Are You Open? Then Join the D&L O-Team

I am looking for a handful of committed adult educators who will join to collaborate in developing an Open Educational Resource for adults reading at approximately the 4th-6th grade level, and who are characterized as follows: struggling diverse learners, living or raised in poor communities and in violent environments, and hoping to achieve functional literacy: numeracy, reading, writing and other basic skills addressed in educational or occupational settings.

The activity will strive to have students practice literacy skills while acquiring information and knowledge related to their occupational interests and/or to their personal struggles in dealing with dominant environments that don't represent them.

Examples of Occupations Contexts

  • Health
  • Industrial Trades
  • Business
  • Digital Technology
  • Your Choice

Examples of Personal Struggles to Be Addressed

  • Shame
  • Violence
  • Anger
  • Fears
  • Health
  • Finances
  • Fitting In
  • Competing
  • Other

As part of the Diversity and Literacy O-Team, you will help select the context which will embed practice in developing functional literacy.

I suggest that we follow the WIPPEA format to create an activity to appeal to learners interested in preparing to enter a filed of our choice.

The WIPPEA format refers to the activity's development: Warm Up, Introduction, Presentation, Practice, Evaluation, and Application.

If enough of you wish to participate, I will open a discussion called D&L(Diversity and Literacy) O-Team, in the Diversity and Learning CoP. The "O" stands for Open, as in Open Educational Resources (OER). The discussion will be closed to 4-5 participants who will work together on completing the project.

  1. We'll start the discussion by examining OER definitions, licenses, and repositories.
  2. We'll agree on the diverse group (s)/issues that we will address and on the schedule.
  3. We will agree on a topic and format.
  4. Each of us will assume a role in developing the resource.
  5. We will share develop for each section of the activity.
  6. We will match the content to CCR Standards.
  7. We will publish our activity on OERCommons and share it with the world!

In addition to strategies that will engage diverse learners, as described above, activities will appeal to different "intelligences," learning preferences and abilities, and cultural backgrounds.

If you wish to be part of the O-Team, respond to this post, and let's get started! Thanks. Leecy

Leecy Wise,  Diversity and Literacy CoP
leecy@reconnectioncompany.com

Comments

Fantastic, Paul. I hope that two or three more people join us here. This should be a fun project with useful outcomes to learners. If no one else joins us, I'll post a template and suggest a few ideas to help us get started. Maybe others will be inspired once we get started. Thanks! Leecy

 

Hi, Paul. I have just added suggestions for developing a plan in the larger Diversity and Literacy Group. Your comments are welcome there. I hope that others will join the effort to create something useful dealing with diversity issues. My draft addresses family violence, but that can certainly change if enough members wish to select another topic. Leecy