners? 

As educators, what do we really want to learn through assessment? If our priority is helping learners achieve their goals — whether that means passing a test, doing well in a specific course or helping their kids with homework — then we need to know:

But there’s a lack of co-ordination and discussion about these questions, and we’d like to change that.

Do you have thoughts you’d like to share about assessment? We’d like to hear them and work together to build a more co-ordinated and thoughtful approach to assessment. 

Please join us for an initial discussion on January 7 from 3 to 4 p.m. Register here to share your assessment-related experiences, challenges, work-arounds and solutions.

The start of the year is a good time to consider how emerging technology can enhance our work and complement our expertise. What technology changes did you embrace in 2024? Which tools will support your teaching in 2025?

Reacting to emerging technology

It’s been more than two years since generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT exploded into the mainstream. As with any new technology, we’re each reacting to AI in different ways. Some adult literacy educators still haven’t familiarized themselves with AI, while others are aware but not using it. Some are trying to support learners who inquire about AI, and some are upset or apprehensive because their learners are asking!

The rapid rise of AI makes me recall the days when integrating computers was new. I remember some educators resisting the use of computers entirely — an idea that seems unimaginable today! AI will soon be just as unavoidable as it becomes more prevalent in your learners’ homes, work and other contexts. To support and engage with today’s learners, you’ll need to have experienced and tried AI.

AI for educators: Where to start

So, where can you begin? You don’t have to completely overhaul your current approach. Rather than changing your teaching methods, I suggest exploring ways AI can support you. Spend five minutes getting acquainted with AI tools and their potential to simplify your daily tasks, freeing time for creative, innovative and inspiring work. At a recent Virtual Showcase event, I shared a few examples from my experimentation with AI:

Be cautious, but be curious

Yes, we must be mindful of AI’s potential pitfalls, such as overreliance on technology, plagiarism, ethical considerations and environmental impacts. Approach AI with a critical eye along with curiosity about how it can serve you. Trust yourself; you’re in the driver’s seat. As one of our Showcase participants stated, “I think that this is a good place to be at the beginning of this technology. It can do some great stuff, but there are big implications to sort through and lots to consider.”

As you explore, remember that the AlphaPlus team is exploring and learning alongside you. We’re sharing as we go, helping you understand learners’ tools, challenges and needs. You can turn to us for AI support through our existing services, including professional development, coaching and onsite workshops.

2025: New people, questions and challenges

Adopting and integrating AI is just one way that the adult literacy education field is evolving. How else will 2025 be different?

We’re excited to see more of you in person. Conferences and other gatherings are returning, and we’re receiving more requests for in-person coaching and professional development. Also, new people are entering our field in Ontario, bringing fresh questions, perspectives and comfort levels with technology. Our role is shifting from promoting technology use to addressing more detailed questions and supporting innovative technology applications.

As always, please reach out any time with questions, concerns or ideas about emerging technology and how we can help. Thank you for being part of our learning journey and your dedication to learners throughout 2024 and into 2025.

Don’t forget to secure your spot in our upcoming training Creating AI Policy with Learners, which kicks off on January 24.

At AlphaPlus, we’re here to support adult literacy educators in your daily work. But we’re also committed to bringing the adult literacy sector’s voice into necessary spaces, taking your issues — and potential — into national conversations.

An adult education perspective on digital inclusion

Recently, our team member Christine collaborated with Matthias Sturm, adult education researcher and evaluator (and my former AlphaPlus co-worker), to publish a paper for the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). Christine, our policy and research specialist in education and technology, has been working with Matthias to find ways to advance the conversation about digital inclusion.

The IRPP is a national organization that informs debates on policy issues facing Canadians and their governments, with strong connections to federal and provincial policymakers. Christine and Matthias noticed their publication featuring adult basic skills and pitched a topic examining digital access, equity and literacy. The result is the paper Adult Education: The Missing Piece to Bridging the Digital Divide (a French version will be available in December).

Bridging the digital divide requires skills development

This new paper sheds light on issues you know well but that haven’t been addressed at the policy-making and funding decision levels. For example, those of us working in adult literacy education know that bridging the digital divide is about more than access to devices or the internet. A lack of digital skills prevents people from taking full advantage of essential services and deprives them of potentially life-changing education and employment. Overcoming inequities requires equitable opportunities to benefit from technology — which requires the development of specific skills.

The adult literacy sector is already doing this work — but we need support

Adult literacy educators often work with the very adults on the other side of the digital divide. As a field, we are well-positioned to help bridge that divide within our upgrading, vocational, language and literacy programs. However, as Christine and Matthias highlight in the paper, we face barriers:

Complex system: The system in which we work is complex and siloed, with a mixture of federal and provincial funding sources and providers, including community non-profits, school boards/districts and colleges.

