On January 12, 2023 AlphaPlus hosted another in our series of Community Gabfests.

We started by asking people to share the things that they were proud of from 2022.

The conversation starter is: New Year’s Blended Learning *Aspirations

We talked about

• what is going well
• what we are proud of from 2022
• what we want to try next
• who / what could help us

*not Resolutions – the things that are still in dreams, wishes and ambitions phase of planning.

We had a an amazing conversation about

• what went well in 2022
• the specifics of what it means to start where learners are at when we include digital technology as part of that
• the challenges of supporting learners and reducing barriers to learning in the marketplace of apps and devices
• what educational technology we are using and how it is working
• we shared ideas about what technology we want to use and people in the group who were already using that technology shared their expertise
  • Smartboards and hyflex and hybrid learning – where some learners are in the bricks-and-mortar classroom and some are connecting remotely – and how people are making it work
• bite-sized learning and byte-sized learning (examples: Skillswise and Rumie)
• the AMAZING Metro Toronto Movement for Literacy Smartphone project
• the changing definition of blended learning and how do we know we are doing it
• how to create independent learning modules, or bytes, in an emergent curriculum context and could H5P be part of the solution
• who used the Winter Break H5Ps in their class 🙂

It was inspiring and interesting.

We wrapped up by thanking each other for their contributions and generosity.

• It is amazing to work with people on their learning adventure!
• Thank you so very much everyone. Your inspiration is great!
• Thanks so much for sharing all your wonderful information
• Thank you for inspiring us!
• Thank you for the excellent ideas and resources!

On November 24, 2022 AlphaPlus hosted another in our series of Community Gabfests.

We started by asking people to share the things that people love about them.

Our conversation starter was: Learner identity (and blended learning)
Here is what Wayfinder Evan Hoskins said:

Each learner has a connection to the past to be considered. All teachers know … every student comes to learning with a different backstory … and you have to know how to adapt your teaching methods quickly. For example, one day we’ll be talking to a learner about how they learn while dealing with anxiety. On another day we will have to talk about what happened in their world before they dropped out of high school in grade nine. What made them not feel comfortable on the computer? We as teachers learn how to help the learner work through that emotional pain in order to gain the confidence needed to learn how to use the computer, to get their fingers moving again.

What do you think? How do you navigate this terrain and support learners as they develop their learner identities and confidence?

We had a an amazing conversation about

• what we need to know about people so that they can thrive in literacy programs
• how working with learners is an iterative process of experimentation and discovery as literacy facilitators work to find the learning environments that work best for each participant
• the challenges of supporting learners and reducing barriers to learning while mapping boundaries and expectations
• the challenges of nurturing our own mental health and staying energized so we can do the work that we love
• how pandemic recovery is about more than economic opportunities and assessing where we are in terms of digital technology integration

It was a lot. And it was inspiring and validating.

We wrapped up by thanking each other for their contributions and generosity.

On October 27, 2022 AlphaPlus hosted our second Community Gabfest.

We asked the September participants to share their ideas for conversation starters. We got a great list. We decided to combine two ideas that we thought might go together.

The conversation starter for the October Gabfest is warm ups and motivation.

• What are some warm up ideas instructors use with their class?
• What techniques or approaches are people using to engage learners and keep them motivated on their educational journey?

We started with an Answer Garden warm up: What is your favourite thing about talking to literacy workers?

We used a Jamboard to guide our conversation: Wayfinders Gabfest 2 Jamboard.

More warm ups here:

Building Community in Remote Learning Environments

On September 27, 2022 AlphaPlus hosted our first Community Gabfest.

The conversation starter for the first Gabfest was Jim Tysick’s video The Way Forward.

Jim is an experienced and innovative literacy instructor who works at the Sharbot Lake location of the Northern Connections Adult Learning Centres literacy program. In the summer of 2022, he participated in the AlphaPlus Wayfinders Maker Space and created a video about changing his teaching styles to increase learner agency and independence. In The Way Forward, Jim describes how he is changing from a “sage on the stage” approach to become a “guide on the side” teacher.

