Digital literacy is a tricky concept to pin down. It can mean many things to different organizations and people. Rather than interpret it with a static definition, we describe the more actionable consequences of an equitable, sustainable and effective adult learning system that provides learners with comprehensive digital literacy development opportunities. To fully realize these […]

AlphaPlus recently released a survey report that looked at how people working in Ontario’s Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) system responded to COVID-19 shutdowns in the spring of 2020. Although we weren’t surprised by the main findings, we’re concerned about the inequities in the LBS system. Currently, it’s unable to ensure all learners have the […]

This spring, our sector made a sudden shift to communicating, working, and teaching online. As LBS programs made the transition to remote delivery, we realized this was an opportunity to learn more about how our sector was working and adapting to this unprecedented and unplanned change. What were their new priorities and how were those […]

This August, Alan Cherwinski and Christine Pinsent-Johnson represented the AlphaPlus team during an adult literacy roundtable discussion with Jill Andrew, MPP for Toronto–St. Paul’s. They were joined by Reb Chevalier of Parkdale Project Read and organizer Phylicia Davis-Wesseling, founder and program manager of the KGO Adult Literacy Program. Together, the group discussed how the COVID-19 […]

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 […]

A social change charity, helping people to improve their lives through digital. We tackle the most pressing social issues of our time, working with partners in thousands of communities across the UK and further afield. https://www.tinderfoundation.org/

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 […]

In Ontario, our government is transforming how it collaborates with the public and provides services by migrating many everyday interactions and transactions to an online platform. This e-government service initiative includes a commitment to provide opportunities for people to advance or gain new digital skills, particularly to individuals most in need of digital literacy training. […]

Research funding announcement: ‘Digital opportunities and barriers for Ontario’s vulnerable adults’ There is a need in the adult education sector for a comprehensive analysis and review of federal and provincial employment training, social assistance policies, adult education programs, technology policies and programs and their impact on digital access for Ontario’s vulnerable adults. We are pleased […]

In August, AlphaPlus invited adult literacy stakeholders to provide feedback on the experiences literacy educators and learners had with the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) On-line Field Trial to explore the impact of digital technology in online assessment. We summarized the feedback we received in a short report called Voices Speak to […]