Unstable funding models: We lack sustainable core funding and instead rely on short-term, project-based funding. Organizations delivering adult literacy education programs rely on part-time staff working on contracts.

A lack of formalized, supported professional development: The sector offers limited professional development and does not mandate professional qualifications.

Recommendations

In the paper, Christine and Matthias recommend two measures directed at Employment and Social Development Canada to help adult education programs add digital learning to their offerings:

  1. Provide sustained core funding to provincial and territorial adult education programs. This funding is needed to stabilize operations, facilitate long-term planning, reduce administrative redundancies, and ensure predictable support for equipment acquisition, IT infrastructure and software licensing. It would also enable the creation of a national platform to share learning materials and best practices among educators.
  2. Connect community-level adult education with broader digital literacy efforts. We need a cross-sectoral network to co-ordinate digital skills programs and increase access for underserved communities. Building on existing partnerships and establishing new collaborations would help integrate informal and formal learning, ensuring equitable access to digital resources across diverse Canadian communities.

New priorities for AlphaPlus

This paper’s publication coincides with AlphaPlus unveiling our refreshed strategic outlook. Following the pandemic-era rapid adoption of technology within literacy programs and two years of funding that allowed us to experiment with how we support you, our new direction better reflects the state of your work.

We’re broadening our role from promoting the use of technology to sustaining the momentum that has already been created, and we’ve identified five priorities for the future (plus a new mission and vision). For the next several years, AlphaPlus will:

  1. Focus on teachers who strive to place learners and their experiences at the centre of the learning process.
  2. Support building literacy and learners’ digital confidence to participate in society.
  3. Provide teachers with actionable content that integrates well-researched sector shifts.
  4. Facilitate teacher collaboration and leadership networks across language and cultural communities.
  5. Understand the adult literacy sector across Canada and pursue collaborations.

You’ll notice an alignment between our new priorities and our recommendations to the federal government. We recognized that our approach must go beyond “what has always been done” and short-term challenges. We can’t afford to operate in silos and within an Ontario-only context. To keep up with the relentless pace of technological change, we need a comprehensive, co-ordinated and sustainable approach — for AlphaPlus and our whole sector.

Learn more about our refreshed strategic directionarrow

Download the IRPP paper on their websitearrow

  1. What are literacy educators’ classroom goals?
  2. What professional development and resources are your peers seeking?
  3. How are reporting and compliance requirements impacting your capacity?

We asked these and other questions in a recent survey, and I’m writing today to share what we learned with you.

What adult literacy instructors are saying about their experiences

Earlier this year, AlphaPlus conducted research to inform our strategic planning and product design work. We wanted to better understand the priorities and needs of literacy educators as we continue to shape our programs, services and training opportunities. Through our online survey, we heard from 328 teachers and practitioners from community-based, school board and college settings. We also conducted phone interviews with nine teachers and six sector leaders. Thank you to all who took the time to provide input.

The research has helped us to understand your needs, challenges and desire for support in areas including:

Here’s a sampling of what we heard:

See the survey summary for more details about what your peers had to say about their experiences.

Survey summary

AlphaPlus: Strengths, challenges and future effectiveness

We also asked you questions to understand what you most value about AlphaPlus. You mentioned our:

We learned that to support you effectively in the future, we need to leverage our strengths to address the day-to-day needs of your students and classrooms. We need to listen continuously to the changing challenges you face. And because practitioners are experiencing pressure due to restricted funding, heavy administrative loads and measurements that aren’t shifting with changing student needs, we must advocate for changes that impact the practitioner level.

Shaping our future approaches to supporting educators

Your survey responses are already informing our strategic planning and service design, ensuring the decisions we’re making now align with educators’ needs. This sometimes means documenting frameworks for what’s already in place. For example, we’ve already offered advisory groups, training and communities of practice, which we’re now organizing more formally. Your feedback is also influencing decisions about changing the types of support we will offer or increasing the amount of support available.

Digital environments are changing much of what adult literacy educators do, including lesson planning, creating learning environments and managing online spaces. Technology is not a separate element; it’s impacting everyone’s work. The good news is that our collective understanding of the impact of technology on our work is much richer and more varied now than it was five or 10 years ago. As a field — and at AlphaPlus, an organization supporting the field — we’re ready and open to continuous adaptation and improvement.

Would you like to learn what your peers had to say about teaching adult literacy in Ontario? See the survey summary here.

