LINCS Diversity and Literacy
Community of Practice
Newsletter
January 2015
You may download this newsletter in Word from the Documents tab.
Welcome New Members!
Welcome Michelle Massie, Martin Eggleston, Sahar Saeed and Josán Perales! We are eager to hear from you in our community forum! Please drop in to dialogue on issues of interest to you!
From Your Profiles
From Josán: Hola! My name is Josán Perales and I am a Spanish/Puerto Rican, first generation immigrant, teacher in Taos, New Mexico. I have been in the classroom for 11 years, teaching Spanish as a foreign language as well as multicultural leadership, digital arts and technology, and serving as a curriculum guide at the High School level. Recently, I have switched educational paths into adult education, working with adult ESL learners, mostly hispanohablantes, as well as, teaching a tiny HSE program in Questa, NM. My passion for working with this population comes from my family's background and my life as an activist and advocate for all human's rights and access to services for underrepresented populations. I am excited in this new role, and although overwhelmed with the new task of teaching adult, I welcome it everyday and learn more than I could every imagine from my adult students!
If you haven’t done so, take a few minutes to complete your own profile in LINCS so that we can get to know you better. Let me know if you do! I would like to summarize your information in our next newsletter!
Also, please introduce yourself in the “Getting to Know You” or in the “Introduce Yourself” forum, listed toward the top of your Discussions page.
Hot Topics: LINCS Diversity and Literacy CoP
Following is a list of topics that we have covered in our discussions of late. Those topics remain open, so feel free to comment on any of them by clicking in the Discussions Tab, and then on the topic of your choice.
Would you like to open a new topic? We need your participation and interaction as we build our little learning community to serve your needs and interests! Post a problem you are facing. Post a case study. Post an activity that you recommend for engaging adult learners in your practice. Post a question, a resource, an idea, a reference. Whatever your preference to interaction and dialogue, post! This community is here to serve you. Let’s get to know each other and share our experience and knowledge. Deal?
In January and from our last publication date to this one, we covered the following topics and resources:
1. A Model of a Community Based Learning Center
2. Books, Videos, Films and TED Talks that Inspire...
3. Boston’s Schools - Bilingualism
4. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections...
5. Changing Policies
6. Community Based, Multi-lingual One Stop Shop
7. Diversity and Literacy November Newsletter
8. Facebook And Mobile Devices
9. Happy Holidays!!
10. How to Avoid, and Teach Avoidance of, Gender Bias...
11. Immigrants and WIOA Services Factsheet
12. Is the Digital Divide now Widening, no longer...
13. Jigsaw Reading
14. Mobile learning - Classes Without Walls
15. Mobile Learning Group
16. Multi-lingualism / multi-culturalism
17. New Online Certificate In Adult Basic Education
18. Online Drop-In Centers for tutors and adult...
19. Reading and Home Language (L1) literacy
20. Reasoning Anxiety
21. Serving The Other 95%
22. Smart Phone ESL Lessons For Distance Learning
23. Software that Enables a Family Member or Friend...
24. Students As Tutors
25. Top reason for the failure
26. Vimeo on Pathways for People with Disabilities
We have had some wonderful and insightful dialogues around several of the topics raised to date. Those topics are still open and will remain so. To access and join any previous discussions, click on the Discussions tab; scroll to the bottom and click on the page numbers listed. Previous discussions show up as you click back.
Top contributors to discussions during this period were Paul Rogers, David Rosen, and Robert Wessel, who just joined us last month! Thank you for motivating us to think deeper and farther on instructional issues designed to improve our service to adult learners!!! Any ladies out there? J
You, who are reading this, please help us continue to learn from each other! Add your views to those already shared or open a discussion on a topic of your choice. Contribute to your community. Your voice is needed!
LINCS News
Are you using the recently added, fantastic resource for Adult Learners? The LINCS Learner Center connects adult learners to free online resources to reach life goals in areas such as improving reading, math, and science skills, learning English, building job and job search skills, becoming a U.S. citizen, and finding an adult education, child, family, and digital literacy program. Check it out! The LINCS Learning Portal is a treasure chest of self-paced courses! Read the descriptions of the long list at http://lincs.ed.gov/learning-portal.
