What is reflective practice?
“Reflective teaching is the practice of colleagues joining together to observe and analyze the consequences for student learning of different teaching behaviors and materials in order to gain insights that will result in the continuous evaluation and modification of pedagogy.”
– Chapter 11: Professional Development and Reflective Practice By William Powell
- Are you thinking about how you can respond to the ways that digital technologies are changing how we learn, work and engage in daily life?
- Are you wondering about how a new resource, methodology or approach is working for learners?
Reflective practice can help us think through these questions and arrive at solutions.
Would you like to learn more about reflective practice?
AlphaPlus has created a website with a collection of reflective practice resources to support literacy educators develop a reflective process that works for them and the people they work with.
Would you like to engage in reflective practice with an AlphaPlus coach or a cohort of literacy practitioners?
- AlphaPlus coaches will work with you to create an individualized professional learning plan.
- As an Educator Network Blended Learning Program participant, you’ll join a cohort of Ontario literacy practitioners in a reflective-practice process and have access to both AlphaPlus knowledge and peer experience.
In the Educator Network Blended Learning program and Planning Your Digital Toolbox, participants have the option of working through the Reflections on teaching with digital technology workbook. Join us or try it our with your colleagues (sign in to a Google account and make a copy).
If you’re interested in using a reflective practice process to plan and explore digital technology for learning, please contact Tracey or the AlphaPlus coaches.
If you’d like a copy of the Reflective Practice for Literacy Practitioners site to use as a starting point to adapt and expand for use in your program, please get in touch. AlphaPlus can give you a copy and support you in learning how to use a website builder such as Google Sites or Weebly as online learning spaces for learners, staff and volunteers.
Presenters from three programs share how they are using YouTube and TikTok videos to engage learners.
Presenters from three programs share how they digitize and organize activities and learner files.
Are you a literacy practitioner looking for resources to support a remote learning option for learners?
AlphaPlus started this site during the pandemic of 2020-22 to support adult literacy learners and practitioners during the pivot to remote learning. We’ve kept it going because the interest in offering remote learning options has increased.
The Resources for Practitioners page is a collection of resources you can use to build remote learning “classrooms.” Some of these resources were developed or reviewed by Ontario literacy practitioners.
You may also find The AlphaPlus Guide to Getting Ready for Remote Learning and the AlphaPlus Guide to Building Community in Remote Learning useful resources.
If you’re interested in exploring remote learning options for your program, please get in touch.
- AlphaPlus coaches will work with you to create an individualized plan and develop remote learning solutions for the learners in your program.
- As an Educator Network (eNet) participant, you’ll join a cohort of Ontario literacy practitioners in a reflective practice process and have access to both AlphaPlus knowledge and peer experience.
- If you get stuck while trying something new, the AlphaPlus quick tech help option can help.
If you’d like a copy of this site to use as a starting point to adapt and expand for use in your program, please get in touch. AlphaPlus can give you a copy and support you in learning how to use a website builder such as Google Sites or Weebly as online learning spaces for learners, staff and volunteers.
Presenters from three programs share how they use learning a management system in their programs.
Presenters from three programs share how they extend learning and critical thinking beyond virtual meetings.
Presenters from three programs share how they engage learners to collaborate remotely.
A HyperDoc is a teaching and learning tool that helps you organize content and instructional activities using text, audio, video, images and, of course, hyperlinks. Think of it as an interactive lesson or unit plan.
HyperDocs can be short, specific lessons, like introduction to fractions and their uses. They can also be more general and then applied to different topics and subjects, like the inquiry template. They can even be a comprehensive collection of learning activities, resources and ideas that you can use to develop smaller lessons or modules, like digital storytelling ideas.
Creating a single HyperDoc does take time and effort. But what if it’s not all up to you to do the work? What if we could build a collection — sort of a crowdsourced effort? This is something we’re currently exploring.
AlphaPlus developed four HyperDocs to model their use and help you transition from paper to digital planning and activity development.
Visit the Hyperdocs site to learn more:
- Review copyright with paper and online resources.
- Think about what you’re digitizing and why.
- Organize your digitized content using Google Drive.
- Explore ways to make your activities interactive .
Presenters from three programs share how they create community and engage learners differently in video conferences.
These energizing and inspiring Zoom sessions showcase how innovative Ontario literacy program workers and instructors use digital tools and approaches to connect and work with learners and colleagues remotely.
Each session features guest presenters who share their approaches, strategies and tips followed by a Tech Q&A to explore some of the digital tools mentioned during the session.
Yet another inspiration to try something new to help my learners!
There is a vast amount of knowledge out there and to be able to listen to how people are using the various apps/tools was very informative.
It was such an informative couple of hours. Many bits of information stood out. The sharing of information was so exceptional.