With the fresh energy of spring upon us, AlphaPlus is embracing change and renewal. Here’s a quick glimpse of what we’re planning and thinking about this season.

Reach expanded by funding: The Skills for Success initiative has been a catalyst for change over the last two years, doubling our resources and allowing us to broaden our reach significantly. For example, the funding enabled our partnership with EdTechTeacher, through which we delivered a record-high volume of training opportunities. It also enabled thought-provoking initiatives such as the Planning a Lesson working group, a unique chance for adult literacy educators to leverage their knowledge and experience, engage in meaningful conversations with peers about their craft and develop resources for the field.

To learn more about teachers’ perspectives on these experiences, see our recent stories about training and working group participants.

Sustaining programs after the funding period: The Skills for Success funding period was dynamic and expansive, and we hope it was as enlightening for you as it was for us. We’ll build on the momentum of this period by continuing to offer essential training (don’t miss the upcoming repeat of trainings on artificial intelligence, accessibility and Google Workspace). We’ll also roll out sustainable resources, like the Planning a Lesson suite of tools, to continue enriching your teaching toolkit. As the funding period concludes and we return to relying on our own resources, we’ll work more closely with you to consolidate and contextualize the information and skills we’ve all acquired.

Shifting to responsive, seamless support: Our plans for the coming months involve a more integrated approach. AlphaPlus team members will be available to work as coaches and project managers to identify and provide the training and support you need. Skills-based training will be your entry point into a comprehensive suite of support, including customized professional development, communities of practice and opportunities to collaborate with peers.

Facilitating dialogue among teachers: In the last two years, it’s been apparent that teachers want to talk with fellow teachers… about teaching — but the opportunities are scarce. Moving forward, we’ve renewed our commitment to creating spaces for these critical conversations, with a mindset shift focused on current practices, exploring your teaching goals and the skills that support them.

Expanding the definition of adult literacy education: We applaud the ministry’s program eligibility expansion, which acknowledges the digital nature of literacy skills today — a shift we pushed for. This change aligns with our vision of evolving literacy education to meet the demands of the digital era, with the potential to change many aspects of our field, including intake conversations, curriculum planning and assessments.

Forming our new strategic plan: Your voice is central as we shape the path forward for AlphaPlus, especially now as our board of directors spearheads strategic planning. A heartfelt thank you to the 300+ respondents to our recent survey for contributing insights about your aspirations for students, professional development, resource and technology needs, and other aspects of your work. Stay tuned for more details on the survey results and our new strategic plan.

As we look ahead, we’re optimistic about the future of adult literacy education. The last two years have included unprecedented outreach and connections for AlphaPlus. We’re eager to build on this momentum and contribute to the growth and development of our field in Ontario.

Warm regards,

Alan Cherwinski

Executive Director

Our progress as a field over the last few years has been nothing short of transformative. The pandemic forced a shift to technology integration, resulting in a field of educators who are now more tech-savvy and have a greater capacity to engage with digital technology and tools.

Reflecting on adult literacy education in 2023

By 2023, we noticed that you were ready to solidify and consolidate what you’ve learned, taking time to consider new approaches. This change is a testament to your collective effort and commitment to advancing literacy education. For AlphaPlus, this change has shifted our approach from promoting the idea of integrating digital technology to collaborating with educators in ways that are driven by your motivations.

Over the last year, funding from the Skills for Success (SFS) program has allowed AlphaPlus to work with educators directly and in larger numbers than ever. We provided training at a scale we’ve never done before. The Building Digital Skills training series (which focused on using Google Workspace and Microsoft 365) allowed us to work directly with more than 300 educators, fostering a community driven to explore and adopt digital technologies. This has given us a glimpse of the adaptive capacity of educators and learners and what you’ve accomplished in the last year.

Looking ahead: 2024

In 2024, we’ll finish delivering the training funded by Skills for Success while also evaluating the strategic direction of our organization. This year, we’re introducing two innovative training series focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and accessibility. We’re committed to ensuring our field is well-prepared and confident in leveraging AI tools ethically and safely. The upcoming training sessions and sandbox experiences (dedicated time with AlphaPlus staff and other participants to try out new knowledge) are designed to facilitate this, providing practical, hands-on learning opportunities.

The increased training and services we delivered with Skills for Success funding helped us clarify how to consolidate some of our offerings and gave us information on which to base our new priorities. In addition, we sought your input via a recent survey, the results of which reinforced educators’ longstanding need for the following:

While partial solutions exist, we recognize the need for a more comprehensive solution to address these priorities.