In Your LINCS Resource Collection
· Reentry Education Model Implementation Study: Promoting Reentry Success through Continuity of Educational Opportunities. This report examines the implementation of the Reentry Education Model at three demonstration sites and identifies key lessons for linking correctional and reentry education programs. http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/reentry-education-model-implementation-study.pdf
· KET - The Interview - Workplace Essential Skills - Help students make a great impression at their next job interview with this lesson from KET's Workplace Essential Skills series. This self-paced lesson includes videos from a professional career counselor, interactive practice opportunities to get them thinking about their strategy, and more activities they can try at home on their own. ttp://ket.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket-wesint-01/ket-wesint-01/
· Innovative State Approaches to Implementing CCR Standards Webinar - The webinar, Innovative State Approaches to Implementing CCR Standards, was produced by StandardsWork, Inc. as part of the CCR Standards-in-Action (CCR SIA) project, under contract to the U.S. Department of Education (Contract # ED-VAE-13-C-0066). The CCR SIA project was funded to develop and disseminate professional development and advanced-level supports for implementing CCR standards sustainably and at-scale. https://youtu.be/Afv-ecFnk1E
Announcements
Now Recruiting: LINCS is looking for Community Members to Review Online Formative Assessment Tools - LINCS is assembling a small cohort of users tasked with identifying and reviewing online formative assessment tools for adult education classrooms. Formative assessment tools are defined as instruments that allow a teacher to adapt their teaching strategies based on the data they collect. Assessment expert, trainer, professional developer, and classroom teacher Marie Cora will be leading this activity.
Click here to register for the orientation webinar. For more information: https://community.lincs.ed.gov/notice/now-recruiting-lincs-looking-community-members-review-online-formative-assessment-tools
Circle It on Your Calendar!
Event: Promoting Greater Latino Participation in Career Pathways! The Diversity and Literacy, and the Career Pathways LINCS communities will be sponsoring a critical discussion around the topic of the under-representation of Latinos in the US workforce. A panel of experts will be leading the discussion, February 22-26, with the option of continuing the dialogue after that. Get ready. You will be receiving additional information so that you can prepare to join us!
Featured Resources/Articles
Have a resource recommendation for this newsletter? Please send me the information, and I’ll post it in our next issue, with credit given. (leecy@reconnectioncompany.com) Alternatively, and even more highly recommended, post a discussion in our community and start a new dialogue!
If you have followed the discussions that are being shared this month with other CoPs, you have learned about many tried and true resources offered by members that include best practices, technology tools and applications, Websites, and more. The advantage of benefitting from what other members have to suggest is that they are in the field and can recommend what works among adult learners. Don’t miss out on learning from others in our community and kindly contribute suggestions from your experience. We are rowing the same boat! Think of how you can add a little muscle to the experience!
· Love. Justice. Family. Equality - Family Equality Council is changing attitudes and policies to ensure all families are respected, loved, and celebrated - especially families with parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. http://www.familyequality.org/
· The Importance of Mentoring to Increase Diversity in STEM , April 12, 2015, byLesley McCollum - Many women in STEM continue to face challenges such as fighting to have their voices heard, or feeling unwelcome in an environment where they are a minority. .. Complex and layered reasons explain the lack of diversity in STEM, particularly in the more disparate fields such as physics. The reason for fewer women in these roles range from gender biases pruning females from this path early on, to the lack of accommodating work/life balance leading women to choose alternate paths later in their careers. The percentage of female faculty has been increasing; however, even for women who do pursue these positions, reports show that they still face barriers to gaining equal pay, and fewer end up in tenured positions. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/importance-mentoring-increase-diversity-stem
· 3myths and 3 possible reactions to LGBT inclusion in ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages, from LELMEDUCATION: Outstanding Support for Adult Education: “Language acquisition can be hindered if learners are not in an environment which is conducive to fostering a welcoming atmosphere, where all feel free to talk about themselves, their identities and personal lives. This is particularly relevant to LGBT and (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) ESOL learners. However, ESOL learners can sometimes display strong homophobic views, linked to culture, religion and or personal beliefs. (Laila El-Metoui 2014)” How do you feel about those three listed myths? https://lelmeducation.wordpress.com/lgbt-esol/ Hear Laila Talk on 7th February on LGBT National Festival of LGBT History 2016: schools and families day – http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/schools/national-festival-of-lgbt-history/
· The National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), Advancing and Advocating for Social Justice & Equity - NAME is a non-profit organization that advances and advocates for equity and social justice through multicultural education. Multicultural Perspectives is the official journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). http://www.nameorg.org/
NAME Objectives:
· To provide opportunities for learning in order to advance multicultural education, equity and social justice.
