Just back from a short trip to Ireland – and maybe I’ve had numeracy on the brain because I was so constantly challenged there in converting Euros to Canadian Dollars and back again – how much is that cup of coffee!! I made extensive use of my trusty calculator and had to confront my math anxiety on an almost daily basis – so when I got home I was very happy to find that there is some amazing work going on around numeracy, how we teach and learn, feel and think about numeracy…
The latest issue of Focus on Basics focuses on Numeracy in adult basic education and provides an intriguing array of articles by adult numeracy instructors and researchers including Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy (TIAN) – a research and professional development project involving 40 instructors in Massachussets and Ohio – and an article by Kate Nonesuch of Malaspina University College in Duncan B.C. describing her own learning journey as a numeracy instructor and how she works to honour and respect student resistance to new ways of learning as she reflects upon, learns about and adjusts her instructional strategies. These are just a couple of the astonishingly rich articles in this issue of Focus on Basics
You may also want to explore or re-explore the Literacies (Spring 2005) issue on reflective practice in numeracy that offers a similarly rich array of articles on numeracy teaching and learning in Canada
Beyond Work Sheets: A Social and Holistic Approach to Numeracy written by Tom Ciancone, Flora Hood and Joy Lehmann – adult numeracy and literacy instructors here in Toronto, is another essential resource for numeracy instructors and provides a thought -provoking examination of numeracy as social practice – skill development in the context of and in response to the learner’s social environment and numeracy through holistic learning, taking the whole person, mind, body and spirit into account.
Another useful application that makes the web more accessible to learners is audio streaming. Audio streaming is the method of delivering audio files over an Internet connection in real time. These files can be accessed from any location, as long as there is a working Internet connection. This allows for people to access audio from any location in the world, often for no cost!
There are many different uses for audio streaming. A popular option is online radio broadcasts. Most radio stations simultaneously broadcast their shows over the airwaves and on the Internet. Past shows can also be accessed, and many stations have shows that are available for streaming that are not available over the radio. A popular station that offers many different types of online radio is BBC International Radio: choose from world news, talk radio, popular music, sports, and more.
Audio streaming is also available for books that have been recorded: pick your favourite novel and listen to it online! Listen to a reading of a new bestseller, or read along with the audio for help with a classic. Sites like Audible offer a very wide range of audio for a fee, or try a free service like LibriVox which recruits volunteers to read public domain books.
Accessing the files requires them to be downloaded from the website, or subscribed to through a service such as iTunes. After downloading, the files can be opened in a media player like iTunes, Windows Media Player, or RealPlayer. Plug in your speakers or headphones and enjoy!
I am an avid baseball fan and a lover of baseball lore. So when someone told me about a display of images about the history of baseball in Canada in the Community Memories exhibition at the Virtual Museum of Canada I rushed right over.
The museum is free, easy to get to and a delight to visit… just CLICK and you’re there… …
You will find over 500 virtual exhibitions and Community Memories Exhibits from every corner of Canada, 420,000 images over 150 interactive games.
Check out this enjoyable and information packed exhibition with students in your literacy program. I guarantee that everyone will enjoy it and everyone will learn something new.
Enjoy !!