Leadership from our board members

Our board of directors, which includes several new members, will lead the development of our new strategic direction. Complementing the strengths of existing board members (Mr. Koosha Golmohammadi, Mr. Andrew Vaughan and our chair, Mr. Paul Gibson), our new members bring academic and practical experience from working in the Ministry of Labour and directly delivering adult literacy programming. Welcome, Mr. Tariq Ismati, Dr. Tannis Atkinson, Dr. Farra Yasin and Ms. Susan Lefebvre, whose wealth of experience in the literacy sector will be instrumental in shaping our future initiatives. Their insights, coupled with the feedback from educators and learners, will guide us in refining our strategies and offerings.

Your active participation and engagement remain crucial as we evolve and grow. I invite you to register for our AI training, join our sandbox sessions, and stay connected and involved with AlphaPlus.

Alan Cherwinski
Executive Director
AlphaPlus

In your view, what does capacity building for adult literacy educators really entail?

At AlphaPlus, we believe that professional development must address the day-to-day context of adult literacy education. It should meet the needs of teachers and learners in the classroom and in daily life. For many years, this belief has shaped our supports, services and even the composition of our team. In 2023, we used an infusion of funding to test this model in our approach to training.

Leveraging Skills for Success funding in a tangible, meaningful way

This fiscal year, AlphaPlus received Skills for Success funding allocated to digital capacity building and training. We made a conscious decision against providing training on the implementation of new abstract and top-down systems (such as the Skills for Success model). Instead, we leveraged this opportunity to develop and provide training opportunities that more directly cater to adult literacy educators and their profession.

In partnership with external experts, we developed a professional development program tailored to educators’ needs. The Building Digital Skills training series offered an in-depth exploration of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, emphasizing skills and knowledge to help you teach adult learners. More than an orientation to digital tools and how they work, our lesson plans contextualized their use in an adult literacy classroom. We also partnered with programs supporting Deaf, Indigenous and francophone communities to customize this training for their teaching and learners.

Training that brings practical technology applications into the classroom context

More than 300 adult literacy educators have joined us to explore new ways to use digital workspaces to communicate, create and collaborate with learners; plan lessons and organize instructional materials; collect, organize and share data; and more. Through engaging and hands-on lessons, participants have uncovered a wealth of valuable free tools and applications — useful and practical discoveries that will pave the way for even more success in their teaching.

Never before have we been able to offer training to such a large group of adult literacy educators in Ontario. Our team has learned a great deal, engaged in several projects and connected with colleagues and working groups to inform our approaches. Most importantly, by centring the actual needs of teachers, we helped them succeed in new ways — examples of which we’ll be sharing in the coming months.

Should this teaching-centred training continue? What should come next?

As we near the one-year mark of this funding, we’re envisioning what comes next. How can we leverage the momentum — and teaching focus — of our professional development?

The opportunities created by the Skills for Success funding have reinvigorated our commitment to contextualizing what teachers are trying to do, bringing in expert facilitators, reaching more adult literacy educators and discovering new approaches. Though the funding was a time-limited federal investment, it can have a lasting impact if we build on it wisely.

We know that the key to success is asking you, adult literacy educators in Ontario, what should come next. What did we do right in 2023? Should we advocate for the funds to repeat what we’ve been doing? How can we build upon the training we offered this year?

Here are a couple of ways you can share your input with us:

Stay tuned for other opportunities we’re planning to ask you about your training needs. We value and need your input to offer professional development that’s relevant to you.

This year, AlphaPlus has been exploring ways to strengthen the network of adult literacy educators in Ontario. This has included a combination of strengthening educators’ capacity and co-creating with you.

Professional development, skill-building and individual support remain imperative for adult literacy educators. However, we realize that the best and most innovative solutions are rooted in the classroom experience, so we’ve also embarked on several co-creation projects with you. Here’s a snapshot of what’s been happening at AlphaPlus in 2023.

Strengthening your capacity

We listen to what you say about how you use technology in teaching, the practical demands of your efforts with adult learners in the classroom, and the professional development and materials you need. These considerations are top of mind when we develop our capacity-building programs and resources.

Training to help you teach in a digital workspace

In January, we launched an immersive, fast-paced training series to help you work in a digital workspace environment. Thank you to the dozens of literacy educators who joined the training to build digital literacy, creation and collaboration skills.

Based on your feedback, we’re offering Building Digital Skills with Google training again, starting in May. Join us to repeat the free training or as a first-time participant. Everyone is invited to an introductory overview session on Tuesday April 19. Register for the afternoon session or register for the evening session.