Here are two quotes that inspire and inform Jim’s work:

• The one who does the work does the learning. – Terry Doyle
• The purpose of adult education is to help them learn, not to teach them all you know and thus stop them from learning. – Carl Rogers

We used a Jamboard to guide our conversation: Wayfinders Gabfest 1 Jamboard.

Resources mentioned in the video

Scott Young

• Practice Made Perfect: The 10 Keys to Optimize Improvement
• See-Do-Feedback: The Right Way To Practice

Google Applied Digital Skills

• Get Started Guide
• The Digital Skills Library indexes Google Applied Digital Skills by topic. In the search box, under name choose Applied Digital Skills to see the list.

On this site you can read our Position Paper on Blended Learning online and browse a collection of resources to help you and the audiences you communicate with learn about blended learning as an approach.

What else you will find on this site

• Presentations  – AlphaPlus webinars about the position paper and the eNet introduction to blended learning.
• The Blended Learning Field Guide – a reflective practice tool about blended learning models and approaches.
• Blended Learning Overview – from the AlphaPlus Digital Technology for Learning site.
• The Blended Learning Toolbox – resources for applying a Blended Learning approach from the AlphaPlus Digital Technology for Learning site.
• The ProLiteracy Blended Learning Guide – and how it aligns with the AlphaPlus position paper.

and graphics you can share with staff, learners, volunteers and community partners

• Definition – the definition from the position paper
• My Life as a Blended Learner – how we Create, Communicate, Collaborate and Think Critically as lifelong learners
• Benefits – the four benefits of blended learning: Blended learning is supports self-confidence and self-reliance; encourages social connection and collaboration; provides flexibilities; and is helps manage systemic inequalities.
• Principles – the three principles of blended learning: Blended learning is learner centred; relevant and useful; and is enhanced by a strong teaching presence
• Blended Learning Infographic and the 4Cs – an infographic about the 4Cs: Be Creative, Communicate, Collaborate, and Critically Analyze

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.

Blended Learning Research

Blended Learning Resources

AlphaPlus has collected a set of interesting frameworks, approaches and theoretical foundations that are relevant to adult literacy practice and can inform planning, designing and decision-making.  

We’ve included a blended learning toolbox, an annotated bibliography of tools, apps and websites curated using the framework principles.

If you’re interested in exploring blended learning options for your program, please get in touch. 

• AlphaPlus coaches will work with you to create an individualized plan and develop blended 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. 

The role of resource curation is an important one and can be overwhelming and time consuming.

AlphaPlus developed this site to help literacy practitioners 

• develop curation strategies
• work with learners to develop curation strategies
• adapt literacy learning starter kits

There are three sections.

• Curating Resources
  • Tips on finding and choosing resources to use with learners and co-learning resources for working with learners on curation strategies.
• Curated Lists
  • Lists created by literacy programs and other educators. This set of learning resources can be a starter kit for literacy practitioners curating a set of literacy learning resources.
• Places to Learn
  • e-Learning lessons, activities and learning pathways that literacy learners can work on independently. The resources are organized by topic. This set of learning resources can be a starter kit for learners curating their own set of literacy learning resources.

If you’d like to learn more about curating resources, contact Tracey, sign up for an Educator Network program or sign up for one-to-one support through Coaching.

• As an Educator Network 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.
• AlphaPlus coaches will work with you to create an individualized plan and develop digital learning solutions for the learners in your program.
• 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.

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.

In 2018, we decided that a guide on writing effective case notes for digital literacy training services would better support our work as coaches. 

We hoped that our guide and our record of how we developed it might be useful to others working in literacy and basic skills (LBS) as they develop, enhance or extend their own system of sharing information through case notes.

Our main finding was that case notes on their own aren’t a solution to the dilemmas in our work, but there are two outcomes of the project that will make a positive contribution to the field: case studies and reflective practice.

Case studies became the Wayfinders Studio and reflective practice became the Educator Network (eNet).

eNet

Join eNet to collaborate with inspiring educators and explore blended learning tools and approaches.

Wayfinders Studio

Join literacy educators who are experimenting, piloting and reflecting on how digital technology can enhance learning.