· To proactively reframe public debate and impact current and emerging policies in ways that advance social, political, economic and educational equity through advocacy, position papers, policy statements and other strategies.
· To provide the preeminent digital clearinghouse of resources about educational equity and social justice.
· CLASP, policy solutions that work for low-income people: (http://www.clasp.org/) "CLASP’s work identifies and addresses structural problems in education and employment among the nation's most challenged communities, with particular emphasis on youth of color. We highlight data on inequity, youth risk, and youth outcomes; elevate common-sense policy reforms; and help communities leverage federal and state funding opportunities to expand and coordinate services that help young people access pathways out of poverty.” Understanding and supporting the culturally diverse distance learner, by Sanchez, I., and Gunawardena, C.N. (1998). In C.C. Gibson, (Ed.), Distance learners in higher education (pp. 47-64). Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing - Chapter 3 of this volume focuses on culturally diverse distance learners and examines ways in which the needs of these learners can be taken into consideration in the design of distance instruction and learner support. We begin with a discussion of changing demographics in the United States and the educational needs of adults from different cultures, analyses of the literature on individual differences and learning styles, and the influence of culture on learning. A learning style profile of Hispanic adult learners will be discussed as a case example showing how the understanding of the Hispanic learner as described in the profile can be applied to the design of distance instruction and learner support systems.
· You can start your own robotics program! Lego robotics is a hands-on, collaborative, authentic learning experience, and Mark Gura wants you to give it a try. Gura, the author of the ISTE book Getting Started with Lego Robotics, understands how daunting it can be to start a robotics program from scratch. That’s why he wants to help other educators like you by sharing information you need to get started. He’s one of three guests presenting “Creative Technology Use in K-12,” a webcast hosted by School Library Journal in partnership with ISTE.
Journals
Silence as Shields: Agency and Resistances among Native American Students in the Urban Southwest, by Timothy J. San Pedro, The Ohio State University (Research in the Teaching of English Volume 50, Number 2, November 200. The data analyzed here explore the ways students use silence as a form of critical literacy—or critical silent literacies —in response to racial microaggressions enacted by their peers, their teachers, or a combination of both. This framing of silence questions common assumptions that Native American students are silent because of their biological, inherent, and/or cultural “traits.” Challenging such assumptions, Native American students in this study reveal that as they attempt to voice their ideas, they are repeatedly silenced because their knowledges counter the dominant settler knowledges taught in public schools. As a result, they discuss how their silence has been used over time as a resistance strategy to shield themselves, their identities, and their family and community knowledges from dominant, monocultural knowledges with which they did not agree.” Fascinating!
Encouraging Literacy among Diverse Learners
Diverse learners learn in diverse ways. Do we provide them with enough ways? “From ISTE: “Maybe you’ve heard of Minecraft. Or World of Warcraft, or Second Life. Maybe you’ve even heard that there are a few brave educators who are using them in their classrooms, with — gasp! — students. These educators know that 3D virtual learning environments are far more than mere games and that their potential to engage students, personalize curricula and develop higher-order thinking skills is worth the fight against fears of time wasting, questionable online influences and doubts about educational value.” (5 virtual worlds for engaged learning, By Andrew Wheelock and Scott Merrick 5/4/2015) https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=395&category=In-the-classroom&article&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=PLN .