Hosting a library of free digital tools

Last month, we officially launched our new open educational resource (OER) library. In response to teachers’ requests for more developmental level-specific resources, a working group of your peers shaped this library of workbooks, textbooks, lessons, activities, modules and courses fully vetted for adult learners.

Would you like our help with using these open educational resources?

Connecting educators to network, share and learn

Last fall, we piloted Community Gabfests: monthly online gatherings where literacy educators connect, discuss and share ideas and approaches in an informal setting. The pilot revealed that you value these gatherings, so we’ll continue to host monthly Gabfests. Register for the next meeting here. 

We’re also bringing back the Virtual Showcases series featuring facilitated discussions and presentations by your colleagues who share their approaches, strategies and tips. Our next two session topics will be:

Sign up here.

Co-creating with you

While your feedback has shaped our capacity-building offerings, we also recognize the importance of including teachers in design and creation. You have a unique understanding of the expertise and time needed to work with technology, and the challenges of transitioning to a reality where some form of remote teaching is here to stay. That’s why we’re facilitating more co-creation projects in which literacy educators build what you need.

Co-creating activities and lessons

During the next round of Educator Network, we’ll go deeper into the ideas from the Building Digital Skills with Google training. Working together as a learning cohort, participants will support each other in co-creating activities and lessons with AlphaPlus providing support and resources, including access to the trainer from the Google training series. Email Tracey Mollins to learn more and sign up.

Co-designing digital teaching spaces and routines

We recently introduced you to our newest team member Olga Herrmann and the project she’s been leading to understand and address your needs in curriculum design and technology integration. The research phase of this project is now wrapping up. In May, we’ll share what we’ve learned and our plans to move on to the next step: co-creating curriculum resources and planning tools.

Additional professional development and co-creation opportunities for educators

Many of our initiatives this year are possible because of increased government investment in our sector. As custodians of a portion of these funds, AlphaPlus has access to financial resources and skilled trainers, and we’re looking for your guidance:

Please share your ideas for co-designing professional development based on the needs of your region, network, sector or specific group of learners; use my scheduling link to set up a time to chat through them with me.

We’re looking forward to more capacity-building and co-creation projects with you in the months ahead.

Alan Cherwinski

Executive Director

AlphaPlus has kicked off 2023 with a full roster of offerings and several initiatives underway. Today, I’d like to share information about two projects that are funded by the Ontario Skills for Success program supported by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

If you’re familiar with the Skills for Success model, you know it includes nine skills “needed to participate and thrive in learning, work and life” listed here:

While it’s quite common to focus on and teach these skills individually, we can’t ignore the fact that they overlap and interact. When we think about how learners will have to apply these skills in different contexts —learning online, accessing government services and digital communities, understanding online security, using social media, online shopping and more — it’s clear that multiple skills are applied to succeed at the task at hand.

As AlphaPlus takes on the responsibility of directing available Skills for Success resources within our sector, we’re exploring ways to help educators stimulate the interaction of the nine skills in different contexts.

New training series: Building digital skills

One of the first initiatives we’ve rolled out to support this integrated approach is our Building Digital Skills With Google training series. You may have already heard about this opportunity when we announced it in the fall. It’s a short-term capacity-building opportunity to apply this integrated concept, using Google as an applied learning space to demonstrate and model how things can be done with adult learners.

While the first cohorts are underway, spots remain available in the final few. Learn more and register here: https://pd.alphaplus.ca/

Curriculum and materials development

The training series complements the deeper work we’re undertaking to consider how literacy and numeracy activities can be integrated with digital skills and how they’re applied in different digital spaces. For this project, we’re reaching out to educators to support curriculum-planning and development of educational materials — two priorities identified in the digital capacity-building consultation. The educators in the field are helping us to understand priorities, needs and interest in trying new, integrated approaches, exploring questions like:

When this consultation is complete, we’ll use what we’ve learned to co-create actionable, implementable tools and supports, giving teachers ways of doing practical work with learners in their everyday work. Starting in April, we’ll form working groups to lead us through an iterative process to explore:

We’re here to support a more integrated approach

You might be questioning whether discrete training on compartmentalized skills is the best approach for your learners. You might feel that things can be different and there’s value in working through it, but you know that this type of change won’t necessarily be easy.

We’re here to do the work and explore that change alongside you. Consider joining us in our current training series or stepping forward in April to co-create new curricula or materials.

As always, I’d love to hear directly from you, so please email me with your responses or questions at acherwinski@alphaplus.ca. Thank you.

Alan Cherwinski
Executive Director
AlphaPlus