Follow Up: 1st Class – 2011 Canadian Federal Election

This new blog post is a follow-up to our blog announcing the new Centra course we launched called 2011 Canadian Federal Election.

Our first class was on Thursday April 14th, 2011 and the results were fantastic!  If I were to speak in Elections terminology, I can say that we had an 81% turnout rate for this class.  These numbers are actually high for what we are typically used to in a LIVE Centra class.  There are still learners that may go back and listen to the recorded Playback which may in fact increase the turnout rates even more.

There were some interesting observations from this class.  There was approximately 85% of the group that have never voted before.  And I mean never voted for anything.  They have never voted for mayor, their band council, the provincial government or anything at all.  One might think that this is shocking and disappointing but I looked at this as an opportunity and a definite reason why we needed to run this course.

The class was structured in format and outline but flexible because learners were encouraged to use their voices and text chat to discuss their concerns about the upcoming election.  Here is a sample of their concerns from the class:

• TRUST was a big concern for these potential voters – How do they trust that a leader will follow through on their promises?
• Votes don’t seem to count if the person you vote for loses
• Are water issues present on First Nations reserves because not enough people are voting?
• How do I know who I should vote for?

The course was also set up to accommodate different learning styles among Aboriginal learners.  The Aboriginal Approach to Learning encompasses the philosophy of teaching holistically and uses the medicine wheel as it’s symbol.

From a medicine wheel perspective, the course adapted well to these 4 different learning styles.  Intuitive learners are represented in East quadrant of the medicine wheel.  These learners may have recognized that they needed to learn more about the elections process.  They needed to visually see what this process looks like.  Emotional learners are represented in the South quadrant of the medicine wheel.  These learners could relate to the issues and understand the impacts of not voting.  Mental learners are represented in the West quadrant where they were introduced to the process and steps involved to vote on election day.  Some learners prefer to be more objective and logical with their learning.  Physical learners in the North quadrant learn more by observing and doing.  They were provided with interactive online resources to reinforce what they were learning through self-directed participation.

This class was balanced and respected all four different learning styles.

At the end of class, I also shared with the learners the results of a social media experiment using Twitter. Prior to the class, I contacted all of the MP candidates in Ontario who were on Twitter and introduced them to this course we are offering to learners. I also asked if they had any advice for our learners.  The comments and feedback were priceless.  I shared a few of these with learners and it seemed to bring the class full circle.  The comments and advice from the MP candidates helped the learners feel a part of the election and that their voice counted for something.

In the end, all but one learner expressed that they would be at the polls in their community on May 2^nd!

Learner of the Year – Krystle S.

Being an adult learner is not a simple thing: when you make that decision to upgrade your skills,  life doesn’t stop, and it certainly doesn’t take it easy on you either.  There will always be bills to pay, children to feed, family members to deal with and countless other things that get piled on top of the  stress of going back to school.  

Knowing the day-to-day challenges faced by many of our learners, we wanted to recognize and celebrate their achievements.

We thought long and hard about what qualifies a learner for distinction.  Is it perfect attendance?  Regular participation?  Excellent marks?  What distinguishes a learner from the rest?

While those things are wonderful achievements, and things that we also recognize, we realized that we were looking for something else when searching for “Learner of the Year”.

Krystle S., a twenty something learner from Southern Ontario embodies what it means to be Good Learning Anywhere’s “2009-10 Learner of the Year”.  

Krystle is a woman who has persevered, who has stood up to challenges, who has supported her peers and led by example.  She has taken the skills and teachings of our courses and has forged her own path to success and continual learning.

What better role model can there be?

As GLA’s 2009-2010 Learner of The Year, a surprise package was sent to Krystle in recognition of her achievement.

Here’s what Krystle had to say:

“I got the package the other day that you mentioned would be arriving. You can’t imagine how surprised and thrilled I was to see that I had won an ipod nano and got a certificate too! I was stunned and speechless at first and then really happy!”

“My experiences in SHLC classes have really convinced me that I can do Centra classes and meeting you has helped me realize that there are programs for adults out there and options for us to finish our education. So I really owe both you and SHLC a lot. Please relay my thanks to everyone. I really appreciate the certificate and ipod nano, its a great reminder for me to keep with it. Taking these classes has actually inspired me to go back to school and work on my OSSD.”

“It’s also inspired my dog Tyson to continue with his puppy classes after graduating and starts his next grade level this month! Thanks again, Krystle and Tyson”

Krystle, Tyson, well done!

Good Learning Anywhere hits the books, online

How good does it feel to be acknowledged?

It doesn’t matter if it’s an official award or even a tagged-on “way to go” in an email.  It feels darn good.

Good Learning Anywhere was acknowledged in a very big way this week by The Sioux Bulletin.

Read the full article below:

Good Learning Anywhere Hits the Books, Online

Thank you Shayla from The Sioux Bulletin.  Job well done!

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