I have used Second Life as a learning and PD tool, and my grandson insisted that I learn MineCraft so that we could build together over the miles that separate us. I will be trying other suggestions from this site.
Robert Wessel, Di Baycich, and I, in the Reading and Writing CoP, have been sharing alternatives to teaching the five-paragraph essay. Join that community, if you haven’t already, and add to the discussion if you have ideas. The thread in the Reading and Writing CoP is called Community Project Circle, where I invited members to comment on a topic of interest so that we could develop a Project-Based Circle to collaborate on ideas and activities. Only Di and Robert responded, both commenting on alternatives to teaching the 5-paragraph essay. Great ideas are being shared.
Prezi – I still use PowerPoint extensively to make points. It is a powerful tool that allows for many types of interaction and activities. Prezi, in my view, is an alternative to PowerPoint, which provides amazing tools for delivering content. Students can have a ball using it. It is a free online tool unless you want to upgrade. Among the projects suggested in the above discussion is a Prezi developed on how to use storytelling as a way to encourage writing. No matter what our culture or background, we humans love good stories. Check out this Prezi at . If you enjoy the tool, create a Prezi on your own to learn, and then share the tool with your students. What a great alternative to boring writing instruction! See link below.
https://prezi.com/lvln-7xg-tr6/the-storytellers-secret/?utm_source=prezi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=16777836&utm_campaign: The best storytellers all share something in common - "Presentation expert Carmine Gallo has created an amazing prezi about how some of the best storytellers do what they do. From Richard Branson to Malala Yousafzai, these charismatic leaders tell stories that inspire their audiences to act. See his Prezi to find out how you can do the same."
Voki – I have used Voki for years to add variety to announcements in my online classes, to make people laugh through emails, to have native and non-native English speaking students create and share short stories about themselves, and more.
- http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11902732&height=267&width=200 - This Voki invites you to use the tool.
- http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11372829&height=267&width=200 - This Voki is created by a student learning to speak English.
Sometimes students don’t want to use their voices, which is an option in Voki. Instead, they can choose from several different speakers who will read the text they create.
Once you create a Voki, you can either share the link, as I’ve done here, or embed the code given into a Website or email. Try it. You’ll love it! So will your students!
When you are ready to share your Voki with us, open a new Discussion. Call it something like “Sharing My Voki.” Add the link, and let’s start talking! Share what your students create. Let’s have some fun!
EBooks – Students across the board love creating ebooks. You can create an ebook with Word, PowerPoint, or even Excel! A collaborative ebook allows students to tell different stories in different ways: one writes, another edits, another illustrate, and another compiles. Students can their own stories, stories for their children, recipe stories, and more. They’ll think of something.
- · http://www.creating-ebooks.com/ - A step-by-step guide to creating an ebook in ePub and mobi formats, complete with ebook template, and a useful style guide for authors.
- · http://www.pcworld.com/article/253618/how_to_use_microsoft_word_to_create_an_ebook.html - How to Use Microsoft Word to Create an Ebook, from PC World.
- · http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-create-ebooks-free-templates-ht - Free templates and a step-by-step guide.
- · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENpj0jAjI-0 - How to Create A Successful eBook in 4 Steps, YouTube video by Nacie Carson Pereira. Very useful, with tips that can be used by advanced or beginning writiers. Imagine the different applications for your students, including how they might make some extra $!
Social Media Tips
50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom, by Samantha Miller – “Many critics of Twitter believe that the 140-character microblog offered by the ubiquitous social network can do little for the education industry. They are wrong.” http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom
Please open a discussion in our community and share your tips for using social media for instruction, especially among adults
If you have worked in these environments, please open a discussion in our Diversity and Literacy Community, called Virtual Worlds for Adult Learners, or something similar. Let’s start talking about these worlds and about how they work among adult learners!
Social Media Tips
50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom, by Samantha Miller – “Many critics of Twitter believe that the 140-character microblog offered by the ubiquitous social network can do little for the education industry. They are wrong.” http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom
Please open a discussion in our community and share your tips for using social media for instruction, especially among adults.
Member Contribution
This section is awaiting your contribution. Share a practice, a resource, a tip, anything that you would like featured in this section! Email me, and you’ll be in our next newsletter!
Brain Games and Fun Things
What phrases do the images represent? Share them with your students! If you solve the “word puzzles,” post your answer in this forum. I will no longer post the answers in the newsletter.
1. 2.
Possible solutions to last month’s challenges: 1. Painess Operation 2. Excuse Me
3. I strongly advocate puzzle activities as a fun way to encourage vocabulary development, contextual meanings, and many other language-related skills. Try this site, and if you like it, send your students there. http://www.kappapuzzles.com/
4. And speaking of fun, have you and your students tried Free Rice? http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1399. For every right answer, the site donates 10 grains of rice through the World Food Program. Be sure to check the many options for difficulty lever, topics, and more. Warning! This site is addictive.
Upcoming Events
Be sure to drop in weekly to review the exciting announcements on our LINCS Home page, https://lincs.ed.gov and on our Community page, https://community.lincs.ed.gov/https://community.lincs.ed.gov .
A. NASAI Conference: June 6-7, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. “Join us at the Native American Student Advocacy Institute (NASAI): Educating Native Youth for Success: Many Nations, One Vision conference to discuss new solutions, share best practices, and collaborate with colleagues to make a difference in the lives of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students…College Board conferences like NASAI are a key part of our mission to connect students to college success and opportunity. We depend on you, our members and partners, to help us achieve excellence and equity in education. https://nasai.collegeboard.org/?ep_ch=PR&ep_mid=11193621&ep_rid=38954604
B. COABE 2016 –Registration for the 2016 COABE/TALAE National Conference in Dallas, Texas on April 10-13, 2016 is open! Get registered early and save $!
C. Workforce One's Strategies for Effective State Teaming (Submitted by Michael Cruse, LINCS moderator) – Building a structured collaborative team is the key to great state planning and long-term WIOA success. Learn how implementation teams—from across agencies and inclusive of business champions—are working in Washington and New Jersey to drive key workforce transformation.” Tuesday, December 15, 2015, 12:00pm to 1:00pm. - https://community.lincs.ed.gov/event/workforce-ones-strategies-effective-state-teaming
D. ISTE 2016: “The learning and collaboration at ISTE 2016 can spark big transformations — but it takes more than one person to sustain it. You have the chance to learn together, experience opportunity and support each other as you implement the new ideas you’ve learned. When your group hits 10 registrants, you receive the super early bird rate — no matter when you register for the conference.” San Antonio, Texas, June 25-28, 2017. Website: http://bit.ly/1O0yWpO
E. Check out the events promoted by Diversity and Practice, a site at http://www.diversitybestpractices.com/events/event-calendar . Diversity Best Practices, a division of Working Mother Media, is the preeminent organization for diversity thought leaders to share best practices and develop innovative solutions for culture change. Through research, benchmarking, publications and events, Diversity Best Practices offers members information and strategies on how to implement, grow, measure and create first-in-class diversity programs.
Diversity Best Practices offers:
· Timely resource materials that provide useful data and content to build knowledge
· Tools to implement diversity programs that meet the unique needs of a company
· Insight on the best practices and strategies employed by companies that have created highly successful internal diversity strategies and innovative solutions
· Access to diverse human and informational resources that help companies execute their diversity initiatives.
Comments
Need help becoming more active? LINCS provides you with “how-to” links to video tutorials when you click the HELP link from your Community page (https://community.lincs.ed.gov/page/help) , along with a “Contact Us” link at the very top of the LINCS window. Just as I am sure you tell your students, “When you don’t know how to do something, ask! My email is posted below.
To respond to any of the items in this newsletter, simply add a comment to this post, as with all discussion threads.
See you in the forums! Let’s talk some more! Leecy
leecy@reconnectioncompany.com